diff --git a/src/syntax/lexer.rs b/src/syntax/lexer.rs
index 4d25672..0370041 100644
--- a/src/syntax/lexer.rs
+++ b/src/syntax/lexer.rs
@@ -103,6 +103,12 @@ impl<'a> Lexer<'a> {
                 }
                 b'\\' => {
                     self.pos += 1;
+                    if self.bytes.get(self.pos) == Some(&b'\n') {
+                        // An escaped newline is not a JSON continuation,
+                        // so the newline still terminates the line.
+                        self.error(start, "unterminated string");
+                        break;
+                    }
                     if self.pos < self.bytes.len() {
                         self.advance_char();
                     }
@@ -259,6 +265,15 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(errors.len(), 1);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn backslash_before_newline_ends_the_string() {
+        let (tokens, errors) = tokenize("\"C:\\\ntrue");
+        assert_eq!(tokens[0].kind, SyntaxKind::Str);
+        assert_eq!(tokens[0].text, "\"C:\\");
+        assert_eq!(errors.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(tokens.last().unwrap().kind, SyntaxKind::True);
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn invalid_number_reports_error() {
         let (_, errors) = tokenize("1.2.3");