Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Survive the Night: A Novel
Skip to main content
.us
Hello Select your address
All
EN
Hello, sign in
Account & Lists
Returns & Orders
Cart
All
Disability Customer Support Clinic Best Sellers Customer Service Amazon Basics New Releases Prime Today's Deals Music Books Registry Fashion Amazon Home Pharmacy Gift Cards One Medical Toys & Games Sell Coupons Luxury Stores Automotive Find a Gift Beauty & Personal Care Computers Home Improvement Video Games Health & Household Products Pet Supplies Smart Home Audible
Shop Father's Day gifts

  • Survive the Night: A Novel
  • ›
  • Customer reviews

Customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
7,618 global ratings
5 star
40%
4 star
31%
3 star
20%
2 star
6%
1 star
2%
Survive the Night: A Novel

Survive the Night: A Novel

byRiley Sager
Write a review
How customer reviews and ratings work

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon
See All Buying Options

Top positive review

All positive reviews›
Gabrielle Grosbety
4.0 out of 5 starsBrimming with neon-tinted, 90s nostalgia and a good old-fashioned unreliable narrator
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 18, 2022
3.5 stars rounded up ☆

“Charlie’s tempted to tell him everything. The darkness, the close quarters, the warmth—all of it sustains her confessional mood.”

The lights go down to reveal a night plunged in darkness and nervous, charged expectancy for what is to come. Perhaps a cinematic night is about to unfold with the potent color, music, and nostalgia of the 90s, which Riley Sager captures moodily and richly in all its overwhelmingly neon-tinted, climactic glory. Once the scene is set, Charlie, our protagonist and certified movie aficionado, is looking for a ride back to Ohio where she can escape the suffocation of the past and her guilt that haunts her like a persistent ghost always waiting in the wings to attack. Her best friend, Maddy, has recently been killed by the Campus Killer, and she shoulders a majority of the blame for throwing out words she doesn’t mean in a heated moment of no-return and leaving her in a time of need.

So, not being able to wait a second more, she ventures to the ride-share board in hopes of finding someone to take her home to where Nana Norma waits and they can get lost in a movie-induced haze to forget their troubles. Enter in Josh Baxter, with his mega-watt, killer (could this be literal or figurative?!) smile and Olyphant Sweatshirt, which must promise safety if he’s associated with Charlie’s university, right? As luck would have it, he’s headed in the same direction and is willing to drive her to her destination, but, you guessed it, their trip predictably gets madly side-tracked along the way as we’re led to question if Josh is truly who he says he is or in fact the infamous killer on the loose? Will either he or Charlie see the light of day? The darkness holds you captive as spectator, as it houses secrets and encourages confessional outpourings.

“That’s the best way to describe daily existence, with its endless parade of drudgeries and disappointments. In real life, people don’t break into song. They don’t battle space monsters. And they certainly don’t unwittingly get into the car with serial killers.”

And throw in the fact that Charlie becomes an unreliable narrator who can’t tell the fiction of the movie scenes she creates in her mind, blacking out à la Norman Bates, and reality apart. This part for me got muddled because it felt maddening rather than an added interesting layer to the story because of how wildly it swung in many different directions that felt too self-referential and frustrating to decode as reality completely folded in on itself. I lost truth where I needed it, which perhaps was part of the point, but, at moments, it went a smidge too far. There were also unbelievable tonal shifts in certain scenes that made it hard to understand why certain characters acted in certain ways or made certain decisions in specific moments, specifically Josh and Charlie. However, I didn’t find Charlie nearly as gullible and insufferable as Lora, the narrator of Cover Story, the last novel I read, even if she naively still stumbles into a stranger’s car when the Campus Killer is in their midst. She does question and second guess for longer periods of time, unlike Lora, who just accepted and trusted pretty mindlessly.

“And if Charlie’s learned anything from the movies, it’s that few things are more dangerous than someone with nothing to lose.”

All in all, it was still a thrilling ride of cat-and-mouse, menacing predator and challenged prey, gaslighter and gaslightee, even if the latter half of the story lost some of the momentum that the exciting beginning had promised. I just wonder who you’ll wind up trusting. When trust can be few and far between in these loaded moments and ongoing swells of emotions that have the ammunition of Josh’s car speeding recklessly through the night, threatening, in reverse fashion of the usual expression, that the devil you do know, contrarily, may be worse than the devil you don’t.
Read more
3 people found this helpful

