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Survive the Night: A Novel Paperback – August 30, 2022
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One of New York Times Book Review's "summer reads guaranteed to make your heart thump and your skin crawl"; An Amazon Best of the Month Pick; Named a must-read summer book by The Washington Post, USA Today, Vulture, BuzzFeed, Forbes, Entertainment Weekly, CNN, New York Post, Good Housekeeping, E!, PopSugar, CrimeReads, Thrillist, and BookRiot.
It’s November 1991. Nirvana's in the tape deck, George H. W. Bush is in the White House, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer.
Josh Baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board, each looking to share the long drive home to Ohio. Both have good reasons for wanting to get away. For Charlie, it’s guilt and grief over the shocking murder of her best friend, who became the third victim of the man known as the Campus Killer. For Josh, it’s to help care for his sick father—or so he says.
The longer she sits in the passenger seat, the more Charlie notices there’s something suspicious about Josh, from the holes in his story about his father to how he doesn’t want her to see inside the trunk. As they travel an empty, twisty highway in the dead of night, an increasingly anxious Charlie begins to think she’s sharing a car with the Campus Killer. Is Josh truly dangerous? Or is Charlie’s jittery mistrust merely a figment of her movie-fueled imagination?
One thing is certain—Charlie has nowhere to run and no way to call for help. Trapped in a terrifying game of cat and mouse played out on pitch-black roads and in neon-lit parking lots, Charlie knows the only way to win is to survive the night.
- Print length352 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherDutton
- Publication dateAugust 30, 2022
- Dimensions5.51 x 0.73 x 8.24 inches
- ISBN-100593183185
- ISBN-13978-0593183182
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Get to know this book
What's it about?
A college student shares a long drive home with a man who may be a serial killer.Popular highlight
She’d been pretty once, before guilt and grief had sunk their claws into her.294 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
It’s a Russian doll of remorse. Guilt tucked into guilt that she’s ruining the only thing that has yet to be ruined.282 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
A constant pumping on the brakes of her existence. Now it’s time to start moving again, even if that movement is really just running away.277 Kindle readers highlighted this
From the Publisher
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Final Girls | The Last Time I Lied | Lock Every Door | Home Before Dark | Survive the Night | |
Read more from Riley Sager | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
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The House Across the Lake | The Only One Left | |
More from Riley Sager | ✓ | ✓ |
Editorial Reviews
Review
—USA Today
“A fast-paced, twisty thriller....A first-rate read....But then, with four final pages, Sager reveals a final surprise that is stunning yet somehow feels exactly right.”
—Associated Press
“With every mile, the tension rises toward a deliciously unbearable pitch.”
—Good Housekeeping
"Nineties-era nostalgia (Nirvana, pay phones, cassettetapes) paves the way for a truly haunting potential kidnapping story."
—Entertainment Weekly
“If a scary, creepy, don’t-turn-out-the-lights thriller is on your summer reading agenda, who better to turn to than Sager?”
—CNN
“Riley Sager’s ability to create suspense is truly impressive.”
—Zibby Owens, Katie Couric Media
“I couldn’t put down Survive the Night and I didn’t want to try. Riley Sager’s terrific heroine Charlie Jordan starts this thriller on the ride of her life and the action accelerates on every page, through twists and turns into the darkness. A high-octane narrative fueled by intensity, emotion, and danger, Survive the Night puts Riley Sager in the driver’s seat of modern crime fiction.”
—Lisa Scottoline, #1 bestselling author of What Happened to the Bennetts
“Noir at its best! This one-sitting-read of a thriller will grab you in the opening pages and simply not let go until the very (and very shocking) end. Author Sager is a master of creating both psychological suspense and richly drawn characters, both good, bad and somewhere in the middle. Bravo!”
—Jeffery Deaver, author of The Final Twist
"Riley Sager's premise is bone-chilling—what if you caught a ride from a guy who could be a serial killer?—and his writing is propulsive and gripping. Woven throughout is a clever nod to classic movies, which adds to the intricate architecture of this absolutely terrific book."
—Sarah Pekkanen, #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of You Are Not Alone
"The perfect summer binge!"
