Fun, unique thriller about a group of cut-throat investment bankers whose past leads them to be trapped in an elevator in what they believe to be a team-building escape the room challenge. However, this is no typical escape the room... the clues are personal. I really enjoyed this thriller and trying to figure who trapped these people and why.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

5* “The Escape Room” by Megan Goldin is a far better claustrophobic read than the bestselling “Nine Perfect Strangers” by Liane Moriarty, (which wasn’t even about perfect strangers, but with couples and a family thrown in the mix). In a similar but much more thrilling vein, “The Escape Room” has four New York, Wall Street, finance executives enclosed (stuck) in an elevator, ostensibly for a game called ‘the escape room’ in which they must solve puzzles to be freed. The apparent prize is to find out which is the worthiest. They hypothesise the winner may take up the recently-vacated senior position of Eric Miles and/ or that the loser/s may be retrenched. This is a psychological noir novel, so expect crime and murder.

The story is told varyingly from the first-person viewpoint of the likable Sara Hall and the third-person perspectives of the selfish, vicious executives stuck in the elevator: Vincent, the head, Jules, Sam and Sylvie, the only female of the group. Their back stories emerge as Sara recounts her experiences at cut-throat finance industry leader, Stanhope and Sons. From Sara’s desperation to find a job after the recession has sucked up finance industry jobs, to a disastrous interview with the misogynistic, narcissistic Richard (Richie) Worthington of Stanhope, Sara has a chance encounter with Vincent in a lift, who to her surprised gratitude hires her as an intern. She finds out that Vincent and his crew, except Lucy Marshall – the genius who is ‘on the spectrum’ – are all just as narcissistic and sociopathic as Richie.

This book will resonate with anyone who has ever had a sociopathic boss, and bullying colleagues and boss. The corporate politics are so well described, it is as if Megan Goldin has lived them. The maliciousness is palpable, the back stories well described, the jealousy and greed for money is so real that the font type is almost green. The reader finds out that the executives are on unimaginable salaries and bonuses, running in the mid-to-high six figures to millions. This however, fans the characters’ constant greed to earn even more, to win tenders from clients at the expense of everyman in the USA.

The clues in the elevator at first sound like fun for the reader to try to unravel. It soon becomes apparent that the clues are in-jokes and information only the Stanhope executives would know about. The formula is however, a good one to use, building up suspense.

The author’s depiction of the 4 finance high flyers’ paranoia, claustrophobia, fear of dying of thirst, of the different temperatures, the injuries inflicted, long-bottled anger, loathing combined with lust in the enclosed space of an elevator was visceral. Megan Goldin's writing is spare and to the point. Soon the execs are laid bare of most of their items of designer clothing, the sum of which could buy a small house, and of their sleek façades, to expose their underlying psychopathy and criminality. There are a number of crimes, some white-collar crimes that can earn jail sentences, and then there’s murder.

The outcome at the end of a marathon read till 2 in the morning was so satisfying. The prologue tells the reader it will be morbid, so it is satisfying in the sense of a murder revealed. :)

** Semi Spoiler ** As I read further, I realised that the group of 4 no-hoper, high flyers stuck in the lift had it coming to them. This led me to correctly surmise at the halfway point who might be responsible, notwithstanding a red herring or two. This only enriched the reading pleasure. I was also aware of how they could have gotten out, though they didn’t figure it out.
This review is also on https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2679683237 and https://thereadersvault.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-escape-room-by-megan-goldin.html

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an e-book exchange for my honest opinion.

Excellent engrossing story, that I highly recommend! The plot kept me guessing and very easy to read. Enjoyed!

Chilling, timely, and so twisty you'll feel whalloped, THE ESCAPE ROOM will have you lighting the darkest corners of your home. A wonderful, scary read--highly recommended!

This book was fabulous!!!! It had all the characteristics that I was looking for in a great Suspense book!!!!!!!!!!! Will so be buying this book for my library if they allow, if not will be requesting my local library order it ASAP!! What a great read!!

Well, well, well! This was a very pleasant surprise and was not anything that I expected.

I'm not sure that "psychological thriller" is exactly the right way to describe this, but it did keep me turning the pages for a couple of days.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this advanced readers copy.

This was such an exciting thriller! I read it in one sitting and ignored everything around me. It was well paced and had dynamic characters; it was so good!

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Escape Room is a bizarre tale of greed, revenge and power. It is told in current and past tense and that choice kept me intrigued throughout. The premise is interesting and I will admit to being surprised on a few occasions. Sara’s POV was essential in setting the story apart. The Escape Room revolves around the actions of six characters. Each character is expertly detailed giving me a clear image of them both physically and mentally. There is a lot of telling versus showing so most times their state of mind was obvious and I found that somewhat dampened the mystery. At times I rooted for each of them but couldn’t commit to anyone as more and more details were revealed and things begin to unravel. The ending was satisfying but I would have loved an epilogue with an alternate POV.

