This book intrigued me because of the premise: four hotshot investment bankers are lured to an abandoned office complex under the premise of participating in a team-building "escape room" exercise. Instead, they're locked in an elevator, where clues and hints about their pasts create an atmosphere of suspicion. Who among them knows more than they're letting on? Is it Vincent, alpha male and full of secrets? Sylvie, bitter over the unfair assessment of her worth versus that of her male peers? Or could it be Sam or Jules, both cash-strapped and desperate to outshine the competition in a season of small bonuses and large layoffs? And what does their plight have to do with a long-gone colleague named Sara, whose POV is intercut with the elevator scenes?

The plot and pacing made it hard to put this book down. There were so many secrets, lies and admissions cropping up that it felt much shorter than nearly 400 pages. So, why only three stars?

Well, I'm knocking off one star because I felt like the book needed a solid edit. The writing was clunky and just felt more like a rough second draft than a finished proof. For example, I lost track of how many times we hear that the four captives are opening the elevator doors to get some air. The lack of polish was a bit of a stumbling block to an otherwise good story.

The other star gets knocked off because by the end of the book, I realized that I didn't connect with any of the characters, even the "good" ones. It isn't just that I didn't like them; I didn't feel like they really had enough depth to make me empathize with them. Sara's POV felt wooden and even as she struggles with her backstabbing colleagues, I found it hard to really feel anything for her situation. The lack of character development left me feeling a little hollow by the last page.

Overall: a good thriller, though not great. It's Goldin's sophomore effort, so hopefully further novels will show a little more polish and move her books from three stars to four.

Oh wow. Put some time away for this book. It has all the ingredients for a terrific psychological thriller.

No spoilers from me. Book is great with lots of lies, deception, tragedy, and twists. Also, loved the unpredictable ending. Can't say enough great about this. Read it today!!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this fabulous book.

This was an excellent book. I was not sure who was going to be the villain until very near the end. It all tied up very neatly.

This is a novel that actually had me in suspense the entire time I was reading.
Sara Hall has gotten her dream job. Working in a high pressure financial firm on Wall Street.
Everything comes with a price. Sara has lost her personal life for the money, power and prestige that come with this opportunity.
It's a cut-throat business and "there are no friends".
Four of the other investors in the company are also caught in the fast pace of their career and the pressures.to be #1 at Stanhope and Sons.
Upon receiving and invitation for what appears to be a "team building" opportunity, these four get caught in an elevator with the goal of survival.
It becomes anything, but friendly. There is jealousy, anger, paranoia, and guilt as the togetherness continues in a "tight situation".
Great plot, and nicely woven together!

This is one of the best books I've read this year. That's a bold statement to start a review but I really liked this book. I knew nothing about the author and very little about the story when I started reading. The more I read, the more impressed I was with the writing. The characters were skillfully constructed, each with their own rationalizations to explain their behavior. The story is told in two viewpoints that smartly advanced the story without giving away anything about what was to come. The Escape Room has a number of great moments throughout the book. It ends with perhaps the best last two sentence conclusions I've read.

I don't want to give away anything about the story because reading the book without knowing anything was such a great experience for me. However you read this book it will be a great experience. I believe it will become a best seller. It's scheduled for publication August 6, 2019.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley.
#TheEscapeRoom #NetGalley

Working on Wall Street is definitely not a job for the timid. Many try to make it but few are successful. For four of these individuals, Vincent, Sam, Jules and Sylvia, success will come at a high price. After a year of more failures than successes, they each receive an email one Friday directing them attend a team-building exercise known as an “Escape Room” that weekend. Attendance is mandatory, according to the email. It is on the way up in the elevator that the nightmare begins. They are trapped, with no way out and no way to call for help. Because of the cutthroat world in which they work, each of them begins to suspect the motives of the other and the tension only worsens when the lights go out and the heat comes on. As the hours pass, they each begin to wonder if they are able to do what it takes to get out alive.

The Escape Room by Megan Goldlin is a thoroughly enjoyable novel. Although it does not appear connected to the upcoming movie, the plots are remarkably similar. This book is a study of human behavior, examining how far someone will go to gain an advantage, even against someone they are close to. The story alternates between past and present, something that is essential to understanding how the main characters ended up where they did and to how the novel concludes. It also presents what I find to be a very realistic picture of how a group of people who routinely compete against one another will be have in a situation requiring cooperation. I have read few novels as well-written as this one and for that reason, I give it 5/5 stars.

*A copy of the ebook is the only compensation received in exchange for this review.*

At first I thought the Escape Room was your typical 3 star entertaining book, but not something that you had to pick back up and read one more chapter. Ha! Eventually the two stories of Sara and of the team she worked with come together in a way that I had to keep reading.

Small town woman gets a job with a big finance firm in NY where money is no object. Can you imagine spending $14,000 on gifts for your coworkers for holiday gifts? All is not well in a corporate environment where work hours almost never leave time for sleep. Or kindness. Or maybe ethics.