—J.D. Barker, New York Times bestselling author of A Caller's Game
"Sager excels at playing with reader expectations and in concocting plausible, gut-wrenching twists.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“[Sager’s novels are] all creepily atmospheric, easy to read without being fluffy, and fun as hell. Each book has also been better and more confident than the last.”
—Vulture, “46 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2021”
"Sager’s signature blend of campy homage and tense thrills is on full display in his new story of suspicion and doubt at 60 miles an hour.”
—CrimeReads "Most Anticipated Crime Books of 2021: Summer Reading Edition"
"Seatbelt mandatory! Like hurtling down a twisty road, Survive the Night is a heart-pounding ride that will keep you guessing at every dizzying turn. Ingenious, surprising, and so much fun."
—Taylor Adams, author of No Exit
"Compulsively readable, pulse-poundingly tense with ingenious, gasp-worthy twists, Survive the Night is Hitchcockian film noir magic wrapped inside one of Sager’s signature propulsive plots. A story about a ride share gone terribly wrong, this white-knuckle thriller kidnapped me and held me hostage as I raced through to its deliciously satisfying climax.”
—May Cobb, author of The Hunting Wives
“Sager has been turning out one fine thriller after another since Final Girls, his 2017 breakout novel, and this one just might be his best yet. It's certainly his most complex.”
—Booklist
“All of Riley Sager’s books take an established horror or thriller trope and give it a smart, knowing twist. This time, it’s a creepy hitchhiking situation (with the added bonus of a ’90s setting!).”
—BookPage, “2021 Preview: most anticipated mysteries & thrillers”
"A love letter to final girls and badass cinematic heroines, Sager’s new tale ripples with taut pacing, nail-biting tension, and a series of twists that will leave you whiplashed. I devoured this book."
—Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows
“If you’ve read any Riley Sager books in the past then you know there are bound to be twists in this story that you won’t see coming no matter how hard you try, and Survive the Night is filled with them. Another killer book (pun definitely intended!). I couldn’t put this down; it may be Sager’s best one yet.”
—Suspense Magazine
"Riley Sager’s scintillating Survive the Night reads like Die Hard in a car.”
—The Providence Journal, "August Must-Read Thrillers"
“Sager’s books are always a thrilling treat, and this is absolutely no exception.”
—The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
“Sager constantly keeps the reader off-kilter with clever twists and turns that are as terrifying as they are believable, while blurring the line between Charlie’s experiences and her fantasies.”
—South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“The action at which we finally arrive makes the long, strange trip more than worthwhile.”
—The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Like Charlie, readers will find themselves distrusting their own perceptions as the book navigates an ever-windier route through a dark and dangerous landscape.”
—Bookreporter
“Sager is at the absolute height of his powers…The paranoia dripping from every page is palpable, making for a compulsive read.”
—Murder & Mayhem
"The best way to cool down during the hot summer months? Thrills and chills! Riley Sager is delivering both in his new novel."
—Bookish
“Riley Sager delivers an utterly convincing, genuinely engrossing story.”
—Mystery Scene Magazine
“Sager’s tight focus on the pair as they plow through the night, stopping at lonely diners and gas stations that could be escape routes for Charlie, cranks up the stress level to 11. Gen X readers with fond memories of phone booths, analog message boards, and Nirvana will be especially taken with this nerved-up, noir-ish road trip into the past.”
—Air Mail
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
INT. DORM ROOM-DAY
Staying isn't an option.
That's why Charlie has agreed to get into a car with a perfect stranger.
She's promised Robbie-promised herself as well-that she'll bolt if anything about the situation strikes her as shady. One can't be too careful. Not these days.
Not after what happened to Maddy.
Charlie has already steeled herself for flight, mentally listing all the scenarios in which she should run. If the car looks battered and/or has tinted windows. If someone else is inside, no matter the excuse. If he seems too eager to depart or, on the flip side, not hurried enough. She's sworn-to Robbie, to herself, to Maddy, whom she still sometimes talks to even though she's now two months in the grave-that a single shiver of apprehension will send her running back to the dorm.
