An engaging read set during WWII, that follows Beryl Clarke and an American soldier as they wait out the war, she in England working for Waddington Game Company and Kenneth in a German POW camp.

Beryl has put off her plan for schooling due to war as well as her mother's failing health, she is a hard worker and does what she can to make her mother more comfortable. I liked the friendship between James and Kenneth, and how he encourages Kenneth to take a closer look at Christianity. Kenneth is a good friend, clever and quick thinking, I liked how he and the other soldiers stuck together while in the prison camp.

Overall it was an entertaining read, with a touch of romance, but mainly a story about the brave men and women who lived through the war. It was so cool learning about how games were used to help the troops on foreign soil. An enjoyable read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A bit disappointing:
I must admit that I was expecting more from this book and was hoping for more tension, suspense and even romance. What we got instead was a rather tame WWII story which found to be rather mundane and not very exciting. I have read and loved all of the prior books in the series and one of the things that made them so special was how unique they were and that they revealed little known or forgotten aspects of the war. I did find it interesting learning about the special Monopoly game for POWs but didn't feel as if this took enough precedence within the overall story. There was a light romance and whilst I liked both characters, I would have liked to have seen them interact more and show greater characters development.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

This was a captivating story and I enjoyed how the author told the story from the home front and from the side of the men involved in the war. I felt like the story ended a little too suddenly for me. I really enjoyed the characters of Beryl and James!



Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc. The opinions are my own.

This book gave me a new view of WW II. Marilyn Turk provides the reader with a great story backed by amazing research that introduces a part of history that is not always as talked about. What happened to soldiers captured during the course of war? It also shows how those who stayed behind did everything in their power to help the war effort and the soldiers who were on the frontlines. This story follows a family in Leeds who loses a family member to night raid bombings, James joins the RAF, and Beryl does everything she can at home to help with air raid safety and supporting her Mom. She takes a job at Waddington's after leaving college to help and waits with all England for an end to the war. Then her brother can return home and they can try to get back to a new normal. But then the news comes that James has been captured and it feels like tragedy is piling up. Then comes one of the worst bomb blitzes and an elderly community member loses her husband and home. The women band together to find home and support to continue moving forward. Meanwhile James, as a POW, meets up with an old college friend. American Kenneth is also a POW and is relentless in his pursuit of freedom to rejoin the war. Beryl learns that her employer is providing board games that contain secret escape plans. Now how can she let her brother and friend know that help could be on the way, without giving away the secret to the enemy? And how long will they all have to wait for the escape plan to be implemented?
The detail in each part of this story is amazing. I was pulled into the story immediately and didn't want to leave until I knew how everything ended. The danger in the POW camp was palpable, the air raid siren blared through to make the danger seem real. I have enjoyed, and learned from, many different WW II novels. This one lands near the top of the pile. It was a new story for me with the POW story. Marilyn Turk weaves a wonderful story to share this unique story. I look forward to the next novel she writes. I will definitely be watching for it!I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a wonderful story - a sweet romance blooming in the midst of war. The trials of the POW prison was heartbreaking to me, but the trials those at home faced were awful as well. I think we always think of those in the war before we think of those trying to keep home fires burning under the hardships the war brings to everyone. I really liked hearing bout how the POWS tried to escape and their training that led them to always be planning this vs. becoming complacent. I never realized that.
This was a great book with a HEA and I've thought about it many times since finishing it. Thank you Marilyn Turk!

Marilyn Turk brings us a WW2 story, inspired by real events.
The Escape Game has parallel storylines.
• The first focusses on Beryl Clarke, a young woman living in Leeds and working at the Waddington Board Games company by day, and acting as an ARP warden at night. Through her we get a glimpse into life on the home front, the realities of bombing raids, rationing and community pulling together.
• The second storyline focusses on her brother James and his university friend Kenneth who ultimately found themselves in the same POW camp in Germany. Here we discover how POWs kept themselves occupied whilst also constantly looking for ways to escape their captors and coming up with some innovative ideas and plans!

The stories are interwoven and the dual perspectives give us both a home front & a POW perspective. A gentle romance builds between Beryl & Kenneth through their letters, in a way that many relationships did at the time.

I was aware that “escape kits” had been hidden in all sorts of innocuous items, including Monopoly games and it was lovely to read a story where this was significant. I liked the way that Beryl passed hints to her brother & Kenneth about what to look for. It brings a whole new meaning to “get out of jail free” cards!

