To be honest, I expected more from this book. It wasn’t boring, it just seemed it took forever to get through. I might not have been the right audience for this one. Most of the narrative revolve around the world of high finance at it’s finest, and what people are willing to do to others to make it to the top, which I have zero interest for. I can understand why tons of readers have enjoyed this book though: the corporate shenanigans and the sense of entitlement and greed that goes on.

The ending did surprise me (although totally unbelievable), so I’m glad I decided to read until the end. The first third of the book had my attention, building on the thrill of the Escape Room challenge that we knew was going to happen. Although the story alternates between the four members who are stuck in the elevator and Sara Hall, the second half of the book was too slow for me but did pick back up for the ending.

Overall, I could not stand many of the characters in the book, especially those who were stuck in the elevator. I liked Sara Hall’s part in the story and liked how she waited patiently to get her revenge.

I love a good locked room mystery! If that’s what this even is? This author is fantastic. She hooks you and that’s where you stay even after you’ve finished the last page!

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me wanting to keep reading. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

Escape rooms are very popular at the moment. People pay to be locked up in an 'escape room' and follow clues to find their way out.
This is the basis of Megan Goldin's book, 'The Escape Room,' but with a much more sinister intention.
Sara Hall lands the job of her dreams at the top-of-its-game, New York finance company Stanhope and Sons, beginning work on her new team of egoists, Vincent, Sam, Jules, Sylvie, and Lucy. Like all Stanhope's employees, Sara is expected to give her life to her work in return for excellent remuneration. Despite the demands on her time, Sara strikes up an unlikely friendship with her colleague, the brilliant, but eccentric Lucy.
Things however are not as they seem. When Lucy dies unexpectedly under mysterious circumstances, Sara becomes suspicious and begins to ask questions, questions that ultimately lead to a gradual unravelling of everything she has worked for.

I initially found the dual storylines of The Escape Room a little confusing, so be patient with yourself as you begin the first few chapters. What seems like a series of completely unconnected events gradually begins to make sense, as you are drawn deeper into an intriguing story of high finance, murder and revenge.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley.

This is a generic thriller. There's not much to get a grip on; it's solid, middle of the pack, airport bookstore revenge story. I've read worse, and fairly soon I'll probably forget all of the character's names. I'm guessing the author had Gillian Flynn or even Kelley Armstrong in mind. There are two timelines, a conspiracy, a murder and a cover-up. There's also paper thin characterization, and the real reason I wrote this review, several paragraphs of ableist, dehumanizing language about an autistic character. This character, Lucy, is a bundle of stereotypes about neurodivergent people. She's a math genius, terrible at social situations, doesn't make eye contact, the works. She's a caricature, and I'm actually surprised that no one pointed out how offensive her portrayal is before this book made it to publication.

But really, none of the characters in this book feel like real humans. Instead they feel like chess pieces to be moved around until it's time for the denouement. It's hard to care about them and the high finance world they inhabit when everyone is a materialistic, shallow, misogynist Wall St. remora. Bonus "relationship I don't care about" goes to Sara's fiancé Kevin, who might as well be a sock puppet for how much he matters to the plot.

I keep reading these type of books, hoping to find a spark. This one was definitely swing and miss.

This was a fun interesting story. I figured I knew who was behind it. But it was fun to listen to why it happened the way it did. The storyline and the back and forth made it even better.

This was a thrill to read! I'm a big thriller fan, and I felt that this book was on another level. I love escape rooms as well, so that added more fun for me. I felt that this was a wild ride from the start. Very fast-pace and a huge page-turner! I don't like to put many spoilers in reviews, but the plot is simple, but the characters are complex and learning about why each one was chosen to be in the escape room was intriguing. It was highly entertaining to see why that and how everything from both timelines described in the book tie together.

4 investment bankers are stuck in an elevator.... Its Friday night and they have been called back to the office to complete a team building exercise - an escape room..... they need to work through the clues together to move on to the next one and the next....... but will they get out? is something more sinister controlling the outcome?

I really enjoyed this book, fast paced, ruthless, backstabbing corporate wall street world of investment banking, eat or get eaten....