She doubts it will come to that. Because he seems nice. Friendly. Definitely not the type of guy who'd do the things that had been done to Maddy and the others.
Besides, he's not a stranger. Not completely. They'd met once before, in front of the ride board in the campus commons, dwarfed by that wall of flyers from students desperate to get home and those eager to drive them there in exchange for gas money. Charlie had just put up her own flyer-carefully printed, her phone number placed on each meticulously cut tab-when he appeared at her side.
"You're going to Youngstown?" he said, his gaze flicking from her to the flyer and back again.
Charlie hesitated before responding. A post-Maddy habit. She never willingly engaged with people she didn't know. Not until she had a grasp on their intentions. He could have been making small talk. Or trying to pick her up. Unlikely, but not entirely out of the realm of possibility. It was how she met Robbie, after all. She'd been pretty once, before guilt and grief had sunk their claws into her.
"Yeah," she eventually said, after his gaze returned to the ride board, making her decide he was there for the same reason she was. "That where you're heading?"
"Akron," he said.
Hearing that made Charlie stand at attention. Not quite Youngstown, but close enough. A quick stop on the way to his final destination.
"Rider or driver?" she asked.
"Driver. Was hoping to find someone willing to split the cost of gas."
"I could be that someone," she said, letting him look her over, giving him the chance to decide if she was the type of person he'd want to spend hours alone in a car with. She knew what kind of vibe she gave off-an angry dourness that would have made guys like him tell her to smile more if she hadn't looked like she'd punch them for doing so. Doom and gloom hovered over her like a rain cloud.
Charlie studied him right back. He appeared to be a few years older than the typical student, although that could have been a product of his size. He was big. Tall, broad-chested, square-jawed. Wearing jeans and an Olyphant University sweatshirt, he looked, Charlie thought, like the hero of a forties campus comedy. Or the villain in an eighties one.
She assumed he was a grad student like Robbie. One of those people who got a taste for college life and decided they never wanted to leave. But he had nice hair, something Charlie still noticed even though she'd let her own grow limp and scraggly. Great smile, too, which he flashed when he said, "Possibly. When were you looking to leave?"
Charlie gestured to her flyer and the four letters placed all-caps in the dead center of the page.
ASAP
He tore a tab from the bottom of the flyer, leaving a gap that brought to Charlie's mind a missing tooth. The thought made her shudder.
The man placed the torn-off tab in his wallet. "I'll see what I can do."
Charlie hadn't expected a response. It was the middle of the week in the middle of November, with Thanksgiving just ten days away. No one was looking to leave campus then. No one but her.
But that night, her phone rang, and a vaguely familiar voice on the other end said, "Hi, it's Josh. From the ride board."
Charlie, who'd been sitting in her dorm staring at the half of room that had once been filled with all things Maddy but now sat lifeless and bare, amused herself by responding, "Hi, Josh from the ride board."
"Hi-" Josh paused, no doubt checking the paper tab in his hand for the name of the girl he was calling. "Charlie. I just wanted to tell you that I can leave tomorrow, but it won't be until late. Nine o'clock. If you want, there's a space in the passenger seat with your name on it."
"I'll take it."
And that was that.
Now tomorrow is today, and Charlie is having one last look at the dorm room she'll most likely never come back to. Her gaze sweeps slowly across the room, making sure to take in every inch of the place she's called home for the past three years. The cluttered desks. The beds piled with pillows. The strand of fairy lights Maddy had put up their first Christmas and never bothered to take down, now in full twinkle.
The golden sunlight of an autumn afternoon streams through the window, giving everything a sepia glow and making Charlie feel both joy and sadness. Nostalgia. That beautiful ache.
Someone enters the room behind her.
Maddy.
Charlie smells her perfume. Chanel No. 5.
"What a dump," Maddy says.
A melancholy smile plays across Charlie's lips. "I think I-"
"Charlie."
INT. DORM ROOM-NIGHT
The sound of Robbie's voice from the open door breaks the spell like a finger snap. In a blink, the room has lost its magic. The desks are bare. The beds are stripped. The fairy lights remain, only they're unplugged and have been that way for months. At the window, Charlie sees not warm sunlight but a stark rectangle of darkness.
