4.5 stars. Whoa, I don't know when I've last been so satisfied by the ending of a book! This was not what I was expecting at all, and was less mystery and more feels than I had anticipated. The titular escape room is not really an escape room, but an elevator that Vincent, Jules, Sam, and Sylvie are stuck in, with a few clues, but not quite what I expected. The four of them are colleagues at the bigshot financial firm Stanhope and Sons, and they are all rather awful, driven by greed and status. The story is told in a dual timeline between them in the elevator and Sara Hall, their former colleague, telling her story
Starting several years back, when she started at the firm.

Sara is a recent MBA grad when her story starts and she is thrilled to get a lucrative job at Stanhope and Sons to make enough money to support her ailing parents. But she soon realizes just how much the firm demands of its employees, and how little loyalty the members of her team have to each other. As the story went on, I felt more and more outraged by everything Sara observed and was subject to at the company, and was less and less rooting for the team to get out of the elevator. You'll have to read it to find out just what their fate was, but in my opinion it ended on a highly satisfactory note. I'm looking forward to reading more by Megan Goldin.

Wow, now that was a thrilling read that kept me turning the pages all weekend!

Corporate team building + Escape room challenge = one wild and crazy elevator ride! Sounds like fun, right?!

Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam are living the life and will do anything to stay at the top. They are the most ruthless, greedy, and devious people you will meet working in Finance on Wall Street. All they care about is money, and they will do anything to keep it rolling in. Vincent receives a message ordering the four of them to participate in a team building exercise where they have to escape from a locked elevator. As time goes by it no longer feels like a game... deep dark secrets start to unfold. Could they now be fighting for their own lives?

This was definitely a fast thrilling read! I was pulled in right from the start turning the pages as fast as I could and loving every minute of it. Highly Recommend!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an excellent thriller that involves greedy Wall Street executives who are locked in an elevator in what they believe is a mandatory team building escape room event. This story is told alternately from the individualsw in the elevator and Sarah Hall who worked at the same wall street firm as the executives. The story finally comes together and becomes a tale of revenge, greed and murder. I liked that this book had a really original storyline. I thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book, and that doesn't happen often. A great first chapter to lure readers in, followed by twists and turns without giving away the ending. The majority of the action happens in an elevator - not an easy setting to pull off. Revenge mysteries are fun to read. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

All I can say is Wow! During the prologue we learn about a hideous crime scene through the eyes of a young security guard. This spurred my interest and I devoured the rest of the book in record time! This is one of those rare books that will pique your interest immediately and take you on a wild ride to the thrilling conclusion.

The book is told in alternating voices between Sara Hall, an ambitious MBA graduate, and the present day. The premise of the story involves four co-workers, who are employed at a very successful financial firm on Wall Street. They have been invited to a compulsory team-building exercise on a Friday evening. Vincent, their boss, had received a text with instructions to bring them all up the the eightieth floor of a desolate office building. Everyone complies because they are fearful of losing their jobs.

What follows is a harrowing ordeal that takes place in the confines of the elevator on the seventieth floor. Secrets are exposed, lies are uncovered and allegiances are tested, Vincent, Sylvie, Sam and Jules must work together to uncover and solve a series of clues to escape the cramped elevator hanging precipitously without a clear escape route.

I would highly recommend "The Escape Room" by Megan Goldin and look forward to other books by this author, Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First off, a big thank you for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

I loved this book! Sweet Mother of Pearl, if you are looking for a fantastic Pshyc Thriller, please pick this one up! Team Building, coworkers, mystery, twists and turns. SOLD!

Starts of with a team of four, unlikeable folks in my humble, being required to attend mandatory team building, something we can all relate to, right? Well that is where my relatablility ended. Man....I wanted couldn’t wait to squeeze in the read time for this one. Many nights I was up way past my bed time, wanting just one more page.

You won’t be disappointed if you enjoy TRUE psych thrillers and the end will not disappoint. At least it didn’t disappoint me.

I’ll be adding this author to my TBR pile for sure.

Enjoy!

Sara Hall is a recent MBA grad, skimping her pennies to get by, when she lands a magnificent job with a NY financials firm. The first few years are golden; sure she works way too much and she’s still a bit underpaid compared to her co-workers, but she figures if she puts in the time, she’ll work her way up soon enough. Except when Sara’s co-worker, her one only true friend at the firm, commits suicide, Sara starts to see things in a different light. And when she starts to question things, she finds out very quickly that she is even more replaceable at work than her friend was. The ideas in this book were new and interesting (especially with the escape room backdrop), and I enjoyed how things played out (for the most part). But when the writing got a bit sloppy and then the ending wrapped up way too perfectly, I felt like it was truly a missed opportunity for a great---not just okay---thriller.

The Escape Room wasn’t what I was expecting, which is a good thing. I loved the way the book was intertwined chapter by chapter with the group in the Elevator and the protagonist. While there was foreshadowing, the book still kept me guessing about different aspects and kept my interest. I was picking it up every chance I got to see what would happen next. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

This is a fun, intriguing mystery that takes a rather sharp turn at the end. While it is not hard to see the major plot twist, it does come about in an interesting manner.

At first, I thought this book really was going to be about a suspense novel involving an Escape Room, but that title is misleading. It is more of a “getting justice/revenge” type of book. That was disappointing because I wanted the room to take center-stage and have the characters needing to solve more complex clues to find out how to escape rather than what the room was actually used for.

However, with that put aside, it does use the “room” in an interesting manner and as more of a punishment than setting in which the characters grow as people.

Often in these books, the character out for revenge can magically do all of these things needed to make things right. The author in this book, though, takes the time to explain just what her heroine had to do to exact the kind of revenge that would work. It was obvious that Ms. Goldin wanted more than just a run-of-the-mill type of revenge. She wanted her characters to suffer in a way that would really hurt them. And that is just good writing!

Definitely take the time to read this suspense novel! You will not only enjoy the story, but you will get immersed in how these characters face their greatest challenge, and see just who comes out on top.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy to read. All opinions are my own.

A riveting journey and a true 3am read. Well-defined, multi-dimensional characters who move swiftly through a beautifully structured, highly dramatic work by a truly talented master of the genre.

A solid mystery/thriller to add to your list. I was definitely pleasantly surprised while reading this book, however, the title is a little misleading.

The story is really what happens when a group of people go too far down a rabbit hole and the the subsequent consequences of their actions. We get to know the characters well - their motivations and their fears - and it adds complexity to the story. There's death, mystery, and some fun puzzle pieces to put together. My only gripe is the ending, where it delves a bit into the far fetched and unbelievable. Overall, however, it was a thoroughly enjoyable ride. Just don't go into expecting a <i> Saw </i> version of an escape room - if that's what you want you're going to be disappointed.

It seems psychological thrillers are a dime a dozen lately, but The Escape Room had more of an original storyline than most of what's out today (and no "Girl" in the title - we can all be grateful for that). While you might have to suspend disbelief a bit while reading it (not uncommon really with a lot of fiction), it was a really enjoyable read overall., and I found it very hard to put down. If you're into thrillers, and tired of those more "domestic" ones, give this one a shot. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I received this ARC in exchange for a review.
The concept of this story was intriguing and kept me engaged. I wanted to see what would happen next. And the first two thirds of the book kept me guessing. My only disappointment was I figured out who the antagonist was before the end. I didn't figure out how (that was sort of convoluted), but I figured out who.

Absolutely loved this! I couldn't put it down and wanted to keep reading as much as I could to find out. Spellbinding edge of your seat excitement.

The Escape Room was a unique interesting book. Well written and will keep your attention. I enjoyed this book.

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

๏ ๏ ๏ Highlights ๏ ๏ ๏

Locked-Room (Elevator) Mystery
Twisted Twisty-ness
Back & Forth Narrative
Corporate Finance


๏ ๏ ๏ Links ๏ ๏ ๏


Goodreads | Booklikes | BookDigits
Amazon | Kobo | Barnes&Noble
GooglePlay | IndieBound





๏ ๏ ๏ My Thoughts ๏ ๏ ๏

Set in the world of Investment Banking, the high stakes, cutthroat, "I'll step on you before you can step on me", kind of atmosphere. Coupled with the mystery of an escape room challenge...made for a very interesting backdrop. The story is told in alternating POV's between Sara Hall and the 4 people who have found themselves stuck in an elevator...that's supposed to be an escape room. The question is...who put them there and why??? This story is not without its could-that-really-happen moments, but despite that, it's an indulging kind of Mystery/Thriller that I found quite entertaining.

I did have one issue...and it was with my advanced reader copy, it was, quite possibly the worse arc I've ever read before. There was a ton of 1's and 0's, some of which had - or + in front of them, throughout the entire thing. So flipping distracting. Has anyone else ever had this with a kindle version of an arc? I've had issues in the past with weird chapter breaks, but this was crazy they even had the numbers in between letters of a particular word.

๏ ๏ ๏ MY RATING ๏ ๏ ๏

☆4.5☆STARS - GRADE=A-




๏ Breakdown of Ratings ๏
Plot⇝ 4.5/5
Main Characters⇝ 5/5
Secondary Characters⇝ 4.5/5
The Feels⇝ 4.3/5
Pacing⇝ 4.3/5
Addictiveness⇝ 4.3/5
Theme or Tone⇝ 4.5/5
Flow (Writing Style)⇝ 4/5
Backdrop (World Building)⇝ 5/5
Originality⇝ 5/5
Ending⇝ 4.5/5 Cliffhanger⇝ Nope.
๏ ๏ ๏
Book Cover⇝ A little too much gold for me...
Setting⇝ New York mostly...
Source⇝ I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
๏ ๏ ๏

The Escape Room was an enjoyable book to read. It really didn't have the "big twist" that you expect with some of these mysteries, but it was fun to watch as things unfolded. It definitely kept your interest until the end. I could see this being made into a really good thriller style movie.

They all meet at an undisclosed location. Vincent, Sam, Sylvie, and Jules. At an invitation from their firm, they all arrive at a building for a team challenge that will change their careers for the rest of their lives. They enter the elevator and are jolted at warp speed to the 70th floor. Suddenly a message appears on a television screen in the elevator.

"WELCOME TO THE ESCAPE ROOM. YOUR GOAL IS SIMPLE. GET OUT ALIVE."

Sara Hall has been struggling to get out from the trenches of her life. As a newly graduated MBA student, Sara has been looking for an opportunity at some prestigious financial firms. In a male-dominated field, Sara is awarded an opportunity at Stanhope and Sons. This opens the door to financial freedom. But the cult-like "induction" is ominous. What happens at the firm, stays at the firm.

"Dead but not forgotten: ASLHARLA"

Sara is an immediate outcast but finds comfort in another outsider within the firm. They funnel a secret friendship. When Lucy suddenly commits suicide, Sara is taken aback by the loss and the circumstances of her death. After revealing her suspicions to the firm, Sara's job and performance come into question.

Sara knows something is not right and goes to great lengths to find out the truth.

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

The Escape Room is a gripping story of ruthless people fueled by greed. Chapters alternate between two stories from the Escape room with confounding clues, and Sara's journey on Wall Street. The characters have well-developed realities which create investment in the reader. But this strength may contribute to an often stalled storyline. This may be more of my need and desire for fast pace drama and not a reflection of the writing. But overall I enjoyed the narrative and savvy ending and can potentially see this becoming a storyline for a media show.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press, the author and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Have you ever participated in an escape room? Vincent, Jules, Sylvie and Sam have been competitors in finance for years. They now are heading to have the fun time in the escape room! Yet it is not what it was supposed to be. They realize a bit to late that this is a situation they will happen to battle.

Who will come out on top?

What a tangled web of intrigue Megan Golden has created. The storyline captivates the reader with its insight into the cut throat world of investment banking. The characters are an odd blend that mesh together to form a high powered team that you really don’t want to mess with. The plot kept me guessing and the writing style made it very easy to read. It truly amazed me at the depths some will go in their search for revenge