Survive the Night by Riley Sager

Survive the Night by Riley Sager
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Moral of the story? Maybe don’t get into cars with strangers. Is that a spoiler? Ha! No. Just good advice. What starts out as a bit of slow ride with lots of introspection and self-pity turns into a fast-paced thriller that refuses to slow down. The more you read the more you realize why this had story had to take place in the 90s, think how well Home Alone would do nowadays with cell phones and the internet at Kevin’s fingertips. Doesn’t make for a compelling movie, nor would it make for a great book if we didn’t rewind twenty years to the time before we could SOS anyone with a double tap or Facebook stalk just about anyone.

This isn’t just some straightforward story, though, the wrench having something to do with the main character’s trauma-induced hallucinations or dreams that can happen at any time and make you wonder if what’s going on is really happening or just a figment of her imagination. How far does this dream sequence go? Is she going to wake up at the beginning of the story with Toto and the tinman by her side?

It does get a bit tedious when it comes to the decision making of the main character. Aside from the obvious frustration with someone who jumps in cars with people she doesn’t know, it really gets annoying with the continued missteps this chick takes throughout the entire story. Yes, I realize that’s part of the arc, would there be horror movies if people were actually logical and didn’t go into the basement? No, but it doesn’t make me want to smack her any less.

Overall, I was pleased with the suspense and the outcome. There were twists and turns in all the right places and the accompanying soundtrack throughout the book brings back some solid memories. Now I’m off to listen to some grunge.

An advanced copy of this book was sent to me by the publisher. The opinions are my own.


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