So, Riley Sager's annual contribution to horror and thriller literature finally arrived at the library, so I spent the past few days getting through Survive the Night.
We open on Charlie, an upperclassman at Olyphant University in New Jersey, trying to find a ride home to Youngstown before Thanksgiving, following the murder of her best friend by The Campus Killer. She ends up getting an offer from Josh, who has reason to go to Toledo. As we get to know Charlie prior to her departure, we find the first of Sager's recurring themes, Charlie's parents are dead, and she was raised by her grandmother, the former Hollywood bit player. As such, Charlie tends to hallucinate herself in movie scenes.
Anyway, Charlie gets in the car with Josh and a box of her stuff. And for the next few hours, we find out Josh is lying and occasionally trying to gaslight her. Charlie comes to suspect him of being the Campus Killer. Which makes the long drive through the Poconos much more interesting.
Anyway, by the end, we know how each of the four major characters are lying, and we know what really happened. Sort of. For much of it, Charlie is a fairly unreliable narrator due to her hallucinations. I was also kind of annoyed that I figured two of the major plot twists not long after starting.
On the other hand, the pacing with this one is probably the best of any of Sager's books, and only has one major plot point where the suspension of disbelief is in orbit around the moon.
It's a fun read, and if you've enjoyed Sager's other books, this one is in a similar vein.
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