As for Maddy, she's long gone. Not even the faintest trace of her perfume remains.
"It's nine," Robbie says. "We should get going."
Charlie stands in the center of the room, still momentarily lost. How strange it is-how utterly jarring-to go from the picture in her mind's eye to harsh reality. There's no happiness left in this room. She sees that now. It's just a white-walled box that contains only memories now soured by tragedy.
Robbie watches her from the doorway. He knows what just happened.
A movie in her mind.
That Robbie's never been bothered by them is one of the things she loves about him. He knows her story, knows her obsessions, understands the rest.
"Did you take your pill today?"
Charlie swallows and nods. "Yeah."
"And you're all packed?" Robbie says, as if she's simply going away for the weekend and not, in all likelihood, forever.
"I think so. It wasn't easy."
She had spent most of the day sorting her things between two piles: take or leave behind. She ended up taking very little. Just two suitcases with all her clothes stuffed inside and a box filled with mementos and her beloved VHS tapes. The rest went into boxes conscientiously placed in the middle of the room, making it easier for the custodian assigned to dispose of it all when they realize she's never coming back.
"You can take more time if you need it," Robbie says. "You don't have to leave tonight. And I can still drive if you're willing to wait until the weekend."
Charlie understands. But to her, waiting-even just a few more days-is as unthinkable as staying.
"I think it's too late to back out now."
She grabs her coat. Well, Maddy's coat. A hand-me-down from her grandmother accidentally left behind when the rest of her belongings were carted away. Charlie found it under Maddy's bed and claimed it as her own. It's vintage-from the fifties-and uncharacteristically dramatic for Charlie, who usually favors anything that makes her blend in with the crowd. Made of bright red wool, the coat has a massive collar shaped like butterfly wings that come together as Charlie buttons it to her chin.
Robbie takes her suitcases, leaving Charlie cradling the box and the JanSport backpack she uses instead of a purse. She doesn't lock the door behind her. Why bother? Her last act before departing is to wipe away the names scrawled in erasable marker on the whiteboard affixed to the door.
Charlie + Maddy
The words leave a smudge of ink on her palm.
They depart quickly and quietly, unnoticed by the other girls on her floor, most of whom are gathered in the TV lounge down the hall. Charlie hears the braying voice of Roseanne Barr, followed by canned laughter. Even though she never understood her dorm's television obsession-why watch TV when movies are so much better?-tonight Charlie welcomes the distraction. Her plan is to skip the goodbyes. Although she used to be good friends with many girls on her floor, that all ended the moment Maddy died. Now it's best to simply vanish. Here one moment, gone the next. Just like Maddy herself.
"This will be good for you," Robbie says as they ride the elevator to the first floor. Charlie notes the hollowness of his voice, making it clear he thinks the opposite. "A little time away is all you need."
In the three days since Charlie announced her intention to leave school, Robbie has remained sweetly in denial about what it means for them as a couple. Despite promises to be true to each other and hastily made plans for Robbie to visit Youngstown over Christmas break, Charlie knows the reality of the situation.
Their relationship is ending.
Not in a both-going-our-separate-ways way. Definitely not in a Rhett Butler "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" way. But Charlie understands that some kind of breakup will be the inevitable result. She'll be two states and four hundred miles away. He'll still be at Olyphant, remaining, to use Maddy's phrase after she'd first met him, a catch. Robbie Wilson, the campus math nerd and assistant swimming coach with the Richard Gere chin and the Brad Pitt abs. Already, girls are circling, eager to take Charlie's place. She can only assume one of them will eventually succeed.
If that's the price she must pay to get out of this place, then so be it. Her only hope is that she won't eventually come to regret it.
