Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

94 reviews

travelseatsreads's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Survive the Night follows film student Charlie as she flees college after the murder of her best friend. Naturally enough with the killer still at large you think the best idea would be to hitch a ride home with a stranger rather than wait for your boyfriend, obviously? And this my friends is only the absolute tip of the iceberg when it comes to the illogical and farcical rationale in this book. I love to hate a character but omg by the end of this book I wanted to kill Charlie myself. Don't get me wrong despite the avalanche of bizarre non sensical plot twists, I had to keep reading. 

What I Liked
• The constant bewilderment wondering wtf was going to happen next
• The 90s movie and music references
• The eerie creepy and ominous feeling

What I Disliked
• Charlie! This girl...I just can't
• The complete lack of sense or logic or believability 
• Author's use of mental illness 

I've read Home Before Dark and The Last Time I Lied and really enjoyed those, so I won't let it put me off picking up another Riley Sager book but this one was definitely not for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

laceystairs's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Another great thriller from Sager.

After all the true crime I consume, this fiction felt really intense. I just kept gong because I knew Charlie was in danger and wanted her to be able to escape. 

This novel was suspenseful and dark. I really enjoyed it and so far it's my favorite thriller of 2023

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Stalking, and Gun violence

Minor: Death of parent and Cancer

noxygens's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Torture, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

fraise's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Death of parent, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Ableism, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Car accident, Cancer, Torture, Terminal illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Rape

erinbarton's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

really liked the first 2/3rds but the last third just went massively off the rails in the worst way. this unfortunately moved beyond the level of suspended disbelief i’m willing to give a book. the original premise of an unreliable narrator trying to figure out the intentions of someone whilst on a long drive with them was interesting enough i feel to not go so crazy beyond that as this ended up doing

was the diner on the way to charlie’s hometown or did she just not realise they were driving the wrong way even though she’s taken that journey numerous times? why does charlie think it’s a good idea to drive the car into water at the end because she “knows the best way to escape an underwater car”? why was she so sure that robbie wouldn’t also figure out how to escape? and why is she convinced this serial killer who has a cooling off period of over a year at a time is gonna come after her just because he killed her friend? did any of the other victims friends also die? no, so why is she convinced she will?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, and Gun violence

shelfofunread's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Violence, Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail

kayelina's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

How many times did the author use the word “movie” in this novel? My god it was like her entire personality this cinephile trait of her’s. The plot was predictable and the suspense was not suspense-ing like I know Riley can usually do and bring. Not his best.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Torture, Violence, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

Minor: Blood, Mental illness, Suicide, Cancer, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Gaslighting, Car accident, and Death of parent

elle_e_d_light's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

Charlie is by far the dumbest Sager protagonist—which is saying something because Jules (Lock Every Door) was actually shockingly dumb.

I've read nearly every Sager book, and his protagonists tend to follow a pattern: they lack a good support system, they make unbelievably stupid decisions, and they only get the man if the man is sketch. In this way, Charlie is truly the peak Sager Girl.

But hey, I guess not every heroine can be Sydney Prescott. Some have to be Tess from Barbarian, making the worst choices yet still making it out alive. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Car accident, Grief, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Gun violence

amanda_reads13's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Charlie is struggling after her friend is murdered and accepts a ride home from school from a stranger.

She spends the drive being manipulated by Josh while trying to piece together what was real and what is in her head. Due to the "movies" in her head, Charlie is a very unreliable character. I found the first half + of this book to be pretty boring. It's a lot of Charlie questioning her sanity and going back and forth of whether or not she thinks Josh is guilty. 

Towards the end of the book, it picked up a bit, but overall, I found this book pretty predictable. The twist that she was kidnapped by Maddie's grandmother was an interesting spin, but turned out to be pretty lackluster.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Gun violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

mrsmonty503's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

4.5⭐️

This was fast paced and kept me on my toes. It had turns and twists and the ending was written well. Very satisfied with this read. 

Novice Path- 
Obsidian Falls: Thriller/mystery 

#orilium

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Self harm, Death, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Violence, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt