A great book from Megan Goldin. I’ve never read a book by this author before and I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed the story. The characters were well thought out and the story was well paced.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me a free advanced reader copy of this book for an honest review. The Escape Room debuts July 30th.

Escape rooms—barely a thing five years ago, it turns out that friends and families really like to feel like they’re participating in a warm, friendly, Saw-like experience. (I kid—escape rooms are pretty awesome.) So it makes sense that having swept like wildfire across the globe, escape rooms have also infiltrated the subscription box business, graced the silver screen, and, at last, crawled their way into publishing.

The premise of the book is great—a bunch of investment bankers are lured to an elevator escape room, only to find out that the corporate team-building exercise they were promised is not what it appears to be. Yet great premises don’t necessarily make great books. A skillful writer could do a lot here, but the writing got in the way of the story at every turn. Each page was filled with wooden language and plodding narration. This is a real “I did X. Then I did Y. Then I did Z” experience, to the extent that there are actually a surprisingly small amount of detailed scenes in the book, given how zoomed-out our literary camera lens is. And when we do get some details, they always seem like the wrong thing. I don’t know how many descriptions of expensive investment banker wardrobes there were in this book, but it had to be… ten? Twenty? Fifty? Meanwhile, all you want is more cool escape room details, but it felt like there were only five clues to the whole room. For the vast majority of their time in the escape room the bankers just sit there, waiting to be let out.

I will say that I appreciated the back-and-forth POV chapter switches from first to third. The third person sections follow the entrapped bankers, while the first person sections track a rookie investment banker’s experience a few years prior. This variety of POV switching is a bold narrative choice, and with a more honed and experienced voice this could have worked beautifully—but because of the distant point of view, stiff language, constant head-hopping, and lack of escape room intrigue, I found myself dreading the third-person sections.

So I appreciate what this book wanted to be, and I’ll eagerly read a different thriller with an escape room premise. But Goldin’s take on escape rooms unfortunately missed the mark, so I have a difficult time recommending it.

I liked that this book was told in two time periods; present day and the days/years leading up to present day. Fast-paced thriller. I had to who figured out and part of the why but not to the extent of how it all played out. Sequel anyone?

We’ve all heard of an escape room. You are usually put in a room with a group of people, racing against the clock to solve the clues and escape. Each escape room has a scenario and sometimes you are even allowed a “hint”.

What happens when you are only told your goal is to get out alive?! When four Wall Street big wigs receive an email, they assume the escape room is a team building activity. They soon realize it’s not like any other escape room. Secrets are revealed throughout this thriller and you will not be disappointed with the ending!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Book Info
Hardcover, 368 pagesHardcover, 368 pages
Expected publication: July 30th 2019 by St. Martin's Press (first published May 28th 2018)
Original Title The Escape Room
ISBN 1250219655 (ISBN13: 9781250219657)
Edition Language English
Other Editions (14)
Source:Netgalley EARC
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Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam are ruthlessly ambitious high-flyers working in the lucrative world of Wall Street finance where deception and intimidation thrive. Getting rich is all that matters, and they'll do anything to reach the top.

When they are ordered to participate in a corporate team-building exercise that requires them to escape from a locked elevator, dark secrets of their team begin to be laid bare.

The biggest mystery to solve in this lethal game: What happened to Sara Hall? Once a young shining star—”now gone but not forgotten”.

This is no longer a game.
They’re fighting for their lives.

My Thoughts

The idea of being trapped in an elevator is one that has always horrified me and even worse being trapped with people who are unpalatable to me personally only adds to the misery of such an experience.

Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam were given the introduction to readers that they are ruthlessly ambitious high-flyers working in the lucrative world of Wall Street finance where deception and intimidation thrive.

To say that this description scratches the surface of the foursomes characters would be a gross understatement.

Their reactions to the so-called team building exercise that they have been called to participate in proves to be much more harrowing of an experience than expected. Resulting in a breakdown of each others outer veneer of sophistication and reducing each of these people to their core character at a frightening level.

As the mystery of who Sara Hall is and what happened to her unfolds the reader is of course privy to knowledge the trapped four in an elevator are desperate to uncover.
The culmination of which knowledge is both frightening in itself as well as thrilling when the person behind the ordeal is revealed.

An action packed, unrealistic but entertaining read that takes the reader on a journey that is is well worth the effort to make it to the end of.

[EArc from Netgalley]

This book was so well developed and structured i found myself reading way past my best time! With the exception of Sloth, this book nails the (6of the) 7 deadly sins flawlessly as they apply to the cooperate, fast paced world. This story shows how corrupt the world of high level business can be. In this all consuming world, people will turn on each other and often there are deadly consequences.

This is an excellent thriller that preys on all our latent (or exposed) claustrophobia. It is supposed to be a corporate team building game -- a bunch of colleagues stuck in an elevator of an unused building over a weekend. The heat and the sweat grows uncomfortable among the four investment bankers, three men and a woman. There is a fifth involved but we don't learn how until late in the game. Goldin ratchets up the fear (the fact that one person has a gun does not help) that keeps the reader turning the pages. The ending does not feel entirely credible, but otherwise this is a great summer scare story.

