Reviews

500-ish pages, 4 hours, it’s a record! With the amount of whining these investment bankers spout, I was rather hoping to see them all die in the elevator. I still enjoyed the writing however.

The story was set with rotating chapters between the big-shot investment bankers who were trapped in an elevator together and their previous colleague Sara Hall who served as the exposition and main solver to the mysteries that surrounded this Wall Street crew. The ending payoff was nice, although with the amount of buildup towards the end, I wish that the final elevator sequence was more drawn out.

My biggest gripe with the book was that while the title of the book is “Escape Room” the room wasn’t actually escapable, nor were the clues anything more than a taunt towards the rich assholes stuck inside the lift. This felt like a bit of sloppy writing since there could have been more to develop the actual escape room and come up with compelling clues. Instead they took a backseat for Sara’s narration, and Vincent, Jules, Sam, and Sylvies’ incessant griping at each other.

All in all, after reading this, I don’t think I want to work in finance.

georgiagirl1315's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

emleemay's review against another edition

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2.0

My team was involved in structuring the acquisition. Sylvie, who was the team’s tax expert, figured out that if the production of the parts was taken offshore then we could take advantage of a tax incentive in the destination country that would save our client $110 million over five years. That alone would effectively pay for the acquisition.

😴 My reaction to [b:The Escape Room|41150380|The Escape Room|Megan Goldin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539265141l/41150380._SY75_.jpg|60014954] was not expected. I'd seen some mixed reviews from friends, with some calling it a little cheesy, or saying that all characters were unlikable (both true), but everyone seemed to agree on one thing-- that it was compelling. And, honestly, that's all I really wanted. Some nice undemanding thrills.

But this book bored me almost senseless. I can't believe it took me nearly two weeks to finish it.

The book is being sold as an escape room-style challenge that turns nasty. Four colleagues - Vincent, Jules, Sylvie and Sam - are trapped in an elevator (or "lift", as I would say) in a bizarre corporate team-building exercise and are presented with clues to help them escape. Except this part of the book only takes up a small percentage of the page time.

While it's true that every other chapter we return to the elevator to hear these four highly-obnoxious people whine about their circumstances, bitch about each other's work at the company, and complain about their six-figure bonuses, the majority of the book goes back in time and is narrated by another of their colleagues called Sara Hall. The majority of the book is actually about investment bankers at a top-level firm.

We hear again and again about the luxuries that come with working there, and the sacrifices that must be made. Snooze-worthy detailing of closing deals and who gets the biggest share of the bonus. The opening pages of the book reveal that it all ends in a bloodbath, and yet it is hard to see why we should care. Rather than wondering who died, and why, I spent most of the book feeling like I wouldn't mind killing them myself.

The characters in the elevator remain dull and underdeveloped; they are nothing more than selfish, overpaid investment bankers, and this made it really hard for me to care about what would happen to any of them. Plus, the way the book is set out means there is no twist or reveal-- it is obvious pretty much immediately what is going on and who is responsible.

Also: Can people really go 34 hours without needing to pee?

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katielou72's review against another edition

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5.0

A really enjoyable thriller with twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and a great ending! Will be looking out for more books by this author.

hollowspine's review against another edition

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dark funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

An okay thriller-ish office drama. If looking for something similar to the Escape Room movies, this is probably not going to do it for you. If you are interested in the quibbling/snide remarks and office politics of a group of unlikeable investment bankers with the knowledge that they will most certainly die, go ahead.

jjacobia's review against another edition

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4.0

Good book but has more bad language then I would care to read.

jakhajiit's review against another edition

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tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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