The Escape Room is all about the careers of Wall Street financial wizards, Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam, who are employees of a company that puts money above all else. Nothing is taboo in this world where clawing your way to the top, over anyone who gets in your way, is considered normal practice. Greed, the addition of more money and more power, drives these people to the exclusion of all else in their lives. Wives, family, and girlfriends are accessories and not allowed to interfere with the earning of more accolades and more money. To even get an interview at this company, an individual already has to be willing to ditch all else, to risk losing everything that could slow their drive to the top, their drive to win over others. Once a person makes it on the payroll, the week long introduction to the company is designed to make sure each new employee is addicted to the acquisition of more riches, for the company first, which then leads to more riches for them. The company actually encourages cutthroat practices, deception, manipulation, and ruthlessness as a way of life.

The story starts with Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam in an unfinished high rise where they have been summoned by management to take part in a team building exercise that involves getting out of an Escape Room. With no other instructions, they enter an elevator, discovering that the elevator is their Escape Room. These four people hate each other, don't trust each other, and are determined not to be bettered by the others. Whether by accident or by design, things happen that put all four people in jeopardy of losing their lives if they don't escape or get rescued before they die.

The book alternates chapters with these four, stuck in the elevator, and with the narration of Sara Hall, one of their co-workers from years ago, who died sometime in the past. With Sara narrating, it's clear that she must still be alive, as she tells the story about getting hired by the company, her horrible co-workers, and her grueling job at the company. Never ending work hours and never ending deadlines, allow Sara to put all other parts of her life aside, as she slaves over each work goal.

During the chapters concerning the people in the elevator, we get to know a lot about each of the people trapped. I did not care for how we learn about each person though because it was basically massive amounts of information on each person's past that did nothing to make us care for them or understand what made them such horrible people, with no concern for anything but money. These four people are ruthless, selfish, dishonest people, that deserve to be locked in a room with each other forever.

Sara seems a little more self aware and concerned about how the company cares nothing for people and only for the bottom line. Still, she was already leaning towards going for the money angle in her life when she chose a financial career and higher earnings, sooner, over a medical career, where it would take longer to earn the money she needed to pay off her student debt and help her parents with medical bills. Once she gets on with the company, she gets so wrapped up with the long work hours, the intense pressure to perform, and the competitive atmosphere that she eventually takes on the same ideals as the other high flyers, scrambling to make more, move higher, become more powerful.

At some point Sara is betrayed by these people who already treated her with contempt. Towards the end of the book we get another massive information dump, so many details about why and how Sara does what she does. I never wanted to stop reading the book but at the same time, I didn't care about any of these irredeemable people, who were so out of touch with their humanity. The book is an interesting read for all we learn about such powerful, wealthy companies and people but I think I would have enjoyed the book more if the information we learn about the people and what Sara does, could have been presented in a less dry, info dumping manner.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

So, I started reading this book and it sounded narrated, and I thought I don't think I will like this book. The next night I read some more and was hooked. This story reminded me of John Grishams, The Firm with all the suspense, and high powered people. The writing was so good that I found myself transported to be in the elevator as part of the escape room exercise. I felt trapped, I found it hard to breath. I was hot and cold and thirsty, just like Vincent, Jules, Sylvie and Sam were. I was wondering where I would go to the bathroom and how long it would take me to die, when it was clear no one was getting out of the elevator anytime soon, if at all. Today at work, I got in the elevator and was envisioning what it would be like. This book is about someone who deals out justice with extreme prejudice. It is awesome and very intelligent read. Highly recommend!

Would give this one SIX stars if I could - read it in record time! I loved this tale of personal lives entwined in the world of business. Sara is hired by a powerful financial group after she completes her MBA. She's excited about her great new position and the incredible wages she is earning. Sara learns quickly that all is not what it seems in the cutthroat world of finance.

Goldin writes in a manner easy to read. I enjoyed the "back and forth" format of the chapters, which seemed to heighten the tension and mystery. The chapters are short and manageable and I didn't feel I needed to go back to reread anything for clarification.

I recommend this book to those of us who appreciate contemporary conflict, with satisfying resolution.

Very, very interesting take on the "Escape Room" craze that many of us have enjoyed. Four normal folks (read VILLIANS) are locked not only in a small space but in a small nightmare that keeps growing. Great pacing and character development.

The plot was intriguing and the writing style was easy to read. Since the main story line involves investment bankers, it has some detailed background on it that was not as interesting to me, but I can see where it is necessary to establish backgrounds on characters.

This is a super interesting idea - I love escape rooms and I love a good thriller, so this was right up my alley. I really enjoyed seeing how the characters interacted through space and time (there is some time hopping and multiple perspectives involved). I read this in one night, stayed up until 3 am to finish it. That's high praise from someone who works full time and is a grad student at night!

