Survive the Night

By: Riley Sager

Narrated by: Kate Handford

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

One passenger. One night. One road trip. One suspected serial killer behind the wheel....

Casey Jordan is being driven across the country by a serial killer. Maybe.

Behind the wheel is Josh Baxter, a stranger Casey met by the college ride-share board, who also has a good reason for leaving university in the middle of term. On the road, they share their stories, carefully avoiding the subject dominating the news - the Campus Killer, who's tied up and stabbed three students in the span of a year, has just struck again.

Travelling the lengthy journey between university and their final destination, Casey begins to notice discrepancies in Josh's story.

As she begins to plan her escape from the man she is becoming certain is the killer, she starts to suspect that Josh knows exactly what she's thinking.

Meaning that she could very well end up as his next victim.

A game of cat and mouse is about to play out. In order to win, Casey must do only one thing...survive the night.

©2021 Riley Sager (P)2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critic reviews

"Noir at its best! This one-sitting-read of a thriller will grab you in the opening pages and simply not let go until the very (and very shocking) end. Author Sager is a master of creating both psychological suspense and richly drawn characters, both good, bad and somewhere in the middle. Bravo!" (Jeffery Deaver, author of The Final Twist)

"Riley Sager's premise is bone-chilling - what if you caught a ride from a guy who could be a serial killer? - and his writing is propulsive and gripping. Woven throughout is a clever nod to classic movies, which adds to the intricate architecture of this absolutely terrific book." (Sarah Pekkanen, number one New York Times best-selling coauthor of You Are Not Alone)

"One of the most addictive thrillers I've read this year. A compulsive page-turner with high stakes and a heroine you find yourself absolutely rooting for." (Gytha Lodge)

3.75 ⭐️

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

I have loved all of Riley Sager's other books, and although I couldn't put this one down and read it (listened to it on Audible) in just over 24 hours, there was something a little off that stopped it being as enjoyable as his other works I've read.

I'll start off by saying I loved it being set in 1991. It, of course, wouldn't have worked being set later, but I enjoyed that aspect of it. I didn't enjoy how stupid Charlie was, like I knew what the book was about when I started it, but also, your best friend has just been killed by a serial killer and you go and ride share with a random stranger?! Like comon girl!
I loved the unreliable narration. It's something I think Sager writes really well.

The fact that the majority of the book was set in the car was different. And although it wasn't boring, far from it, I did remind me of my friends review of the movie "I'm thinking of ending thing" and how it was just a conversation happening in a car. My friend did not enjoy that movie, and I got blacklisted from suggesting movies in our group for my choice for a long time. So this was kind of giving me those vibes, and all I could think is how this wouldn't hold up to movie standards well. More of this later.

Overall I enjoyed it and couldn't put the book down, but it did feel off.
I recommend listening to the audiobook, I felt it added to the creepiness of plot.