Riley Sager | pub June 2021 | 338 pp
Took me a bit to get used to the rhythm of this one, but once I did, the story took flight!
Charlie Jordan is broken. She lost her parents in a horrible car accident as a child and was raised by her grandmother. From a young age, shes always used movies as an escape from real life. At some point, the lines got blurred and she’s ceased being able to tell real life from movie sequences playing in her mind. #delusional
Current day, Charlie’s in college and her dorm mate and best friend has just been murdered by a campus serial killer. Because of the murder abd the part she believes she played in it, Charlie’s stopped taking her meds and has spiraled into a suicidal state. With only her boyfriend as support, Charlie decides to leave him and school, mid-semester, for home and hopefully pull herself together. Interestingly enough, while a killer is at large🤦🏾♀️, she chooses to do a ride-share with a stranger, to make it back home. From the beginning, Charlie is afraid she may be sharing a ride with her friends killer…if only she can stay out of her head and in the present to figure out whats going on.
Pros: The idea of riding in a car with a murderer and somehow keeping him entertained as you have a mental breakdown, is pretty interesting, you have to admit. I enjoyed the cat and mouse conversations between Charlie and her ride share partner Josh. And even though Charlie was mid-breakdown, as with most Sager characters, she doesn’t play the wall flower for long!
Cons: The movie aspect adds an interesting dynamic to the story. However, it didn’t help endear Charlie to me. I found it annoying and immature. At one point in the story, a character describes her as assuming knowing about movies made her smart, when instead it actually made her stupid and ignorant to how the world really works. I would agree. Charlie’s no different than people who live their life on social media, chasing popularity on the ‘gram but, failing to cultivate even a portion of that popularity into a life off-line. In the end, her failure to be present may cost her dearly.
Overall, if you’re a movie buff, this is the story for you! It references tons of scenes from old movies, none of which I recognized. With that said, if you are not a movie buff that shouldn’t deter you from reading this. Its a pretty good book with great twisty ending. Enjoy! Goodbook 17/2021.
This sounds interesting? Check out these reviews:
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
The Wife Stalker by Liv Constantine
She’s Reading Now 
This sounds very interesting
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