What happens when 4 money hungry greedy co-workers get the word they need to attend a mandatory meeting on a Friday night in a building under construction in the bad part of town?? Sylvie, Jules, Sam and Vincent enter an elevator which takes them 70 stories up and then stops. They are under the impression that this is an "escape room" challenge and they will be out in an hour. Clues turn up in various places in the elevator and on the screen which are supposed to let them solve the puzzle and release them. This is one of the best psychological thrillers I have read. The book hooked me from the first page and had me mesmerized until the very end. The author did an outstanding job meshing all the different threads together to make this a fantastic read with an unforgettable ending. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book which was a real page turner.

Loved the twists. The big reveal was not what I was expecting all the way up until the last page, which is so hard to do these days. Loved it

Excellent. Just loved the excitement of reading about these characters. You can't help but feel compassion for some of them and dislike for others. . The story was told impeccably and the outcome was fantastic. Anyone in the mood for a great nook should grab this one. Just wish i had more time to read it quicker.

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be "Unexpected"
At several points I thought I knew where we were headed, and at every turn I was surprised.
If you like some "Just desserts" in your thrillers, this one is highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for an honest review.

This book is about greed, murder and revenge in the high finance world where the stakes are high and finance bankers are dealing in millions dollars deals daily and with million dollar salaries to match. Four of these people enter a lift to play the game of escape room, These four are highly competitive and the game will have them scrambling to solve the clues to get them out of the lift as quickly as possible so that they can get on with their very busy self important lives. This book is an easy read with enough mystery and suspense to keep one interested . Read this book and enjoy.

What a rush of a book. I didn’t like any of the characters but maybe that was what the author wanted. I will definitely be recommending this book for my book clubs.

Thaank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I've personally wanted to do the escape room, so was excited to read this. I had a preconceived idea of what the story was about.....and I was a little right but generally wrong. This is about the high stress job of Wall Street Finance and the toll cut throat competition among coworkers. The team is summoned to do a team building exercise in an exercise room, but it is not the type of exercise room that you would expect...they were stuck in an elevator with clues so they could get out. The story unfolds as their attempts fail and tensions run high. I was suprised at the turn the story took and it keep me wanting to see how they would get out of the so called escape room. I would highly recommend this book if you like twists and turns. I look forward to reading more from this author!

This should be made into a movie!

The story opens in the present, where Miguel, a security guard, working the night shift is guarding a luxury office tower. His partner didn't come to work, so Miguel is working alone. He's not concerned because there has never been any activity to be concerned about. While he is busy listening to music with headphones. When he went to search for another song, he heard a scream and it was enough to make him go investigate.

Then the story flashes back to the past, where Sara Hall, a graduate in finance, who had been looking for work steadily, and getting turned down. For income, she worked as a waitress. After an especially bad interview and on her way out, she bumped into Vincent de Vries on the elevator, while still holding her resume, Vincent had taken a peek at it and struck up a conversation. As the elevator doors opened, Vincent had Sara's resume and she had his card.

Soon after, Sara received a call to go for an interview at the prestigious Stanhope and Sons, where Vincent was the Senior Vice President. Following many interviews, Sara receives a call that she was hired. Sara is over the moon, because that means she can afford to pay for her father's medical bills. Sara, soon discovers that Stanhope and Sons require a lot of their employees, it's a high stress job with grueling hours, and she's not exactly welcomed into the group she is to work with. There is an undercurrent with each member, who are very guarded about their personal life, despite Sara's attempts to make friends, she is kept at a distance.

One of the team members, is Lucy Marshall, a genius, but considered awkward by her colleagues because she doesn't fit the criteria that Stanhope and Sons require of their employees. Sara on a rare day off, ends up at the zoo and goes into the snow leopard exhibit, where she notices Lucy drawing on a sketch pad. Barely having said two words to one another at work, they strike up a conversation, that eventually leads to a friendship.

Except, Lucy is very adamant that their friendship remains a secret from the other team members.

There are lots of secrets that are guarded where does the line begin and end to know who is friend and who is foe?

Excellent engrossing story, that I highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley via St. Martin's Press for giving me an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow! The Escape Room by Megan Goldin is a thrilling, creepy, clever read! I did not want to stop reading! I found myself completely and utterly absorbed and longing to know what was going to happen next. I like how the main character evolved and I found myself pulling for her. I loved it!! It was action packed and full of surprises. The ending was perfect! I want to read more of Megan Goldin’s work. This was a 5 star read for me! I would like to thank Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of this book.

What a fun book --- ok, and a little twisted, too! I enjoyed the ins and outs of the finance world, and finding out just who is responsible for creating the escape room. This might be closer to a 3.5 star book, but I'm rounding up to a 4, just because it was a little more..... grusome .... than I anticipated which was a nice little shock.

Certainly entertaining - not a book to read if you are looking for anything thought provoking, but sometimes books like this are necessary, too! This was a fun read.

Incredible, incredible book!

From the very first chapter this book is a page turner keeping you engage at the edge of your seat!!

I really enjoyed the back and forth between Sarah's story and the escape room happening in the present. The change in point of view really worked and it never felt confusing. The story lines were well thought out and the author really put work into building the characters and their interactions. The ending was unexpected even thought the book's first chapter gives you the final scene.. technically.

I absolutely loved this book and will be recommending it to everyone!!

This ARC was given to me by BSB via NetGalley in return for an honest review.