Review

#BlogTour #Review : The Escape Room by Megan Goldin #TheEscapeRoom #stmartinspress

Hello readers! Today is my stop during the blog tour for The Escape Room by Megan Goldin. Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for tour invitation and for providing NetGalley widget for review.

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin
Publication Date: July 30th 2019
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre : Psychological Thriller / Mystery thriller
Pages: 352
Stars: ★★★★☆ (4.5)

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?

It’s good we have grill gate elevator

The Escape Room was riveting psychological thriller with revenge game arc and smart corporate setting. It revolved around the finance bankers of Wall Street. It was about revenge, money, greed, power, selfishness and ruthlessness to the core.

Book started 34 hrs before a Watchman found out something bad was happening in the under construction office building in South Bronx that was going to open in few weeks. Vincent, Sylvie, Sam and Jules – Wall Street colleagues, finance bankers – were called to an off-site office building and were forced to play The Escape Room challenge in order to save their jobs. A game that looked harmless at first turned into more sinister and personal.

Chapters alternated by the elevator escape room, a present scenario and a person connected to these four, a former employee telling life story in past, how that person got the job in same organization and what happened henceforth. Both narration one by one told about characters, what they thought about each other, their secrets and their sins.

So, the first question popped when I start reading this thriller was why these four particularly were chosen for the challenge? What connection did they have with former employee? As I read few chapters more it was clear it’s a revenge game but by whom? Who was behind the challenge, setting them up and putting all clues and rules of the game?

All characters were developed, unlikable, some even hateful. Some were genuine and reliable but good doesn’t stay for long when you are surrounded by of bad evil. I even felt Vincent was good but I kept questioning if he was. All these four stuck in elevator were the greediest either for money or power, they didn’t look back who they’ve trodden in their path. Selfish, ostentatious and ruthless are the words that defines them. Compassion, kindness was not in their dictionary.

It shocked me to read how much all the characters worked, how much they valued money than ethics and humanity, the greed and power turned them all blind leaving only few who remained shut and out-of-the-way. I keep questioning, was it worth working inhuman hours, to be part of cut-throat competition, not even able have peaceful or happy family time. My jaw dropped at how much appearance mattered in this corporate world. As I read more things turned crazier and monstrous to the point I thought this can’t be reality.

Twist and turns were good. First half was not that thrilling but it had that hovering tension, not on edge of the seat kind, but enough to keep me anxious. It was more like character building, setting the stage for drama. The second half was brilliant. All the hell broke out, all the worst things started taking place one-by-one and as I reach the climax, I enjoyed the action both elevator and former employee’s life. One can solve the mystery before second half started but the fun was to know whys and hows.

End was satisfactory. I liked the way things turned out. After finishing the book I kept thinking about their situation for long time. I’m sure it won’t be my last book by Megan Goldin. After reading this revenge game, I want to read more in this theme.

Why 4.5 stars-

As much as this book was fun reading and loved that tense feeling and curiosity to keep reading till the end of the book, I was constantly aware this can’t be possible in real life, whether it’s office environment or the escape room challenge.

Overall, it was gripping, brilliantly executed psychological thriller, a revenge game filled with unlikable characters that reader of this genre would love to devour.

Author Bio:

MEGAN GOLDIN worked as a correspondent for Reuters and other media outlets where she covered war, peace, international terrorism and financial meltdowns in the Middle East and Asia. She is now based in Melbourne, Australia where she raises three sons and is a foster mum to Labrador puppies learning to be guide dogs. THE ESCAPE ROOM is her debut novel.

Now available!

Purchase link: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250219671
Affiliate Link: Book Depository

What do you think about the book? Have you read it already? Are you going to add it to TBR? Do you like psychological thriller and revenge arc? Recommend me your favorite book falling in this genre.

Share your thoughts in the comment-box below.

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Hi, I'm Yesha, an Indian book blogger. Avid and eclectic reader who loves to read with a cup of tea. Not born reader but I don't think I’m going to stop reading books in this life. “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”

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