Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: Survive the Night by Riley Sager by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Oldies But Goodies

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Book Review: Survive the Night by Riley Sager

by Karen S. Wiesner

  

Survive the Night was published in 2021, written by Riley Sager (pen name of author Todd Ritter). This suspense thriller has an intriguing premise with the "protagonist" realizing she may be sharing a car with a murderer. The basic story is that Charlie is a college student studying film. Her best friend Maddy was recently murdered by the campus serial killer. Par for the course, Charlie has more than a few personal issues, namely being prone to hallucinations whenever she's thrust into an emotional situation. She is also experiencing guilt because, the night of Maddy's murder, Charlie didn't want to stick around the club they were at because her friend was ignoring her. Because she can't handle what's going on, she decides to bail on everything--she's dropping out of the university, leaving behind her boyfriend Robbie, and going home. In one of the most boneheaded moments maybe in the history of fiction, she decides to share a ride with a complete stranger. Um, the college is being stalked by a serial killer. How stupid you gotta be? Seriously? 

I put "protagonist" in quotes in the last paragraph because the very nature of each one of Sager's "unreliable narrator" books defies having good guys and bad guys. Never believe a thing anyone says or thinks, or take their testimony at face value, is the foundation on which these stories are built on. I go into the reading knowing that upfront. Also, having read all but one of his other offerings utilizing this pen name, I also start every new tale by asking what the most insane twist could be on the basis of the scenario presented. My mind went crazy with this one and I thought I'd figured it all out, but even my wildest imaginings didn't prepare me for the windy path Sager led me on. Each time I thought the twist had worked itself out, another harrowing corkscrew was introduced, turning everything I thought I knew previously right on its head. 

Alas, I never really got past the "too stupid to live" introduction, with Charlie getting into the car with a stranger who could very well be the campus serial killer. Even with all the whipsaw action and unexpected surprises, nothing could save the story for me because of the foolishness of the protagonist. Why didn't the author instead have the guy giving Charlie a ride home be someone another friend recommended? At least she would have given the appearance that she wasn't a complete idiot to get in the car of a virtual stranger. Maybe if not for that fatal mistake, I could have really enjoyed all the nail-biting tension to come after it because it's absolutely not what I expected from start to finish. Nothing was as it seemed at any point in the story. 

Survive the Night was definitely not a favorite of his for me, though I usually love "closed setting" horror and mystery tales. If other readers can put aside the shaky premise of Charlie's brainless, initial decision, maybe this hair raiser would live up to the potential it otherwise had. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Find out more about her books and see her art here: http://www.facebook.com/KarenWiesnerAuthor

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/