“Sometimes you can’t simultaneously be smart, brave, and careful. Sometimes you need to choose one.”
Survive the Night is a 2021 bestselling mystery thriller and one of the best books by Riley Sager. The story follows Charlie Jordan, a young woman who may or may not be being driven across the country by a serial killer. Behind the wheel is Josh Baxter, a stranger who Charlie met on a college ride-share board. They share their backstories and delicately avoid the topic dominating the news. The Campus Killer, who had already tied up and stabbed three students, has just struck again. As their journey unfolds, Charlie begins to notice strange discrepancies in Josh’s story. But, as she plans her escape from the man she suspects to be a killer, she may find herself unwittingly becoming his next victim. If you love stories of road trips, tense claustrophobic atmospheres and unreliable narrators join us at What We Reading for the best thriller books like Survive the Night!
The Last Time I Lied – Riley Sager
Kicking off our list of the best books like Survive the Night is another one of Riley Sager’s most gripping thrillers, The Last Time I Lied. Fifteen years ago, summer camper Emma Davis watched sleepily as her three cabin mates snuck out of their cabin in the middle of the night. It was the last time both she and anyone else, ever saw them again. Now a hotshot artist in the present-day, Emma catches the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the wealthy owner of the same camp Nightingale where she was once a counsellor.
When Francesca implores Emma to return to the camp as a painting counsellor, she reluctantly agrees, believing that it might well be an opportunity to find closure and move on. Yet it soon becomes clear that all is not well at the camp. Emma is suddenly plagued by resurfacing memories from the past, as well as a number of cryptic clues behind Nightingale’s sinister history. And, when three girls suddenly vanish, it appears as though history may be about to repeat itself.
No Exit – Taylor Adams
Darby Thorne is a college student who has found herself stranded by a blizzard at a rest stop along the highway on the way to visit her sick mother. With the weather outside showing no signs of easing, she is forced to hunker down with four complete strangers for the night. Then she stumbles upon a little girl locked inside one of their parked cars.
There’s no cell phone reception, no telephone and no way out because of the snow. She also has no idea which of the strangers around her is the kidnapper. Who is the little girl? Why has she been abducted? And how can Darby save her? Like Survive the Night, Taylor Adams’ No Exit is a heart-pumping thriller brimming with high-stakes twists and turns.
I Am Watching You – Teresa Driscoll
When Ella Longfield overhears two attractive young men flirting with teenage girls on a train, she dismisses it as nothing out of the ordinary. That is until her maternal instincts are pricked when she realises the men are fresh out of prison. But, just as she is about to call for help, she is stopped by someone. The next day, she awakes to the news that one of the girls, Anne Ballard, has vanished.
A year on, and Anne is still missing. Ella is wracked with guilt over the whole situation, knowing that she could have prevented it from happening. She’s begun to receive threatening letters ahead of the anniversary. The sort of letters that make her suspect that even those closest to her have things to hide about what really happened that fateful night. Fast-paced and utterly gripping, Teresa Driscoll’s I Am Watching You is one of the best follow-ups for anyone who loved Survive the Night.
He Started It – Samantha Downing
Beth, Portia and Eddie Morgan haven’t all been together in years. For good reason. Yet, when their affluent grandfather dies and leaves a cryptic final message in his last will and testament, the siblings and their partners are forced to come together for a cross-country road trip to complete his last wish and get their hands on their inheritance.
But, this awkward family road trip becomes even harder when every member is revealed to be hiding dark secrets and attempting to forget a painful memory. A man in a black truck is following them, and one of the family is a cold-blooded killer with a body in the trunk. He Started It is another book like Survive the Night that uses a road trip to create a claustrophobic-feeling mystery thriller.
The Perfect Stranger – Megan Miranda
Another one of the best books like Survive the Night about the mystery surrounding a stranger, Megan Miranda’s The Perfect Stranger begins with struggling journalist Leah Stevens running into her old friend, Emmy Grey. Both women are keen on making fresh starts and agree to move to Pennsylvania together. Their new start is threatened, however, when an elderly woman is assaulted and Emmy disappears mere days later.
Determined to uncover her friend’s whereabouts, Leah works with a handsome young police officer named Kyle Donovan. But, with no friends, family or digital footprint to speak of, their investigation soon leads to them questioning whether there was ever an Emmy Grey at all. To save the remaining credibility she has left, Leah must confront old demons, work out who she can truly trust and clear her own name.
Before I Go To Sleep – S.J. Watson
S.J. Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep follows Christine Lucas, a woman who suffers from anterograde amnesia, meaning that every night she loses her memory when she falls asleep. She awakes with zero recollection of who she is or what has happened in her life. To aid this, she keeps a journal that she, her doctor and her husband, Ben, rely on to piece together her life.
But, as Christine starts uncovering more about her past through her journal and therapy sessions, she begins to realise that not everything is as it seems and that even the people closest to her may be withholding dark secrets from her. Like Survive the Night, Before I Go to Sleep utilises memory issues, constant suspense and plenty of twists to create a paranoia-fuelled ride where no one involved can be trusted.
The Girl On The Train – Paula Hawkins
Rachel jumps on the same commuter train every morning. She knows it waits at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of houses. She’s become so acquainted with the stop that she’s even begun to feel like she knows the people who live in one of these abodes. She has taken to naming them ‘Jess and Jason’; and their life, at least from what she can tell, is perfect.
That is until one morning when Rachel sees something truly shocking. It only lasts a minute before the train moves on again, but it’s enough to leave her convinced of what she has witnessed. Rachel now finds herself with a chance of becoming a part of the lives she has so far only seen from afar. Similar to Survive the Night, Paula Hawkins’ bestselling The Girl on the Train is a gripping mystery where a woman’s obsession with uncovering the truth leads to dark secrets and a murder investigation.
Check Out The Best Books Like The Girl On The Train
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