The book is told through two points of view.... The Elevator (4 bankers) and through Sara Hall an analyst who joins the firm straight out of college.

It is one hell of a thrill ride... it take revenge to the next level and I ate up every vindictive, manipulative and vengeful moment of it. I give this book a solid 4 stars

This book was something else. These people are all here for a reason and the reason why will surprise you. It kept me going and was an interesting book, but like I said it's something else. These people are evil. Flat out evil.

WOW! A GREAT mystery.

The Escape Room grabs you from the beginning and does not let go until the very end. Can't wait to read more by this author.

Synopsis:
In the lucrative world of finance, Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam are at the top of their game. They’ve mastered the art of the deal and celebrate their success in style—but a life of extreme luxury always comes at a cost.

Invited to participate in an escape room challenge as a team-building exercise, the ferociously competitive co-workers crowd into the elevator of a high-rise building, eager to prove themselves. But when the lights go off and the doors stay shut, it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary competition: they’re caught in a dangerous game of survival.

Trapped in the dark, the colleagues must put aside their bitter rivalries and work together to solve cryptic clues to break free. But as the game begins to reveal the team’s darkest secrets, they realize there’s a price to be paid for the terrible deeds they committed in their ruthless climb up the corporate ladder. As tempers fray, and the clues turn deadly, they must solve one final chilling puzzle: which one of them will kill in order to survive?

I think the reason this didn’t fully work for me was because of how it was marketed. This was marketed as a thriller, but the pace is much too slow for that. And while there are two timelines, one of which is a thrilling saga of a group of people trapped in an elevator together, that’s the less interesting of the two timelines, and most of the time that one took me out of the story. However, the timeline in the past was excellent, with great character work, and an intriguing, easy to root for lead.

Page-turner, yes. Believable, not so much. I blindly recommended this to my book club. Some loved it, some (including myself) not so much. It was entertaining, but definitely not what I was expecting. I had high hopes for this one.

I wanted this book to be a five star, but it just didn't quite hit the mark. Don't get me wrong, it was still a fun book to read, and I still had some mystery left when I came to some twists, but it moved a bit slower than I would have liked. Some of the twists were a bit too simple. However, I thought it was a really easy read, and the storyline was wonderful even if a bit predictive.

Loved getting this Arc, however I am kicking myself that it took me so long to read. This thriller is full of twists and turns.

I received a complimentary copy of this book and all opinions expressed are my own. Who doesn't love a good thriller? This is one that you don't want to put down.

I was uncertain about this book based off the description, but I'm so glad I picked it up. This was such a fun thriller with some outrageous twists and turns. I've read escape room type books before, but they were geared to teens. I enjoyed that this took place in an office setting. It almost felt claustrophobic as the workers are pitted against one another. No one is particularly likable, but I was still very invested on figuring out what was going on. Loved the ending too.

I am so mad at myself for waiting so long to read this book!! This book has it all! Mystery, murder, twists, turns and an unexpected ending. I read this book in one sitting that it is so good. I highly recommend reading this book. It was an excellent thriller!!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting premise. I recently became interested in escape rooms so I thought the idea of it taking in place in an elevator was a unique idea. At times it was a little slower than I liked, but it kept me interested.

Hmm……revenge made into a game?🤔 It was definitely an interesting read. Honestly, the writing kind of reminded me of one of those immature (teenage) films about someone receiving a message and must comply or someone dies. This was my first read of this author. I do like her writing. Sometimes it was a little slow but overall it kept me engaged.

Who is their right mind would want to participate in a work related, team-building exercise on a Friday night? Certainly not me, and not colleagues - Vincent, Jules, Sylvie and Sam. However, participation is mandatory so they aren't left much choice so they arrive at the requested location.

The four of them enter the elevator of a remote office building with tempers already rising. The express elevator ascends quickly then abruptly stops between floors. Lights out. Heat cranked high. Anxiety and anger for everyone.

Eventually they realize the challenge has begun and they are in their own little Escape Room.

The storyline kept me engaged and guessing the entire time. It was a solid read and I cannot wait to dive into more by this author.