I'd give this one 4.5 starts and look forward to more from this author. Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin is the type of novel that once you begin reading it you just have to continue to see what will happen to the major characters in the book. Sara Hall is a recent graduate in finance who is looking for a job. She has been turned down many places and is getting desperate when she is interviewed at Stanhope & Sons. She really wanted this job and felt she was qualified with her MBA from Michigan State. She doesnt get the job but gets a call from one of the managers that she met when there.. SHe is hired, makes lots f money and gets engaged to be married.Then everything falls apart for her. SHe loses her job and is desperate.
Their is a subplot within the novel and it describes how several people who she used to work with her locked into an elevator for several days. This story runs parallel to Sara's story. I won't say more because I think everyone who reads this book will be as surprised as I was at the end!

When I read the blurb I was super excited I mean this was a new concept, but unfortunately it didn't keep my excitement. I found it dragging and it couldn't keep my interest all that much, I was a expecting a thriller and didn't feel like I got that. Don't get me wrong I didn't hate it and I would still recommend you giving it a try but don't expect a whole lot. I didn't care about the characters they were not the greatest of people.

If we all know the truth, it would bring out the worst, most primitive instincts. We would turn into feral animals. We'd consume one another.

The best description I can offer this story is The Wolf of Wallstreet meets Saw. While our characters work for a financial firm, they certainly give Jordan Belfort a run for his money in regards to behavior and deviancy. While on the other hand, we have a group of characters forced into a room with a few clues that will determine their fate for freedom while slowly turning them against one another. Do you want to play a game?

Lets start with a little overview of the story. We have a few main characters and narrators during the course of this novel. These views are differentiated by The Elevator chapters and Sara Hall chapters. The Elevator chapters include four teammates for the Stanhope firm: Sylvie, Vincent, Jules and Sam. These co-workers were sent by their job to do a little team building exercise that turned into an experience that could equate to their demise. What starts off as an escape room challenge slow burns into a fight for survival. And survival of the fittest is all that matters here. The other chapters mentioned surround Sara Hall's experience being hired into the firm and her personal experience at Stanhope & Sons. A little look into an outsider's ticket into an exclusive life that she isn't prepared for. These two combos equate to quite the thrill.

In all honesty, this isn't a great novel. The writing at times felt lazy. And some of the descriptors made me roll my eyes and want to scream, "WE GET IT!" As well, The Elevator chapters switched up the narrator during the middle of paragraphs which could be confusing. We would be reading from Vincent's POV and halfway through the same paragraph Sylvie was narrating. The switch was sudden and not very smooth. But I ended up really enjoying it. First, it has a unique type of premise with the trending escape room experience. Second, it was fun as hell! And that was why I enjoyed it so greatly. The book was actually really amusing and entertaining despite the flaws mentioned above. Characters acting animalistic and being downright wild is amusing to me. Maybe there is a little animal in all of us?

Also, the story is a slow, cryptic build. We know these characters are all fairly shady in their behavior. They would stab their mother in her heart if it meant getting ahead. And as we get a peak into their dirtiest secrets about what they've done to get where they are, it really amps up the novel. I really love a story where the authors give me an amuse bouche before the feast. I must compliment Goldin, she mastered the slow build tease.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the approval and advanced copy. I think this book is going to be a pretty big hit for readers in the year 2019. It is just so much damn fun. While reading this story, I was reminded of how much I love and truly enjoy reading.

All I can say is WOW! This is such a great book. It kept me on the edge of my seat flipping pages. Such a clever engaging story of power, greed, and suspense in the elevator. I can not wait to share this book with my patrons in August!!

A very clever story told well is always worth reading. This one really hit the mark for me; without giving away the plot, just remember that all is not what it seems and things change relatively drastically in the final 100 pages as the two storylines collide in an unexpected way. My only complaint is that the actions that lead up to the climax in the storyline are a little “over the top” in terms of the drama involved. But, because the plot is so fast moving and intriguing, I easily forgive this minor transgression. In all honesty, this book would make an excellent movie … but, before that it’s still and excellent book ! (and worth reading). Thanks NetGalley for approving my pre-read. Quite enjoyable.

My appreciation goes out to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this title. I love me a good tale of revenge and this is one of the best. The plot centers around four Wall Street financiers and Sara who becomes one of the them while working at the same company. In the beginning she can do no wrong and gets promoted, receives good bonuses and doesn’t have any problems paying her aging parents’ medical bills.

Then, a parallel story is told about the four Wall Street typical types who are summoned to a building under construction to participate in a team building activity in an elevator called “The Escape Room.”

That’s when things heat up. No spoilers coming from me, though. Goldin’s writing draws the reader in and puts them in the middle of the action. I literally couldn’t put this thriller down and read until 1 a.m. last night to finish it.

I had very little negative to say about “The Escape Room.” Just that a few minor details didn’t seem that feasible, but they certainly didn’t disrupt the smooth flow of the story. Highly recommended.

Pretty good story, not unhappy I read it and fairly well written but a bit predictable although not boring

Thank you so much for this ARC!

I wish I could give this more than 5 stars! This was incredible. A perfect tale of mystery, intrigue, business and sexy.

