This time, I chose another Riley Sager book, titled Survive the Night.
It’s 1991. A college student, Charlie Jordan, accepts a ride home with Josh Baxter, a stranger she met on the campus ride board. She’s grieving the recent murder of her best friend by the so-called Campus Killer and needs to escape campus life. Josh claims he’s traveling to help his sick father, but his story doesn’t quite add up—and Charlie begins to suspect he might be the killer.
As they drive lonely highways late at night, her unease grows. Strange details and unanswered questions make her doubt Josh’s intentions, but she has nowhere to go. Trapped in a car with a possible predator, Charlie must decide whether her instincts are warning her of danger—or playing tricks on her. Survival becomes the only way out.
What really pulled me into this story was how fast-paced and intense it felt from start to finish. I found myself constantly questioning Charlie’s decisions—wondering what I would do in her place, while also feeling frustrated with the risks she was taking. But at the same time, her grief and guilt over what happened to Maddy made those choices feel believable. You could feel how deeply it was affecting her, especially as her hallucinations blurred the line between reality and imagination.
I also loved the unique way the story was told, almost like Charlie was watching a movie play out in her mind. It added another layer of suspense and made me question what was real right along with her. That constant uncertainty kept me hooked and made it nearly impossible to put the book down.
Riley Sager did a great job building tension in such a confined setting, proving you don’t need a big cast of characters or multiple locations to create a gripping thriller. Just a car, a dark road, and a growing sense of danger were enough to keep the pages turning.
Overall, Survive the Night was a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat read that kept me guessing until the very end. If you enjoy psychological thrillers that play with perception and keep you second-guessing everything, this one is definitely worth the ride.