Top critical review

All critical reviews›
David Morgan
VINE VOICE
3.0 out of 5 starsMiddle of the road for me
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 18, 2023
A fun if not VERY predictable read. A 'new' take on the car ride at night with unreliable narrator's story. After SMH premises are ignored, this story takes some unexpected turns. I liked the cinematic writing style as well as references to movies by the main character, Charlie. The story has a quick pace and the suspense and tension builds as the story progresses leading to a thrilling climax and its foreseeable ending. Not the best by this author but still a very entertaining read. I recommend this one too those looking for a quick beach read.
Read more

Sign in to filter reviews
Filtered by
1 starClear filter
222 total ratings, 90 with reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

LTJ
1.0 out of 5 stars Survive the Night is an underwhelming, repetitive, and unrealistic thriller
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 11, 2021
Verified Purchase
“Survive the Night” by Riley Sager starts out interesting as it builds up the main characters and plot but as you keep reading, it starts to get a bit unrealistic. The main character, Charlie, will irritate you at things that should simply be common sense in life. You know, something as basic that’s taught to us as children to never get into a car with a stranger.

Yet when it comes to Charlie, her ordeals and situations are very unbelievable as she’s completely and utterly clueless the majority of the time, beyond clueless actually, to use any common sense. It was very distracting as a reader to deal with Charlie and her actions throughout this book because it just didn’t feel authentic or anything that could ever be real.

There was also a ton of repetition in this book which to me, is a huge no-no for a thriller. Every word matters as I love when characters, locations, plot twists, and situations are explained in detail. The main problem with this book is there’s just way too much fluff of going over the same thoughts in Charlie’s head that again, takes away from the overall reading experience. This was a genuine page-turner at first but then I noticed as I got from 50% on that everything took a turn for the worst and got pretty boring.

I give “Survive the Night” by Riley Sager a 1/5 as it became a chore to get through this book and the ending was very underwhelming. I won’t ruin anything for you but all of Charlie’s “movie-fueled imaginations” left much to be desired. Just like the whole main angle of The Campus Killer which was also another major letdown with no real development or meaning behind the motive. Towards the end, it felt like lazy writing just to be done with it and as a reader, it’s also exactly how I felt. I just wanted to finally be done with this and move on to something better.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


BillsFan
VINE VOICE
1.0 out of 5 stars Sorry, But This Is Just Unsurvivable.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 18, 2021
Verified Purchase
It is very rare that I ever write a negative review (or any review at all), but I thought this could be my good deed of the day…to save an innocent reader from the misery that is Survive the Night. How this has a 4 star rating is beyond me (I call for an investigation!) My hat goes off to any author able to have his or her work published, so I apologize to Riley Sager for what I am about to say because I envy your status as a published author and I know you can do better. I had extremely high hopes the instant I read the first of many Hitchcock nods throughout this novel. Being a huge fan of his films, I felt excitement that Survive the Night would be right up my alley. Sadly, there are far too many plot holes, many of which allow the potential victim to very easily escape her possible life threatening situation. SO MANY! About halfway through the book I actually wanted the main character to be taken out by the serial killer. Just put the poor girl out of her misery already, I don’t even want her to survive anymore. Pretty much all of the characters’ motivations are completely without merit or, frankly, lacking in basic common sense. Without giving away the story, all I can say is the ending is such a meager excuse to justify the weak plot lines that it actually made me throw my hands in the air and rue the loss of the afternoon I spent reading this utter disappointment. Everyone stumbles in life and Riley Sager sure bit the dust with this one, but I’m eager to see him redeem himself next time. For now, I urge you to skip this and instead spend your afternoon watching any Hitchcock movie. Seriously, any one, take your pick. You’re welcome.
12 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Jaime
1.0 out of 5 stars Worst Book by Sager
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 7, 2021
Verified Purchase
I really wanted to like this book, but when I had a hard time getting into the physical copy, I purchased the audible version. While that one was easier to get into, I was very disappointed when I figured out the entire story within the first two hours. The writing was tedious and boring. The main character was annoying and unlikable. The writing was a sort of stream of consciousness type, and I do not like that. There was nothing remotely scary or thrilling. This was probably due to the fact that I had no vested interest in the main character. I actually liked all the other characters and felt more sympathy for them. Survive the Night is by far the worst book Sager has written. Charlie, his protagonist was so poorly written, which is ironic because the story is based in the early 90s where feminism was so alive. Charlie is the polar opposite of any strong female character from that era. I have never read a more unlikely or absurd tale. There were so many times the character could have gotten out of the bad situation and Sager chose to have her stay. Honestly, this book has solidified my belief that Sager can not write a decent and believable female character. Even the ending felt like it had been altered with the "surprising twist" to make all the holes and misgivings acceptable. I will not be reading any more of Sager's books after this trainwreck of a tale.
53 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Staci
1.0 out of 5 stars Such a mess. Lazy writing. Nirvana sucks.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 3, 2021
Verified Purchase
I’m like…really disappointed. I loved Sager’s books, except Every Time I Lied, as I have yet to read it. But after reading his other books, I've come to notice a certain script or M.O. that he sticks to.