So…this isn’t well written.

I’d like to say otherwise and I rarely say something like this so baldly, but…it’s just not.

Many authors keep notes with biographies for their main characters. These detailed notes can include everything from eye color to the name of their best friend when they were in elementary school. While the author uses these details to flesh out a character, they don’t dump all this information into the book. Until now.

Honestly, I felt like I was primarily reading character profiles. There was so much telling and so little showing. Just exposition!

The person behind everything was obvious from the start – zero surprise – and was remarkably unlikeable. And when I had to read every blasted detail about every blasted thought they had while planning this blastedly stupid revenge…I wanted to blast them. The only truly likable character was dead.

Finally, while it takes place in America, it doesn’t read like it. I finally found out the author was Australian.

I didn’t like this. I do think the author had the thread of a good idea, but needs to pay more attention to craft and learn to tell a story that actually moves.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

Fabulous “locked room” mystery by Goldin. The Escaoe Room delivers a well-formed read that engrossed until the final page.

What a ride this book was!
I couldn’t put it down...hooked from the first page...twists and turns all over the place, and an ending that I didn’t see coming.
I loved the idea of the book from the description and it did NOT disappoint!
I encourage you to go out and buy this book...Megan Goldin is about to become one of your favourite authors!

Most ridiculous story I have ever come across. Poor character descriptions, decent writing, but overall a sad excuse for overall execution. Unsatisfying ending, as well as disappointing everything. Utterly inane.

Thoroughly entertaining, The Escape Room, is cleverly plotted with lots of unexpected twists and turns. A team of investment bankers are tricked into attending a team building activity which quickly goes awry leaving the reader on the edge of their seat as the pages fly by!

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! What a suspenseful, emotional story. I was sucked in from the beginning. Sarah worked at soul sucking financial company that demanded their employees devote most of their time to making money for the company with little thought to their personal life and well being. Not to mention its a cut throat, corrupt environment that is particularly hostile to women, minorities and people with disabilities. Ring a bell? Way too close to home. The author excels at depicting flawed, corrupt characters and displaying their ugliness Ness as they fight to survive in an enclosed elevator. We are given a Bird's eye view of their lives, their thoughts and actions. I clapped gleefully when they got what they deserved at the end.

It just goes to show that money and prestige isn't everything. A definite recommend!

Holy Heck!!! The Escape Room is a fast paced thriller that completely blew me away!!! The smartly written storyline will have you trying to figure out the who, what, where and when until the very last page! There were twists and turns that had their own twists and turns—loved that! Megan Goldin told this novel in alternating (character) perspectives as well as time hopped throughout which worked perfectly to add intrigue and suspense! The Escape Room is a 5 star read that I HIGHLY recommend! I am so excited to read Megan Goldin’s prior novel (The Girl in Kellers Way) and I am already looking forward to whatever she comes out with next!

What an incredible book!?!? I devoured this title in about 3 hours as I simply COULD NOT put it down. A new author for me, I was interested after catching that it was recommended by Lee Child and OMG am I glad I did. Megan Goldin surely has herself a new fan! I truly could not put this book down - kept me on the edge of my seat from page one!

The story takes us through Sara Hall's point of view, a recent MBA graduate a few months out of school and still looking for work. A random encounter in an elevator after the worst interview of her life leads her to her big chance to break into Wall Street Finance.

We also follow four executives participating in a required corporate team building exercise that has them trying to escape a locked elevator. When nerves start to flare and everyone ends up on edge, the real answers start to come out... secrets shared, faults uncovered and a murderer exposed.

HIGHLY recommended and I'll surely be back for more from this author!

Don't you just love when you go into a book not really knowing anything about it and find yourself just devouring it? That is what happened when I picked up The Escape Room. I loved this book. The book involves four people who are summoned to do a mandatory team building exercise involving an Escape Room game. Once they all enter the elevator, it quickly becomes clear that this isn't just your ordinary escape room game.

The book goes between the present in the elevator and the past narrated by Sarah Hall. She is an ambitious business school graduate who is hired to work in a prestigious firm on Wall Street. That is all you need to know going into the book. The story was pretty fast paced and kept me engaged. I had an idea of who was behind everything, but I didn't know the why or the how. That was the best part of the book. I highly recommend this one. I have a feeling it will make my top 10 of 2018.

The Escape Room by author Megan Goldin is a phenomenal novel about a game gone horribly dark. It turns into survival to live for colleagues while trying to escape a work exercise. The entire story is palmary and I thoroughly enjoyed it to the last page!
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an arc copy of The Escape Room in exchange for an honest review.