What an exhilarating breath of stale elevator air! Megan Goldin takes the reader on a wild goose chase trying to figure out who is who and who did what. The chapters alternate between a group of investment bankers stuck in an elevator in what seems to be an innocent escape room game and employee Sara Hall. The bankers assume HR planned the game to observe them and their individual skills. After all, they all received the same email, right? We also follow Sara from living in a ghetto neighborhood as a waitress and trying to scrape by and pay her parents' medical bills. Until one day, she meets Vincent, one of the investment bankers in so-called elevator escape room. As the two stories start meeting in the middle, things aren't always what they seem. People are not who they say they are and their true characteristics come out when in a state of panic. I loved the clues that were given during the game. Very creative. My nose was stuck in my Kindle the whole time I was reading this book, waiting for that oh-so-wonderful twist followed by the satisfaction of revenge. All the stars for The Escape Room!

Thank you to Netgalley, Megan Goldin, and St. Martin's Press for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Having worked in the world of high Finance, I'm always incredibly intrigued by books set in that world. Throw in long hours, greed, tempers and jealousy and you have the stage set for drama. Now what happens when those personalities are trapped in an elevator together? Tensions rise, secrets are revealed and drama is flying - and that's all in the first minutes.

Goldin has written a really unique, suspenseful novel that had me hooked from the first page. I wanted to know what happened to Sara Hall and more importantly, what the four individuals in the elevator were hiding. I found the reveals to be well paced and the intrigue had me turning the pages well past my bedtime.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin, I really liked this book! It held my attention and I did not want to put this down till I had it figured out and finished. Great characters that you can picture in your head a good storyline and enough background on everything so it all flows naturally. Four Wall Street brokers are in an elevator doing an Escape Room challenge, or so they think...who will survive.......almost sounds like it could be the beginning of a joke doesn't it?! Nothing about this game turns out to be a joke though, far from it! A big thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this ARC book and give my honest opinion.

The age old mantra about exacting revenge on your enemies is that "Revenge is a dish best served cold". And that is exactly what Ms Goldin gives us - revenge for a crime against a person and that person's cold and calculating revenge against those that hurt her.
Sara Hall is a young newly minted university graduate that is having a great deal of trouble getting her first job. The job market is temporarily depressed. She is encountering the difficulty of getting a good position when her competition are men, and she has no experience in any major position.
She gets an interview with a Financial Titan; The Stanhope Corporation located in New York City which is a major player on Wall Street. She is forced to pay her own way from her hometown of Chicago to take the interview. Unfortunately she finds that she is really not under consideration since the person doing the interviewing is set on just getting a few interviews recorded in order to hire a friend of his. As luck would have it Sara encounters a Stanhope group leader on the elevator while leaving the building. Seeing her downcast expression the manager: Vincent, gets her to show him her ID. Thinking that nothing will come of that Sara returns home and gets a second rate job to make a living. Lo and behold when several weeks later Vincent contacts her and sets her up with an interview at Stanhope which results in her getting a job with them.
Ms Goldin describes very well what it means to work for a major player in the Financial world. Backbreaking work, long hours,very little time for a social life, but tons of money with huge bonuses and perks for the effort. Sara is placed on Vincent's team where she is assigned the low end of the spectrum in terms of work for the group. But she does her share and than some and does obtain the financial rewards inherent in the industry.
A person also assigned to the group is a mathematical genus who is very introverted but her skills are used to solve problems and make a lot of money for both the group and Stanhope. Lucy finds a friend in Sara and allows her to enter the private world she inhabits.
The plot involves Lucy committing suicide and leaving most of her personal records to Sara. Than when Sara finds that Lucy may have been murdered she goes to Vincent to advise him of the possibility. Her information is rebuffed and Sara is eventually let go. The concept of an Escape room is that it is a puzzle set up to entice people to enter it and not being able to leave until they solve a mystery which must be solved with clues provided before they are released. Sometime after Sara leaves a report comes back that she has been killed in a freak accident. Soon after invitations are sent to four members of Sara's team at Stanhope to attend a meeting at an almost deserted building. The invitation leaves no room for not attending and once there they find that they must take part in an Escape room scenario or their annual bonuses will be threatened. The Escape room is an elevator in the building and the four enter.
Most of the book is a narrative back and forth between the group in the elevator and Sara Hall. The reasons for the use of the elevator as an Escape room and what if anything does the deceased Sara have to do with it will keep the reader glued to the book and changing his or her mind constantly about what is going on. Many threads dangled and very well utilized in a novel that is the mark of a top flight author guarantee that Ms Goldin will have her books always sought after.

This book kept my attention pretty much throughout the entire story--the author feeds you little crumbs that keep you interested. We are taken back and forth between what is happening to an unsavory bunch of investment banker creeps stuck in an elevator and Sara Hall as we see her struggle. She faces problems as a new MBA candidate looking for a good job while trying to help her sick and ailing Father and Mother.
This was almost a five star read for me.. The end just was not satisfying enough--I just don't think it was plausible. In any event, I would still read another Megan Goldin book-I have always like stories that deal with revenge.

Thank you Net Galley and publisher for the chance to read and review.