Synopsis

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.

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Review

In the last few weeks, I have read a few psychological thrillers that have just wowed me to no end.  The Escape Room is one of those books.  Set in New York at a finance company, the story focuses on a team that works on M&A deals for their company.  It is a high-pressure industry (I used to work close to this industry) and while the money is good, is it worth giving up most of your life?  Our protagonist, Sara Hall, is about to find out as she embarks on a new career and her life will never be the same again.

The story focuses primarily on six characters but the escape room only has four of the characters and you learn more about them and the other two throughout the book.  These four characters think they are better than everyone else and while the business they are in requires a bit of an ego, they lose touch with reality and those around them.  Not true for Sara and Lucy.  Both of these characters are a bit more grounded and while at times seem like they might fall in with the other four, things happen which proves us wrong.

The story switches POV between characters which made the story more interesting to me.  I liked seeing the situation from various viewpoints and how the different characters handled situations thrown at them over time.  I wonder if it affected their personalities once in the elevator trying to escape and having to rely on those in the elevator with them?  One of the clues asked if they trusted each other.  I think the answer is no for various reasons which I won’t share since it would take away from the story.

This story kept me on the edge of my seat and I read the book fairly quickly.  I think the ending wasn’t tied up as neatly as I would have liked as some things felt unresolved.  The book always made me think about to what extent I would work at a job or if I would want to come back after those that wronged me.  I was disgusted by the actions of some of the characters.  They were selfish and had no compassion.

I didn’t think about it until after the story marinated in my brain for a while, but why did the 4 go to a building that wasn’t occupied based on a text/email?  I suppose a company doing an escape room could have utilized a building not open to the public yet but it makes me wonder about the intelligence of these four.

This book is definitely worth reading especially if you enjoy psychological thrillers.  We give it 5 paws up.

About the Author

Megan Goldin was a journalist before she became a writer. She reported from the Middle East for the Associated Press, Reuters, the (Australian) ABC, and other news outlets. She worked in Asia as a reporter and editor for Reuters and Yahoo!. She is the author of The Escape Room, which will be released in the U.S. and UK in 2019, and The Girl In Kellers Way.  

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