Book Review: THE ESCAPE ROOM by Megan Goldin

THE ESCAPE ROOM by Megan Goldin

Griffin; 7/7/20 (Paperback Reprint)

CBTB Rating: 4/5

The Verdict: An engaging, entertaining thriller

One of my personal goals for 2021 is to finally make more time to read slightly older books that I missed when they were first published. This past week, I made a dent in my list of books that fall under this category by devouring Megan Goldin’s thrilling debut novel THE ESCAPE ROOM, which was first published in hardcover in 2019. In this engaging, page-turning suspense novel, Goldin puts a clever spin on the concept of a “locked room mystery”—here, locking a group of ruthless Wall Street hot shots in an escape room where the game isn’t just complicated, it’s deadly. When four rising stars in an elite investment banking firm are invited by their company’s HR department to participate in an escape room challenge, they find it odd, sure, but they are quick to comply. Anything to climb the corporate ladder. But the group quickly discovers that this is no ordinary escape room, and that the stakes in this game are higher than any of them could have imagined. Page-turning pacing and loads of entertainment value make THE ESCAPE ROOM a dark and sinister delight to read; a cast of wholly unlikeable yet vividly crafted characters brings this story to life, and keeps readers on their toes, unsure of who (if anyone) they can trust. Megan Goldin’s debut thriller delivers clever entertainment and devious plotting, the kind of book that you can read in in one or two sittings.

Plot Details: 

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 challenge 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?

Enter the vicious world of Wall Street in Megan Golden’s THE ESCAPE ROOM. Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam all had better things to do on a Friday evening than participate in a corporately-mandated escape room challenge, but with rumors of layoffs swirling and the group having recently suffered financial setbacks, they can’t take any chances. So off to the escape room they go, each one bringing with them their personal worries, motivations, and secrets. Everything seems above board until the group steps into the elevator that’s meant to take them to the escape room… and the lights go out, plunging them into darkness. When the elevator doors fail to open, it becomes clear to the group that this isn’t an ordinary escape room—it’s a challenge meant specifically for them, and failure is not an option. The stakes have been raised: in this game, it’s do or die. Expertly moving between the claustrophobic setting of the locked elevator, where tensions are beginning to rise as the secrets of our four Wall Street hot shots are slowly but surely revealed, and flashback chapters that give readers a firsthand glimpse into the corporate culture that has bred these truly despicable characters, THE ESCAPE ROOM is a binge-worthy thriller with dark themes at its core. Through its highly unlikeable yet expertly crafted characters, THE ESCAPE ROOM explores themes of greed, abuse of power, and revenge, all wrapped up in one deliciously readable thriller package. 

I have a soft spot for thrillers featuring unlikeable characters, and if you do too, you will love THE ESCAPE ROOM. This is a book where just about everyone has a dark side, and most of them aren’t afraid to show it. In so many ways, Wall Street is the perfect setting for a crime novel, and THE ESCAPE ROOM uses this backdrop to outstanding effect. Unbridled ambition, competition, and greed define the personal and professional lives of our story’s characters, and the lengths to which these men and women are willing to go to get what they want drives this thriller forward. Central to this story are four investment bankers who work for an elite firm. Vincent, the group’s leader, is a former army medic with natural charisma. Vincent has an eye for spotting talent, and he has assembled a team of employees whose skills and work ethic are matched only by their greed and utter lack of moral scruples. Reporting to Vincent we have Sam, Jules, and Sylvie—three characters who have very few, if any, redeeming qualities. In the present day timeline, readers witness the fraying of the bonds between this group as the reality of their entrapment in the elevator sinks in. As power dynamics shift and old resentments rise to the surface, the increasingly volatile relationships between these characters hint at a potential for deadly violence to come. Megan Goldin expertly alternates this present-day setting with flashback chapters, which follow a young woman as she interviews for what she hopes will be her first job on Wall Street. Sara Hall is one of the few sympathetic characters in this novel. She is smart, hard-working, and grounded, a young woman who wishes to earn a comfortable living so she can help her ailing parents pay for their medical bills. But as Sara navigates the grueling interview process and settles into her first Wall Street job, she finds herself coming face to face with the rampant sexism and toxic culture at her new workplace. And when a tragedy rocks the office, Sara’s own survival in the job—and survival, full stop—comes into question. These interweaving timelines build to a finale that, while somewhat predictable, nevertheless felt triumphant and perfectly fitting for the tale Goldin weaves in this book’s pages.

There were many qualities to THE ESCAPE ROOM that worked very well for me, from this book’s pacing to its vividly-crafted characters to its unflinching portrayal of the truly horrific culture of the (fictional) office in which this story takes place. However, there were also a few elements of this book that I suspect may not work quite as well for others that I did want to mention. First was simply a matter of expectations: I thought, given this book’s title, that more of the story would be focused on a literal escape room. While there absolutely is an element of escape room fun to this book, the primary focus of this story isn’t actually revolving around our protagonists solving puzzles. This isn’t a negative—the story delivers tons of entertainment value!—simply something to keep in mind, as my expectations were just a bit off in this respect. I expected more of a true “locked room mystery,” but in my opinion, this book doesn’t technically fall into that crime fiction tradition; rather, it uses that concept as a jumping-off point for its own unique brand of claustrophobic suspense. I would also note that this book truly does have some very, very hateful characters in it. I personally love crime novels that feature unlikeable characters, particularly when they are as vividly-drawn and engaging as the men and women who fill the pages of THE ESCAPE ROOM. However, I know that not everyone feels this way, and I would caution that if you do not enjoy reading about unlikeable characters, you will likely not enjoy THE ESCAPE ROOM. Last but certainly not least, the finale of THE ESCAPE ROOM is somewhat predictable. This was not a huge negative for me personally, but I do want to mention it to help set appropriate expectations for any reader who might be considering picking this book up. This story, in my opinion, isn’t meant to be leading towards a massive plot twist or shocking final reveal. Instead, it’s all about witnessing the increasingly dark series of events that brought its cast of despicable characters to the life-threatening situation they find themselves in today. I may have predicted the finale to this book, but I nevertheless found it satisfying and oddly triumphant.

THE ESCAPE ROOM is a true page-turner, a thriller that kept me hooked and fully entertained even in the midst of a busy work week—my personal litmus test for a book’s entertainment value. Pick this book up for an easy-to-devour suspense tale brimming with unlikeable characters on a collision course with the comeuppance they’ve been running from for years. 

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Book Details: 

Publisher : Griffin; Reprint edition (July 7, 2020)

Language : English

Paperback : 384 pages

ISBN-10 : 1250219663

ISBN-13 : 978-1250219664

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