Product details
- Publisher : Dutton (August 30, 2022)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 352 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0593183185
- ISBN-13 : 978-0593183182
- Item Weight : 9.9 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.51 x 0.73 x 8.24 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #9,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #463 in Murder Thrillers
- #945 in Psychological Thrillers (Books)
- #1,706 in Suspense Thrillers
- Customer Reviews:
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Survive the Night: A Novel
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About the author
![Riley Sager](https://cdn.statically.io/img/m.media-amazon.com/images/S/amzn-author-media-prod/9ovkchup5nm6u5dk6v3q35fb0k._SY600_.jpg)
Riley Sager is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels, most recently The House Across the Lake and Survive the Night. His first novel, Final Girls, has been published in more than 30 countries and won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover Novel. His latest book, The Only One Left, will be published in 2023 by Dutton Books.
A native of Pennsylvania, he now lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the reading experience great and awesome. They also say the book is predictable, cliche, and poorly written. Customers have mixed opinions about the complexity, saying it keeps them guessing and easy to figure out, while others say it becomes increasingly convoluted and exhausting to keep shifting gears. They have mixed feelings about the plot, with some finding it great and realistic, while other find it unrealistic and claustrophobic. They mention the pacing, with others saying it starts off slow.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book great, awesome, entertaining, and addicting. They also say the pacing is perfect and keeps them turning the pages to find out what happens next. Readers also mention that the narrator trope works well in the story.
"...And it was so deliciously perfect, those pieces dropping into place were wholly satisfying...." Read more
"The book is okay, not terrible, but not great. It's really convenient but I guess that makes sense at the end....... conveniently" Read more
"Let’s get one thing straight - this book is NOT Final Girls quality...." Read more
"...one, although I did predict the “who” eventually, it was still a very good and suspenseful story !!" Read more
Customers are mixed about the plot. Some find the promised plot intriguing, visual, and satisfying. They also say it's unpredictable and hard to finish. Others however, feel the storyline is unrealistic, ridiculous, and hard.
"...If you enjoy cat-and-mouse suspense and well-plotted fiction, don’t miss this slick, edge-of-your seat thrill ride!" Read more
"...The end picked up, and I absolutely loved the big twists at the end, and I loved the ending!..." Read more
"...the twists and turns of all these books, I just felt the twist took too long to get there." Read more
"The hype for this book drew me in. Anticipated a fast-paced thriller with deserved homage to classic suspense movies as a conversational backdrop...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the pacing of the book. Some mention it's fast paced and an enjoyable quick read, while others say it starts off a bit slow.
"...I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a fast paced, “locked room”, 90s nostalgic summer read!..." Read more
"...Although there was an extremely slow start, there were then a billion plot twists within a very short period of time at the end and it was difficult..." Read more
"...The story has a quick pace and the suspense and tension builds as the story progresses leading to a thrilling climax and its foreseeable ending...." Read more
"...The story started strong for me, got a little slow in the middle, and then felt like it started smacking me in the face with twists for the last..." Read more
Customers are mixed about the complexity of the book. Some mention it keeps them guessing, has an interesting concept, and is exciting. However, others say the story veers off and becomes increasingly convoluted, difficult to care about, repetitive, and has too much exposition.
"...Right here, the story veers off and becomes increasingly convoluted. Charlie is immediately wary of Josh, yet she still gets in his car...." Read more
"...But they’re not like life, which is wonderful, beautiful, and amazing in a different way.”" Read more
"...many different directions that felt too self-referential and frustrating to decode as reality completely folded in on itself...." Read more
"Easy, fast read. Several surprises….not a book I will remember for long or recommend for friends to read. Average story…." Read more
Customers find the characters in the book unrealistic.
"...Additionally, Maddy’s over-the-top character was stereotypical, narcissistic and difficult to care about...." Read more
"...it was a bit wordy and unnecessarily long at times and the main character is loathsome. So annoying and flat out stupid at times...." Read more
"...Great story, great scenery, good characters, twists galore and so so endings. I want to say that I did enjoy this book for the most part...." Read more
"...after red herring start popping up plus Charlie is just not a very likeable character...." Read more
Customers find the book predictable, cliche, and poorly written. They also say the characters aren't interesting, lacking in basic common sense, and annoying. Readers also mention that the book is too imaginative and self-referential.