What didn’t work so well for me

Whilst some of the details about life in a German POW camp were interesting, it was one of the tamest, most civilised camps you could ever imagine. There was minimal punishment for those breaking the rules, escape attempts were treated like a game, nobody seemed to get ill and the Germans were more like the security guards at a shopping mall than soldiers guarding their enemy! The final escape happens in the last few pages of the book, and is virtually glossed over. After so much detail in the earlier part of the book, it felt as if the author had run out of steam, or reached her word count & stopped.
It’s lovely that an American author wanted to write about the UK during the war, but a good British editor would have picked up on small facts that really highlighted that this had not been written by somebody who knew & understood British life such as the fact that British churches don’t have “dressing rooms” for brides to wait in - she’d have been in the vestry or maybe next door at the vicarage - and that bridesmaids follow the bride down the aisle, rather than walking ahead of them!

Recommendation
Overall, this is a nice little story that had a great story at the heart of it. I think it would be of interest to anyone who wants a very gentle, clean read with a strong faith element, but it fell flat for me as it could have been so much more.

Did you know that Monopoly games were Made Into Wartime Prison-Escape Kits during WWII with the help of MI5? I did not! I just finished this story "The Escape Game" that brought this fact to life. This book is part of the wonderful Heroines of WWII series. This is why I love historical fiction!

Half of the story takes place in Leeds, and half of the story takes place at the German POW camp on the Baltic sea in the German city of Barth, 105 miles northwest of Berlin called Stalag Luft I for captured Allied airmen.
(I am curious about the relatively lax nature of the POW camp for the airmen..)

When the war broke out, Beryl Clarke leaves college to return to Leeds, to care for her mother, work as a secretary at the Waddington game company, and work as an air raid warden on regular shifts at night.

I really enjoyed this well written and engaging addition to the Heroines of WWII series! Thank you to new-to-me author Marilyn Turks for introducing me to several new facets of WWII that I had not known about!

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for allowing me to read an early copy. All opinions are my own.

The Escape Game is a fantastic addition to the series. Well written with a good plot and well developed characters. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC. This is my unbiased review

This was a great story with pieces of history that I hadn’t heard before (like making the escape game)! This was my first time reading a book by this author, and I really enjoyed it!

The only suggestion I would have is to drop the present day introduction/conclusion. There wasn’t enough of that story line to be worth it.

During the encampments of WWII, usually we learn about what happened in the gas chambers and how cruel people were to put their neighbors on the spot. There was so much division in those days, but we rarely hear about what might have happened inside POW camps. This book, The Escape Game by Marilyn Turk, shares all about what it might have been like.

These pilots from various countries were all placed into the same POW barracks of sorts. These men were limited on their food, but thankfully received many Red Cross packages as well as packages and letters from family. It was mentioned in the story that the person in charge of this POW camp for pilots was a pilot himself during The Great War (otherwise known as WWI). These pilot POW were treated fairly well.

These men were also constantly working towards escaping. Whether it’s a tunnel being dug under their barracks, hiding in a truck that delivers goods to the camp, or something else, these men were always planning an escape in some way or another. In one of those Red Cross packages, one of the main characters receives a Monopoly board that has secret compartments. Not only did it have real French and German cash, it also had a compass, and a map of safe houses.

Not long ago, I read another historical fiction book about useful tools being distributed in Red Cross packages in games like Monopoly as well as gadgets flying with the pilots to keep them warm and nourished for a few days. It’s amazing how innovative the British were to help their pilots, soldiers, and POWs.

This is a fantastically written book that anyone interested in historical fiction should absolutely read! 5 out of 5 tiaras for this excellent work! Thank you NetGalley and Barbour Fiction for access to this book.

This story started out interesting and I enjoyed Kenneth’s personality. Beryl’s struggles at home with the impacts of war on everyday life was a good reminder of how horrible the war was.

Kenneth was a lively young man and his mindset to escape and not get comfortable was inspiring. The POW camp was quite mild compared to other horrific camps which was surprising.

However, somewhere the story lost paced and just stayed in the middle lane. I expected more action and suspense with the escapes and thought the game would have been more emphasized than what it was.

I enjoyed James and how this challenge grew his Faith and wanted more of that for Kenneth. There was potential for that but just never really developed but a brief prayer at the end.

The narrative focuses on two aspects of WW II, alternating between them. One aspect in life in Leeds, England. We follow a young woman, Beryl, and her mother as they endure air raids and bomb shelters. Beryl works at the board game company so that provides the link to the secret method of helping prisoners escape the German POW camps. The other aspect of the novel follows the experiences of an American who had volunteered to fly for England before the U.S. entered the war. The historical information contained in those two parts of the novel may not be anything new as Turk was not writing about anyone in particular but used the written accounts of many to create the story.