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

Sarah Hall is living a dream life. She has a handsome and successful boyfriend, building a prosperous career at Wall Street's hedge fund Stanhope and Sons, and financial stability. Her future is bright and full of hope. The only thing that bothers Sarah is her team, Vincent, Jules, Lucy, Sylvie, and Sam, a group of deceitful, ruthless and secretive people. But in order to survive in the financial world, one has to grow a tough skin, right? Fortunately, Sarah creates a close friendship with one of her teammates, however, Lucy insists on their friendship to be a secret in their work circle.

On a chilly Friday evening, Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam receive an invite to an escape room challenge, a team-building exercise. However, the organizer has much darker plans for the group. During their time in the locked elevator, each member of the group evaluates their lives, steps they took to "lock" their deals, people they have destroyed. And, of course, the simple reason behind their actions - money. As hours pass by, "the big four" are starting to realize that this is no longer a game, someone is out for revenge...

The Escape Room is a dark phycological thriller about loyalty, survival and most importantly -vengeance. It was a thrilling read with many twists and turns. A thoroughly engrossing novel that I won't soon forget.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press Publisher for an advanced free copy of the book and Megan Goldin for cleverly written and well-plotted novel.

Absolutely fantastic had me gripped!!! Loved it! Can't wait for more from.this author. Storyline was great, characters were easy to.connect with

Thank you for the advanced copy

Thanks to Megan Goldin, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy in exchange for my review. Always appreciated. The Escape Room would probably be billed as a psychological thriller, but I found it more of a mystery. The chapters are set up so we alternate between an escape room and a protagonist (Sarah Hall) Four investment bankers find themselves trapped in an elevator set up as an Escape Room under the guise of a team building exercise. As the novel progresses we learn about the back history of all involved, with clues scattered about as we go. The majority of the characters are not very likable of course, they are the one percents, think Michael Douglas from Wall Street, It was still fun to read about the characters (good and bad guys), even though I found them pretty much one dimensional. When we get to the end, I did find the wrap up a little too tidy, and more than a little unbelievable. That being said, the book does have plenty of entertainment value, and had me wondering how it was all going to be pulled off. I think this will be a very good summer read that will be great entertainment in the shade by the pool! 3.5 Thanks for reading and enjoy! #theescaperoom #netgalley

I was a bit confused when I started reading this book, not sure what was happening with all the back and forth with the chapters. Once I got into it it made more sense. This doesn't seem to be a believable story, however it is a very fun, entertaining read. By the time I hit the halfway point I didn't want to put it down because I needed to know what happened next.

This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Escape rooms seem to be all the rage these days! Well, this Escape Room is outrageous! How hard can it be to escape an elevator? Right? Just take this elevator ride and it all becomes clear how difficult it really is. It's a "ride" that took me into the dark side of the financial district in NY and the "behind-the-scenes" of the cut-throat business of this fictional company called Stanhope & Sons. It's eat or be eaten in this story. Each person for themselves.
An escape room sounds like the perfect corporate team-building activity to bring colleagues together for the betterment of the company. This team-building event takes place in an elevator from which the four co-workers, Vincent, Sylvie, Jules and Sam find themselves trapped in. It's their "mission" (which they have no option to refuse) to figure out the clues that are hidden in the elevator in order to escape. They have no idea what's in store for them!
This story alternates between two POVs. The first, of course, is the group stuck in the elevator. The second is Sara, a co-worker who is the last to be hired by the company. The gaps in the story are filled in as the group in the elevator find themselves learning things about each other that they don't want revealed. Sara's part of the story is what happens that leads up to the team-building event. It works well by weaving the stories together and how each character affects the others. It's not always a good thing especially trapped in an inescapable elevator.
The characters, Vincent, Jules, Sylvie and Sam are perfect for this story. Greedy, vindictive, snooty and mean. They aren't welcoming or someone I'd personally want anything to do with. I found myself not caring if they "escaped" at all. Then there is Sara. She's been dealt a rough way to go but she tries her best and I wanted her to succeed. She is the good to the bad in the book.
The whole book had me trying to figure out why these four were called to the Escape Room. What was the point? I had to keep turning the pages to know what was the reason. Each person had no clue what they were doing in there and why. What is the motive? Oh, the secrets that come out! Suspicions abound!
"That he was the architect of some twisted Machiavellian plot to lock them together in the tiny claustrophobic space-an escape room from which they'd been unable to escape."
This book is a captivating scenario that would be a worst nightmare of being trapped in a pitch black elevator. It's an unimaginable elevator ride! I will probably never think of an elevator the same way again. BUT.....I'm thinking there might be more to this ride? I would love if there is.
I want to thank St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book, Netgalley for an ARC of this book and Ms. Goldin for writing this book!

4 stars! The escape room is a entertaining and thrilling read. Working in the world of Wall Street, money is the main goal and no one will get the way of making that money. I enjoyed , the flash backs of Sam, Silvia, Jules and Vincent, making them unlikeable characters. I felt some of it dragged and then ending was so fast. It was a cleaver storyline that had wanting to know who did it!

