Just When You Think Things Can’t Get Worse . . .
Synopsis
For those who are claustrophobic, the setting of The Escape Room won’t be too hard to imagine. While the story flashes from present to past, it opens with a prologue regarding Miguel, a security guard who works the night shift at a construction site. The site is a luxury office tower in the final stages of construction.
When Miguel thinks he hears a muffled scream, he tries to talk himself into believing that he just has an active imagination. But when he discovers an elevator switch flickering in the dark, he’s not so sure about the fear coming from his imagination. Why would someone be using the elevator? He should be the only one in the building. But when unmistakable gunshots cause him to hit the ground, he begins frantically punching 911 into his phone.
Thirty-four Hours Earlier
High finance colleagues, Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam, get notifications from their employer of a compulsory meeting on a Friday evening. (The meeting is at the desolate building mentioned in the prologue.)
As they arrive that evening they all crowd into the elevator, wondering what the meeting could be about. But their guessing doesn’t last long. As they begin to ascend, the lights suddenly go out, the elevator abruptly stops, and doors stay shut.
Though some are more concerned than others, the group reason that the meeting is a team-building activity. They are to work together to solve the puzzle of getting the elevator to run again. And team-building efforts such as this aren’t unheard of at their company. So they try to remain calm and start to search for clues.
Though they do find a few cryptic clues, a sobering thought begins to occur to all of them: there will be no activity, including security watchmen at the building until the following Monday.
But is this really what they think it is, or a dangerous game of survival? Will these colleagues who are trapped in the dark, each one with facades, begin to open up to each other? Will the struggle to deal with minimal ventilation, claustrophobia, their own thoughts, and fear make them better or worse people? Is this game a game of survival?
Soon Sara realizes that Stanhope and Sons expect extremely long hours and have zero tolerance for errors. It’s highly stressful. And means constantly being on guard to protect position and employment. Not exactly what Sara bargained for, but the pay is extremely appealing.
So how does Sara fit into this story? And Lucy Marshall, a genius who is also assigned to work with the people who are in the elevator? Trust me, it will all make sense when you get a copy of this book in July. So mark your calendar!
Details
- Title: The Escape Room
- Author: Megan Goldin
- Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
- Publication Date: July 30, 2019
- Pages: 368
- Excerpt
My Thoughts
What Concerned Me: To be honest, the believability factor is pretty low. (Continued below)
What I Liked Most: But the excitement level is high. They work together to create a great book for mystery and thriller lovers. It kept me flipping pages at a pretty fast pace and I had no trouble hurrying back to this book.
While the beginning was a bit overwhelming with so many names, it didn’t take me long to start getting things sorted out. If you don’t worry too much about names at the first of the book, you shouldn’t have a problem at all.
The story was described in such a manner that I could easily picture the elevator and the people inside. Then as it flashed to the past, the story began to come together.
About the Author
Megan Goldin
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.
The Escape Room
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