The unique part of this historical novel was the use of a game to send secret messages to POWs. It was a clever way to provide resources for an escape in a way that the Germans would not recognize. This does not come into the book until well past three quarters so most of the book is rather generic WW II experiences.

This is a good book for readers who like to read about WW II experiences based on a compilation of written accounts with a little near the end on the unique use of a game.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

This book was a real page turner for me, never knowing what to expect from one page to the next. The author did a great job in writing a well researched depiction of life in a POW camp of pilots captured in Nazi controlled Europe during WWII. Risking it all for escape was the name of the game, and these prisoners, pilots from many countries, worked together in perfecting escape routes and digging tunnels. They forged documents and sewed clothing to use after escaping the compound. The love story was secondary but the life of those left behind in England was simultaneously followed along with the pilots’ story. A heart wrenching time to be sure!

A great historical fiction but with plenty of facts as well. WW2 was a nasty war especially with what the POW.s went through. Very well written and a good book to read. 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

A truly intriguing novel of WW2 that held my attention from beginning to end. The title got my attention as soon as saw it and the description sealed the deal for my interest in wanting to read it and I am so glad I did.

The Escape Game is unlike any other book that I have read in recent memory, from the home front to the POW camps, to the incredible characters it had me eagerly reading to find out what would happen next. Every time a box would arrive from the Red Cross to the POWs I was filled with anticipation to find out if there would be THE monopoly board game that held the keys to the prisoners escape. If not for the lovely Beryl, who had an interest in two of the prisoners the clues may have gone unnoticed by the recipients of the game.

Ms. Turk has written a truly amazing and well researched novel, I look forward to reading more of her work. Fans of historical fiction will surely want to read this.

I received a copy through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I was hopeful for this book. It was my first by Marilyn Turk and the premise of the book seemed very interesting. I always find historical books to be great reads, especially when they give insight into some historical fact that is little known.

My favorite part of this book was the historical fact included though. I didn’t know that Monopoly was used in any way to help men in the World War escape! It was fascinating to hear about it and to read a fictional story of how it may have played out for real men who wound up using the board game to help them escape.

The story outside of this aspect was slow to me. It was hard to stay invested in the characters. Overall, I like Kenneth, and James, and Beryl, but I would have liked to see more character development. Also, at the end, I would have very much liked to see Beryl and Kenneth interact more. The story came to a close very abruptly from a reader point of view.

**I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed are completely my own.**

A good WW2 novel about love, and courage. The story and characters are well done. The plot and action will keep your interest till the end. The end felt kinda sudden and like the author hurried to finish the book to me, but overall I thought it was a good read, and worthwhile for those that like this type of novel to enjoy.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this latest installment in the _Heroines of WWII_ series!

As with each book in the series to date, it is a standalone read (yaaaay :D). And, it's my first Marilyn Turk book--but won't be the last! She is a talented author who vividly brought the story to life. It almost could have used a tad more fleshing out in areas, but none to give me much pause. (On the same token, compared to some other recent reads for me, it was refreshing to leave room for reader inference and not be told everything!)

I read the book in about a day, and was sad to see it end. Also in keeping with the series theme, I learned quite a bit about aspects of WWII I hadn't known before. There's always more to tell, and this book did a great job of doing just that. It also made me want to search my Monopoly game :D ... but alas, no dice! (No pun intended, haha!)

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A Monopoly piece - a tiny race-car - but oh the story it tells.

War brings many undesirable things with it, not the least of which was the air raid sirens that peeled through the silence in Leeds, England in 1941. As an Air Raid Warden, Beryl has the unfortunate privilege of encouraging folks to find shelter, sometimes just managing to do so herself. Many were not so fortunate. Fathers, sons and brothers are fighting, including James, her brother, as well as his college buddy, Kenneth. POWs in Germany, escape is at the top of their list.

Waddingtons, a game manufacturer, is commissioned to make a very special Monopoly game - one fit for those who are stuck behind enemy lines. Will James and his fellow POWs receive one of these special games - one that can help them escape?

This early copy of Heroines of WWII was received through Barbour Publishing and NetGalley. These thoughts are my own and were in no way solicited.

Finished ✔️ The Escape Game by Marilyn Turk!

4.5 ⭐️’s
Publish Day: March 1st, 2023
Kindle Unlimited: No
WW2 Novel
Full of intrigue
Full of adventure
Full of Romance
Very interesting and well written
Definitely keeps your attention
Gives a light on what life was like during WW2
Yes, I’d recommend this book 📚

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