Thank you to Netgalley and The Publisher for my copy for honest review.

A highly addictive, compelling must read! I was held spellbound by this mesmerizing story - only managing to escape its hold by finishing the book. Readers, you'll want to set aside enough time to read this in one sitting as I did. Once you enter, there's no going back!

The Escape Room is a gripping story of greed, corruption, and revenge - just another day in the cut throat, ruthless Wall Street corporate world. Three shallow, high finance team members and their team leader receive a non-negotiable invitation to attend an Escape Room team building exercise late on Friday afternoon. There isn't an option to decline if they want to keep their jobs. The location is a high-rise building under construction which stands empty on the weekend except for a security guard. The team enters the elevator unseen to ascend to the destined escape room - only to find themselves locked in the elevator around the 70th floor. Lights go out and the temperature rises as they work to solve a few cryptic clues to get released. As time passes, the heat becomes suffocating, tempers flare, dark secrets and resentments surface, chaos and panic set in, and the situation becomes volatile, escalating out of control. It quickly becomes apparent that this is no ordinary escape room challenge . . . they're in a battle for their lives.

I'm not going to say more about the story. It's truly an enthralling experience to read and discover the role each person plays in this deadly game and how they ended up there. Goldin delivers the unique story through chapters that alternate between the present escape room elevator scene and the past leading up to that point in time narrated by a former employee. Jumping back and forth between scenes, my heart rate escalated as I flew through the pages and soon found myself trapped in the escape room right along beside them. You can literally smell the sweat and fear and count the heartbeats! The author slowly weaves each individual's personal story until they all come together in a climax that may not be shocking, but is well delivered and deserved. The Escape Room is one of the most compulsive reads I've experienced in a long time. Not the most twisted, not the most shocking, but the most can't-put-it-down, I'm-fully-immersed Must Read! Highly recommended!

What a great premise; four despicable people,Jules, Sylvie, Sam and Vincent trapped in an elevator with a gun. That premise alone kept me turning pages. Introduce Sara Hall, their other work team member,in alternating chapters and this is a compelling read. But I became very frustrated with two of the characters seeming change in personality. I won't go into detail because of spoilers. I also thought that the ending was too abrupt. There are some unanswered questions. I really feel that this could have been a great thriller but because of some missteps it turned out to be just “okay”.

Upon reading the premise of author, Megan Goldin’s, “The Escape Room, I was super excited to delve between the pages of what promised to be an exciting psychological thriller. And while I did enjoy this novel, overall, it did fall a bit short of my expectations.

The story unfolds by alternating between past and present, and while the execution isn’t perfect, it is nonetheless, addictive. And how could it not? The very concept of four (albeit, vile) coworkers trapped in an elevator under the guise of an Escape Room for a team building exercise is simply brilliant! So, despite the fact that I abhorred each of these characters, and I could poke numerous holes in this story, I found myself enthralled from start to finish.

I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. It gave an interesting look into the life of investment bankers and how cut throat that business is, as well as providing a mystery with many twists and turns. A refreshing book from others I’ve seen released.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.


This was a page turner that I found difficult to put down! I was constantly guessing and thinking about what would happen next. I also enjoyed the inside information of the cutthroat Wall Street lifestyle. The characters felt real and were well developed. Thoroughly enjoyed this!

This was a quick read, a thriller I couldn't put down... but you have to suspend a lot of belief on this one. Many of the events that occurred seemed highly unlikely and I was left saying, that actually wouldn't happen. So taking it with a grain of salt, this book was good.
Four high-powered finance execs meet in an elevator in an building that is being renovated for a "team building exercise." This is seemingly an escape room-type challenge, although none know exactly why they were called there. Soon, they realize this isn't a typical escape room, as they aren't let out after an hour. Tensions flow, secrets are revealed, and the reader slowly gets to see who the good people in this book are and who aren't.
The chapters of "the Elevator" are alternating with chapters by narrator Sara Hall. At first, it wasn't clear how her story intertwined with the elevator chapters, but it is certainly made clear (and there are hints of this through her chapters as well).
I really liked a lot of this book - until the end. It went a little too far-fetched for me in the last few chapters. But as a psychological thriller, it was a good read.

"How much trouble could four investment bankers get into in a locked elevator?" As it turns out, quite a bit! Megan Goldin's The Escape Room explains just that -- when Sylvie, Vincent, Sam, and Jules are told they all need to report to a specific address for a team-building exercise that could determine everyone's future in the company, they obligingly show up. As they ride the elevator to a presumed hour-long escape room, they find unconventional clues they need to solve in order to get back to their regularly over-scheduled lives. But once the hour's up, these four opinionated big wigs realize something is very wrong; this isn't a regular escape room and now they're stuck in an elevator they cannot control. While this scenario unfolds, readers are introduced to Sara Hall, who used to be their co-worker at Stanhope and Sons. She came from a suburb near Illinois and hadn't grown up with wealth; her life changes completely throughout her time at that company. Why are readers exposed to both stories? How do they intertwine in present day? You'll just have to read it to find out!