A review by astoriareader
Survive the Night by Riley Sager

mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

SYNOPSIS
  • It is 1991. Charlie is a college student. Her friend, Maddy, was murdered, and Charlie is having a rough time processing her friend’s death. Charlie decides she needs to withdraw from school & return home.
  • Since Charlie doesn’t have a car, she posts her information on a “ride board” at school, indicating she is looking for a ride back to Ohio. A handsome man offers to give her a ride, and she decides it’s a great idea.

MY THOUGHTS
  • Ughhh, Riley! Please stop writing women protagonists. 
  • Even women who haven’t recently had a friend murdered do not navigate the world like Charlie does. Oh, it wasn’t just having a friend recently murdered BTW – her campus has someone they’ve affectionately nicknamed “the Campus Killer”, as he preys on young women & murders them. So, obviously, the best place to find a ride is said campus from a stranger.
  • I didn’t like how Sager wrote about Charlie’s delusions. They were not relatable as well because it felt completely made up & not science=based. She “sees” movies in her mind, and she has a hard time differentiating between what a movie is in her mind versus real life.
  • None of the characters are very deep. They simply lack development.
  • Everything felt really artificial, and this is Sager’s weakest one yet.
  • Not a satisfying ending.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️yikes, unrealistically written woman protagonist. 
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