Review: Survive the Night by Riley Sager

Survive the Night follows college student Charlie in 1991. A serial killer has recently murdered Charlie's roommate and best friend Maddie, and Charlie wants to leave campus as soon as she possibly can due to the guilt she feels about having been the last person to see Maddie before her death. Charlie ends up getting a ride from someone who seems to be a fellow student, but as the drive progresses, Charlie starts to suspect that she is in the car with Maddie's murderer.

This was one of my top five most anticipated books of the year; it was probably number two if I had to rank them. I was so hooked by the synopsis, and I loved Lock Every Door by Riley Sager so much. And I did end up really liking this book and would completely recommend it to folks; I had a few issues but really loved the ending.

Jumping in with the negative, my the midpoint of the book, I was quite frustrated with Charlie, and that caused me to start to lose interest for a little while. I almost put this book down multiple times during about a 30-page stretch just because I was compelled to skim the book. This was rectified very quickly; after the monotony of the diner scene, we got bombshell after bombshell, and my interest skyrocketed in a wonderful way. At the beginning of the book, I was so annoyed that all CHarlie's movie opinions are film bro opinions. I just didn't think she had opinions colored at all by her experience being a woman; it seemed like it was Sager's film opinions and not a 20-year-old woman's.

My only other complaint about the book was I am not sure how well Sager portrayed hallucinations, he did a good job showing how scary and destabilizing they can be, and I liked the pro getting help with your mental health stance, but one line towards then end seemed a bit too 'all you need to do is love yourself' for my taste. I don't think anything was bad or harmful, but seek put reviewers who are symptoms with Charlie for that analysis, and I did overall like where he ended regarding mental health concerns.

I thought the tension in this book was great; I was so worried for (and at times frustrated with) Charlie. The sense of literally hurtling towards something terrible was excellent, and I certainly was tense while reading. I do think that the unreliable narrator aspect of this book was slightly underutilized in the first half of the book, but I totally see why that choice was made. In a thriller, you want tension and worry; this book certainly delivered on this! This book transitions from very introspective to very action-packed in such an excellent way.

I really liked the way Charlie and Maddie's friendship was written; I thought it seemed so real. The way Charlie got angry with Maddie and the guilt that she felt over this was so well incorporated into the story. I really thought this was excellent.

This book talks about vengeance in such an interesting to read way. Once Charlie starts to realize who she is sharing a car with, she realizes she needs to make sure this person is held responsible for what happened to Maddie, and I loved the progression to that mindset. Especially because it was so comfortable with the delicate girl embracing rage and not encouraging her to take a meeker route. I don't know how to say more without spoilers, but I liked the rage and the symmetry.

I did guess the big reveal in this book, but Sager does a good job of constantly planting doubt in your mind so you never actually are too sure-footed. My brain kept coming up with less and less plausible ideas then reverting back to my original one. By the time it was very clear what was going on, there was far too much happening to focus on just that one aspect of the book. The last 50-ish pages go by so quickly.

I really loved the end. I thought it was satisfying and showed the effects trauma could have on various people. I really really liked the very end; I thought that structural element was clever and fun. I shall say no more, but stuff like that I am always a sucker for!

I gave this book four stars on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.