This book is a uniquely written fast paced novel that both thriller and wall street crime fanatics will like. Full of intrigue with a twist in the end will keep you wishing for more. I was excited when St Martins Press granted me this arc for my honest review and was not disappointed! 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2 stars from me!

All I have to say is WOW. This is such an original story line and quite jaw dropping. It’s hard to write a review as I don’t want to spoil anything, this book was fabulous,

Recommendation- read this!

This book kept me up far later than I'd intended, and even had me needing to read during my lunch break. There are many words I'd use to describe this read - addictive, thrilling, throat-punch worthy!
Would I rrecomemd - yep!

What a great book! It's a unique plot, with lots of twists along the way. The writing style is interesting as well, switching back and forth between the first person account of one of the characters to a third person narrative about the others.

I literally couldn't put this book down once I got into it!

Very clever premise: four investment bankers are invited to a spur-of-the-moment, mandatory, team-building exercise - an escape room adventure that takes place completely in an elevator! The adventure begins normally with messages on an electronic screen in the elevator. Then things change when the temperature increases considerably, the space feels very small, and the colleagues begin to turn on each other. The chapters describing the elevator action alternate with chapters written from the point of view of Sara Hall, another bank employee who works with the team in the elevator. The reader learns her story and the story of another colleague, Lucy. The skillful writing keeps all these plot lines clear, understandable, and related. The characters, both likable and unlikable, are strongly drawn. The ingenious story makes this book a fun summer read. Thanks to NetGalley for providing a preprint of this book.

Oh wow... the opening scene grabs your attention and keeps it ... then goes back in time to set up this multi-layered novel of greed and suspense. Four wall-street hot shots are caught in an elevator, off to a suddenly called meeting. Once the elevator is stalled, they realize this is a game. They have to figure out how to get out by clues left inside. Three men and one woman, she being as ruthless as the men are, have climbed the financial ladder of success without allowing scruples or conscience to get in the way. Status and money is what matters most to them, and they've made millions, for corporations and themselves with no regrets as to whom it affected. People lost their jobs, committed suicide and more over their corporate acquisitions. but they all got wealthy, especially the men. Women were not treated equally. This is the story of choices made and their consequences.

Sara Hall is the main character here. Her story is told alternately with what is happening in the elevator with these four ruthless people that hate each other. She is the most compassionate of the bunch but her compassionate nature costs her as she gathers the courage to stand up for a co-worker Lucy, whose story I most enjoyed.

Thankfully this is fiction, as imagining this ever happening is a horrifying thought. Yet, I must applaud the authors composition in structuring the tale and how well she crafted the execution of it all. There are a couple of surprises, the main one being who summoned these people to a meeting that led to them being in the elevator at the same time and why? That is the big question. When it is answered, dear reader, I'd like to know if it left you feeling as I did. See my review on GoodReads and leave your comments.

Pick up your copy July 30, 2019. My thanks to St Martins Press, and author Goldin, via NetGalley for my pre-release e-copy that allows me to state my personal opinion of this intriguing novel.

This book was good. It sucked me right in and barely let go until the last page. It was told in dual storylines; one was four people in an elevator and one was a woman who worked at the same financial firm as the four other people. I especially liked Sara’s story. I could hear her voice very clearly and I liked what happened to her at the end of the book. 3.75 stars, rounded up to 4. Brava!

If you're at the beach and the heat index is 108 degrees Fahrenheit, you can consider yourself very fortunate to have an intriguing book to read, and The Escape Room by Megan Goldin certainly fits the bill!

Four highly ambitious teammates for a Wall Street financial firm find themselves commanded to attend a non-negotiable Friday night team-building exercise. Used to having to cancel personal plans for the give-us-all-you've-got-to-stay-employed demands at the firm, they each feel they have no choice but to attend; especially when a corporate restructure looks to be around the corner and their jobs may be on the line. They are nonetheless understandably annoyed to find themselves, once again, in the position of disappointing those dear to them. Just to play a game!

They expect the Escape Room exercise of trying to find a way to get out of a locked elevator to last an hour. When the hour is up and they are not released, they begin to realize this may not be a game after all. In fact, they may be lucky to get out alive.

Full of characters that you will love to hate, Goldin keeps the suspense building as the people in the elevator lose their professional poise, begin to unravel and show their true selves. A very entertaining, if unbelievable read this gets a 3.5 star rating rounded up to 4 stars from me.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an unbiased review. Opinions stated here are my own.

"In Megan Goldin's unforgettable debut, The Escape Room, four young Wall Street rising stars discover the price of ambition when an escape room challenge turns into a lethal game of revenge.

Welcome to the escape room. Your goal is simple. Get out alive.

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 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?"

Escape Rooms fascinate me and hopefully I'll be doing one for my birthday this year, but more importantly, I'm so glad they've been embraced in book form!

Escape Rooms have been all the rage right now, no matter what country you're in. Being locked in a room with friends or strangers for an hour in order to solve riddles and puzzles to escape can really bring out the worst in people. That's exactly the kind of story we got with Megan Goldin's book The Escape Room.

Sam, Sylvie, Jules and Vincent find themselves doing a last minute escape room on a Friday night, in an abandoned elevator. They didn't realize that it would be the start to a long and deadly weekend together. With secrets threatening to spill, riddles that go in circles and high running tensions among the team, you find yourself wondering what is happening and what is the secret that everyone would kill to keep hidden?

If you ever wanted to know the inside secrets of Wall Street financial analysts this is your book. You see the huge perks but also a lot of the sacrifices made in their personal lives, but also huge rewards. However, in this world you have to look out for all the co-workers willing to stab you in the back to get ahead.

