A Book A Week

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

Any reader of my blog will know that I can't pass up a good thriller. There is something about the discovery that takes place as you race to the finish of a twisted read that keeps me coming back each time. The best in the genre are the books that hook you from the beginning and demand to be read.  I accepted an offer to read The Escape Room from the publisher, and the rest was history. My eyes were glued to this book from start to finish.  If you are looking for your next "can't put down" read, then Megan Goldin's The Escape Room is the book for you!

The setup is simple enough. A group of high power Wall Street investment bankers are summoned to complete a team-building activity at an under-construction office complex. Normally the elite group wouldn't pause their busy lives for something as trivial as team building, but the company is rumored to be planning a massive round of layoffs. Their affluent lifestyles can't risk a layoff. They begrudgingly enter the elevator to begin the escape room challenge. But things aren't what they seem. Stuck in a darkened elevator with some of the most ruthless, win at all cost people in the world, they soon begin the fight for their lives.

Chapters of the elevator escape room alternate with flashbacks focussing on Sara Hall. The young woman has a prestigious MBA from a fantastic school, but those expensive pieces of paper are a dime a dozen in the high stakes world of Wall Street. She's moved back home to help with her ill father. Staggering debt and no job opportunities in sight leave Sara waitressing to make ends meet. Her latest expensive trip into the city for a job interview seems to be as hopeless as the rest. As she rides down the elevator for her trip back home, her resume catches the eye of a man in the elevator. He's in a high up position at another financial institution, and he agrees to take a look at her resume. Like something out of a dream, Sara finds herself with a high-paying job with one of the most ruthless teams in the business. Some of their practices are morally questionable at best, but the money flying into her bank account is too great to pass up. "Success is not for the squeamish."

The Escape Room sees Megan Goldin writing the kind of breakneck read that is too captivating to pass up. For the day it took me to read, I kept my eyes glued to my kindle until I was finished. As a quick aside, reading this one also forced me to become oddly proficient at reading while walking. Just because my dog needed to be fed didn't mean I had to stop reading! This is escapist fiction at its finest. To Goldin's credit, the pacing and suspense are so well done that I easily suspended my disbelief of even the wildest plot points. Saying more about where the characters go and how they evolve would rob you of the chance of discovering things for yourself. Still, trust me when I say this is the kind of fast-paced entertainment that thriller readers crave. If you're looking for more believable fiction, this is probably too far out there for you. But if you're willing to drop all pretensions and just enjoy the ride, The Escape Room is a solid choice.

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2019, 27)