SURVIVE THE NIGHT

SYNOPSIS

It’s November 1991. Nirvana's in the tape deck, George H. W. Bush is in the White House, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer.

Josh Baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board, each looking to share the long drive home to Ohio. Both have good reasons for wanting to get away. For Charlie, it’s guilt and grief over the shocking murder of her best friend, who became the third victim of the man known as the Campus Killer. For Josh, it’s to help care for his sick father—or so he says.

 

The longer she sits in the passenger seat, the more Charlie notices there’s something suspicious about Josh, from the holes in his story about his father to how he doesn’t want her to see inside the trunk. As they travel an empty, twisty highway in the dead of night, an increasingly anxious Charlie begins to think she’s sharing a car with the Campus Killer. Is Josh truly dangerous? Or is Charlie’s jittery mistrust merely a figment of her movie-fueled imagination?

 

One thing is certain—Charlie has nowhere to run and no way to call for help. Trapped in a terrifying game of cat and mouse played out on pitch-black roads and in neon-lit parking lots, Charlie knows the only way to win is to survive the night.

Title: Survive the night

Author: Riley Sager

Publisher: Dutton

Publication date: June 29, 2021

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Thanks to PRH International and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Survive the night was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I’m so glad to say it delivered everything I was hoping for. I’m usually not a huge fan of stories taking place in such a short span of time cause I feel they usually tend to drag along but, in this case, the tension was at a high the whole time and I could not unglue myself from my Kindle.

Charlie is a movie buff so there are lots of film references that added a nice layer to the story. And, as it happens in movies, the main character makes plenty of stupid choices, but oh boy, weren’t they fun!

I’ve read some reviews saying the first half was drawn out and boring but I found myself enjoying it the most. I loved when Charlie and Josh were the only two characters in play. They were both pretty unreliable; add the movies Charlie experienced in her head and it was so much fun trying to guess what was real and what not and who, if any, was telling the truth.

Around the 65% mark there was a twist I did not see coming at all and once revealed it made for several pieces to fall into place. 

The resolution, although a bit predictable, was really enjoyable and I found it very cinematographic. In fact, the whole story was and I can really see it being translated to the big screen.

And what to say about the actual ending! I thought it was a genius move! I loved all the parallels it established.

Super entertaining and fast paced story that made quite an addictive read. Highly recommended.