After one co-worker ends up dead, one Sara can't seem to move on. When she asks questions she becomes a target to be pushed out. The others get caught in an elevator years later in an escape room "team building" exercise but it seems something went wrong and they aren't sure if they will make it out alive. I wasn't expecting the ending and it kept me entertained throughout the whole book.

What a crazy ride this book was!

Four investment bankers are instructed to attend a compulsory meeting under the guise of a team building exercise- an Escape Room. What they have really stepped into is an elevator that becomes a mini torture chamber. Vincent, Jules, Sam and Sylvie each have wronged coworkers, lovers and helped each other cover up their misconduct. Now they are stuck in close quarters and realize something is very very wrong. As clues are presented to them and figured out, we slowly learn the reason that each person was chosen for this Escape Room. Learning the truth soon pits them against one another and all trust goes out the window. Who is behind this, and will anyone make it out alive?

While not being entirely realistic this was such a compulsive and entertaining read. I usually struggle with plots that don’t have an element of believability, but The Escape Room mesmerized me as it wasn’t like anything I’ve read before. I completely ignored the utter unlikelihood of this storyline and just enjoyed the thrilling ride Megan Goldin took me on.

Thank you @netgalley @stmartinspress for my advance reading copy. This book is available July 30, 2019- be sure to check it out!

Beware of elevators in this thrilling book, The Escape Room by Megan Goldin, I was enthralled and could not put it down, This book dashes through characters and their character quickly, no one is left unharmed. I fell for Lucy and Sara in a minute as I flew through the pages for more. I've been to an Escape Room or two; thankfully very much unlike this one! I loved it and highly recommend! Thank you #NetGalley #StMartinsPress #TheEscapeRoom

This book is unbelievable. I could not put it down. The story is so original. It would be difficult to describe without giving something away I will just say read it.
#netgalley # stmartinspress #megangoldin

Who knew the world of investment banking could be deadly? Goldin constructs a story of lavish wealth, destructive poverty, backstabbing colleagues and revenge so sweet it will rot your soul. Through strands of past and present, the plot unfolds to reveal the life of a brilliant girl whose circumstances twist and turn through the job she coveted, until she loses and returns to a version of herself. The story events and duplicitous characters make for an absorbing tale of wealth and destruction on so many levels. Great summer read that will keep you on your toes!

This was incredibly unbelievable, but I enjoyed it anyway. Odd, but true. I much prefer more realistic reads, but I was curious and would pick this up to find out more! There were two time frames: an elevator team building exercise and the events that lead up to it. That, too, was not my favorite style. So, with an unbelievable storyline and a format I'm not fond of, I still enjoyed this book. That says something. The actual writing was an easy read.

The format of this book is extremely difficult to read on my kindle. The line breaks are off so I had to stop reading this.

A very thrilling read that hooked me right away. I liked the fact that the chapters alternated between different viewpoints because it helped to better understand the characters. There were twists that I didn't see coming. I will definitely read more books by this author!

“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.” -Sun Tzu

Ahhh... The Art of War, few have read it and even fewer have mastered it. The Escape Room, is Tzu’s poster child. Let me explain - you all are familiar with the saying, “All’s fair in love and war,” right? Well, let me just say that I’m sure Lucy and Sara would beg to differ with that statement; however, what’s even better than that saying, friends? Think long and hard....... ok - ding times up! In my mind, how about a tasty, sweet, yummy case of Revenge? After all that’s a dish best served cold; however, the author gives you Revenge at its finest. Revenge in The Escape Room is served at it’s best - at boiling point.

Wow. Again I am going to say WOW. The Escape Room is a mind blowing thrill ride from floor 17 to ground level. A read totally deserving of 5 ++ stars; a new favorite read for my 2019 list.❤️❤️❤️

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the advance copy of the book AND the opportunity to participate in the blog tour!!  I have been given an advanced copy of this book to read and give you my honest opinion on.  I am so lucky to have had this opportunity!

This is one of the most unique books I have read in awhile.  We alternate between 2 settings.  One setting takes place in an elevator where 4 co-workers are drawn together to participate in a team building exercise.  They are called to take part in an escape room and end up in an elevator with clues, trying to decipher them to escape.  The other setting is essentially the adult life of Sara Hall; a woman who used to work with the other 4.  It seems absolutely bizarre at first with each alternating chapter, but it works and throws you around in a loop!

This was filled with such great writing.  I will admit, toward the end I saw where the book was going, but that didn't stop me from enjoying every second of this book.  I read it so fast because I wanted to know what was going on!  Goldin did a SUPERB job at giving you just enough with each chapter that it made you want to keep going because you had to fill in the pieces to the puzzle!  It almost became a game of, well, let me figure out this escape room puzzle and wait, I want to know more about Sara!  Needless to say I had 2 sleepless nights with this book trying to get it all in!

I really can't say more about this book without giving too much away.  It's a unique psychological thriller that will be a chart-topping hit.  This is a must read.  You guys know how obsessive I am over endings and THANK YOU, it's what I hoped and wanted.  Well, I wouldn't have mind if, ah, you know I can't say, but just know it made me smile.  Please, get your hands on this book as soon as possible!  Watch your back in the process...you just don't know who you can trust!

***WILL BE POSTED ON https://donnasreadingchair.home.blog at 5:00am Pacific on Tuesday, July 30th as part of the blog tour, post is already scheduled and will be linked on twitter and instagram at the handle of @MrsDMVH for each***