The twist is, it’s always the love interest, or the quiet person that he BARELY talks about so that you forget about them and then SURPRISE, they’re the bad guy. There. You don’t have to read this, or any of his other books, (although Final Girls and Lock Every Door are amazing).

This one sounded like it was going to be so good! Such an awesome plot! Serial killer? Great. Best friend murdered by said serial killer? Spooky. Hitchhiking with a stranger? Getting very suspenseful! Unreliable narrator?! Oh no, who do I believe?! And then…huh?

The ending was all over the place. The reason the killer gives for their slayings is, and no reason is good, but this one was just…dumb. Oh, and they, of course it being set in the 90’s, just HAD to involve Nirvana somehow. News flash everyone, Nirvana is not that great!

I just thought this could have been executed better. I was so excited. I guessed the killer right away, even though I didn’t know why it would be them when they’re character was never fleshed out.

I’m really mad. And I don’t understand why or how it’s getting good reviews.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


KatyKat65
1.0 out of 5 stars Boring
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 25, 2021
Verified Purchase
It's surprising to me that this book was so boring. I've loved all of Riley Sager's previous books but he's off his game here. Most of the action comes at the end of the book and the rest is all inner musings inside the characters heads, mainly the main character Charlie. The book could have used some more dialogue, maybe some witty banter in the car. I also didn't buy her disorder, which is that when she gets stressed out she spaces out and imagines things as if they were a movie. I get the whole "unreliable narrator" thing, other authors have used it to ratchet up suspense, but it just doesn't work here. Not every book a author Whiteside gonna hit it out of the park and I understand that. Don't choose this book it's your first time reading Sager. I would start with Final Girls or Home before Dark.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Nmh
1.0 out of 5 stars Absurd and shockingly poorly written
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 24, 2022
Verified Purchase
I have read and enjoyed several other Riley Sager books in the past. I have found them to be fairly entertaining thrillers. This book, however, was utterly unreadable. I will say that I gave up at about 65% of the way through and frankly I’m annoyed that I wasted that much time reading it. The plot and circumstances around it were absolutely absurd. But the true crime was the poorly written dialogue and character interactions which read like a middle schooler wrote this book. Save your money and time and skip this one.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Matthew H.
1.0 out of 5 stars Should Have Run For It At The Tollbooth
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 5, 2021
Verified Purchase
I really enjoy Riley Sager's books. When I finished The Final Girls, I knew Riley Sager would be an author I would read again, pre-ordering the books because they were so good. Not only is Survive the Night such a disappointment, it makes me hesitate to look forward to his next novel.

I don't want to spoil anything because people's opinions may vary, but the unreliable narrator of this story was driven by so many plot holes, it seemed as though the protagonist's recall had less to do with the story and more to do with covering up some very lazy plotting.

Upon the reveal, I was angry... and I don't get angry with books. But this novel is a major letdown from Riley Sager's previous work. The premise was great, the setting... wonderful. Execution past the tollbooth (IYKYK), miserable.
39 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Kerensa Carlee
1.0 out of 5 stars A Total Crapfest
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 9, 2021
Verified Purchase
I admit it---I ignored the other bad reviews and bought this book. I'm a fan of old movies, so I figured, how bad could it be? The answer is absolutely, horrifically terrible. So bad that I wanted the main character, Charlie, to die very early on in the book and that opinion didn't change as I kept reading. She makes dumb choice after dumb choice, so it is hard to root for her. I also couldn't stand her friend, Maddy, who is equally annoying, even though she is already dead! There's very few characters so it is easy to figure out the murderer early on, who, as far as murderers go, has a truly idiotic reason for murdering people. Please don't do what I did and ignore this review---skip this book.
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Hair/dirt/greasy fingerprints on book
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 2, 2021
Verified Purchase
The book was not in new condition as advertised. There were multiple pieces of hair coming out of the pages, greasy fingerprints (It appears someone was eating something greasy while packaging the book), and dirt on both sides of the cover. I was very disgusted considering this book was supposed to replace the first book that came, which had greasy fingerprints that were smeared across the cover. I didn’t take pictures of the first book because I wrote it off as a one-time occurrence. So I ordered a replacement. Yet this replacement book arrived in even worse condition (reference the pictures). This is very unsanitary; a brand new item should not have hair, grease, or dirt on it.
Customer image
Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Hair/dirt/greasy fingerprints on book
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 2, 2021
The book was not in new condition as advertised. There were multiple pieces of hair coming out of the pages, greasy fingerprints (It appears someone was eating something greasy while packaging the book), and dirt on both sides of the cover. I was very disgusted considering this book was supposed to replace the first book that came, which had greasy fingerprints that were smeared across the cover. I didn’t take pictures of the first book because I wrote it off as a one-time occurrence. So I ordered a replacement. Yet this replacement book arrived in even worse condition (reference the pictures). This is very unsanitary; a brand new item should not have hair, grease, or dirt on it.
Images in this review
Customer image Customer image Customer image Customer image Customer image
Customer imageCustomer imageCustomer imageCustomer imageCustomer image
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