"...I have liked Sager’s other books, but this one was a bit absurd...." Read more
"...of how wildly it swung in many different directions that felt too self-referential and frustrating to decode as reality completely folded in on..." Read more
"...So annoying and flat out stupid at times. I can’t see any actual human being making the decisions she makes but I guess that’s why it’s fiction...." Read more
"...It started out interesting, but then dragged a little for me in the middle, and I did not know where this story was going...." Read more
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Wow. Just wow! I devour books by Riley Sager, so it was a no-brainer to request Survive the Night from NetGalley. I never know what to expect when I’m reading a Sager book. Each is so different, yet all are gripping and engrossing. Strangely, I had reservations about Survive the Night. I’m not a big fan of serial killer fiction, but, hey—it was Sager, one of my auto-buy authors—so I was more than willing to take a chance. I should have known he’d knock it into the stratosphere.
Charlie needs a ride from college to her hometown. She’s desperate to put the past behind her after her best friend becomes the third victim of a serial murderer known as the Campus Killer. She meets Josh, also headed to her home state of Ohio, and agrees to ride with him, sharing expenses along the way. But during the long, dark night over deserted back roads, Charlie begins to suspect Josh isn’t who he claims to be. Too much of what he says doesn’t add up, each successive hiccup making her think she may be sharing the car with the Campus Killer, a man who has reason to want her dead. She caught a glimpse of him in the shadows before he killed her friend.
Although this is a book about a serial killer, there is nothing gory or graphic about it. The operational word here is TENSION—with a capital T.
The story plays out over the course of several nail-biting hours during which the author had me second-guessing myself multiple times. I waffled between frustration, fear, and irritation over Charlie’s actions. Sometimes I was cheering for her, other times I wanted to shake sense into her. It wasn’t until the end when everything falls into place that I realized how deftly I’d been played.
I also loved the use of old movies in the story (Charlie is a film student) and Charlie’s penchant of separating from reality for brief spans for “movies in her mind.” I did spot one of the “reveals” before the last act, but by then, I believe it was expected. And it was so deliciously perfect, those pieces dropping into place were wholly satisfying.
Survive the Night reinforces why I devour books by Sager. He’s a master of suspense who crosses T’s and dots I’s with such subtlety the reader doesn’t even realize how skillfully he orchestrats threads in the background—until they explode in your face.
Definitely among my favorite reads of the year. If you enjoy cat-and-mouse suspense and well-plotted fiction, don’t miss this slick, edge-of-your seat thrill ride!
I was not sure I would enjoy this one as much as I have enjoyed all his other books. It started out interesting, but then dragged a little for me in the middle, and I did not know where this story was going. The end picked up, and I absolutely loved the big twists at the end, and I loved the ending! I am really looking forward to his next book, coming out in a couple of weeks!
Right here, the story veers off and becomes increasingly convoluted. Charlie is immediately wary of Josh, yet she still gets in his car. What woman would actually do that, knowing the lengthy drive ahead without much access to help or assistance? She abandons her intuition entirely. As the drive stretches on, Charlie’s apprehension intensifies, but she passes up numerous chances to get away. Again, why? The story only becomes more strange, and then silly.
I have liked Sager’s other books, but this one was a bit absurd. Also, Charlie was supposed to be a strong character, but she often doubted herself and her own mind. Not a good combo for getting into a vehicle with a man that one doesn’t know. Additionally, Maddy’s over-the-top character was stereotypical, narcissistic and difficult to care about. This was a convoluted, implausible tale that had tremendous potential.
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I’ve read other books from the same author, which was the reason I bought this one. However, the more I read this title, the more I noticed the similarities between the main characters - always a woman, always naive, always a victim in every way.
It made me see the author in a different light and now I’m not sure I can’t bear the book (or him. And yes, it’s a he and not a she, the author). I stopped half-way and I’m trying to get back to it just to finish it and properly complain haha. Pardon me.
There are also a lot of moments when the female character digresses and just trips hardcore in her unusual “movie blackouts” condition. That gets very boring after the first time.
My opinion is: if you’ve read two books from Riley, that’s enough. (Read the haunted house one, it’s by far the best and the one with best reviews anyway.)
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