AB
1.0 out of 5 stars Surviving the book
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 2, 2022
Verified Purchase
What a strange and poorly written book!
The main character makes life decisions based on events in old movies and sometimes has hallucinations that she calls “movies.”
Although she obsesses about the recent murder of her college roommate, and there is a suspected serial killer near her college campus, she decides to get a ride home from a stranger whom she meets at the college ride share bulletin board.
It gets worse and ends strangely.
I read it only because it was my book club’s choice. After reading and discussing the book, all but one of us related the book a 0.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


  • ←Previous page
  • Next page→

Need customer service? Click here
‹ See all details for Survive the Night: A Novel

Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations
›
View or edit your browsing history
After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Back to top
Get to Know Us
  • Careers
  • Amazon Newsletter
  • About Amazon
  • Accessibility
  • Sustainability
  • Press Center
  • Investor Relations
  • Amazon Devices
  • Amazon Science
Make Money with Us
  • Sell products on Amazon
  • Sell apps on Amazon
  • Supply to Amazon
  • Protect & Build Your Brand
  • Become an Affiliate
  • Become a Delivery Driver
  • Start a Package Delivery Business
  • Advertise Your Products
  • Self-Publish with Us
  • Host an Amazon Hub
  • ›See More Ways to Make Money
Amazon Payment Products
  • Amazon Visa
  • Amazon Store Card
  • Amazon Secured Card
  • Amazon Business Card
  • Shop with Points
  • Credit Card Marketplace
  • Reload Your Balance
  • Amazon Currency Converter
Let Us Help You
  • Amazon and COVID-19
  • Your Account
  • Your Orders
  • Shipping Rates & Policies
  • Amazon Prime
  • Returns & Replacements
  • Manage Your Content and Devices
  • Your Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
  • Help
English
United States
Amazon Music
Stream millions
of songs
Amazon Advertising
Find, attract, and
engage customers
6pm
Score deals
on fashion brands
AbeBooks
Books, art
& collectibles
ACX
Audiobook Publishing
Made Easy
Sell on Amazon
Start a Selling Account
 
Amazon Business
Everything For
Your Business
Amazon Fresh
Groceries & More
Right To Your Door
AmazonGlobal
Ship Orders
Internationally
Home Services
Experienced Pros
Happiness Guarantee
Amazon Ignite
Sell your original
Digital Educational
Resources
Amazon Web Services
Scalable Cloud
Computing Services
 
Audible
Listen to Books & Original
Audio Performances
Book Depository
Books With Free
Delivery Worldwide
Box Office Mojo
Find Movie
Box Office Data
ComiXology
Thousands of
Digital Comics
DPReview
Digital
Photography
Fabric
Sewing, Quilting
& Knitting
 
Goodreads
Book reviews
& recommendations
IMDb
Movies, TV
& Celebrities
IMDbPro
Get Info Entertainment
Professionals Need
Kindle Direct Publishing
Indie Digital & Print Publishing
Made Easy
Amazon Photos
Unlimited Photo Storage
Free With Prime
Prime Video Direct
Video Distribution
Made Easy
 
Shopbop
Designer
Fashion Brands
Amazon Warehouse
Great Deals on
Quality Used Products
Whole Foods Market
America’s Healthiest
Grocery Store
Woot!
Deals and
Shenanigans
Zappos
Shoes &
Clothing
Ring
Smart Home
Security Systems
 
eero WiFi
Stream 4K Video
in Every Room
Blink
Smart Security
for Every Home
Neighbors App
Real-Time Crime
& Safety Alerts
Amazon Subscription Boxes
Top subscription boxes – right to your door
PillPack
Pharmacy Simplified
Amazon Renewed
Like-new products
you can trust
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Notice
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
© 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates