Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Review - The Escape Game

Title:  The Escape Game
Author Marissa Meyer; Tamara Moss
Publisher:  G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Genre:   YA Mysteries & Thrillers
Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:   416 Pages
Date of Publication:   April 7, 2026
My Rating:  5 Stars 

DESCRIPTION:

It’s all fun and games until someone ends up dead.

Six months ago, season four of The Escape Game ended in horror when contestant Alicia Angelos was found murdered on set.

Now season five is underway, and new contestants are ready to put their skills to the test solving the show's trickiest escape rooms. There's Adi, the cryptographer; Carter, the math whiz; Beck, the wannabe game master, and . . . Sierra Angelos, the girl who got away with her sister’s murder. Or so everyone believes.

But Sierra’s not just here to win. She’s here for justice.

When the contestants begin uncovering clues that hint at the identity of Alicia’s true killer, it becomes clear that the stakes aren’t high in this competition, they’re deadly. If these teens want to win—and survive—the game, they must solve the biggest mystery of who killed Alicia Angelos?

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer and rising star Tamara Moss comes a twisty thrill-ride, filled with sabotage, betrayal, and puzzles to die for.


MY THOUGHTS:

Escape rooms have long been a popular pastime, especially for those who enjoy puzzles that require wit and logic. But the previous season of the television show The Escape Game took a dark turn when one of the contestants was murdered, leaving the case unsolved. Despite that shadow hanging over everything, season five moves forward with six new contestants, all hoping to put that tragedy behind them.

One of those contestants is Sierra, whose sister was the victim. Rumors still swirl, and some people - including a few of the current players - believe Sierra is the one who killed her sister. Determined to clear her name, Sierra enters the competition with more than just the goal of winning. She wants answers, and more importantly, she wants justice for her sister.

With the ongoing popularity of reality television, the concept of an escape-room-based show makes for an especially compelling backdrop. Locked-room mysteries have always had a certain appeal, largely because the suspect pool is so tightly contained. The story follows four main protagonists, each bringing their own strengths to the table, and their dynamic works particularly well when the tension ramps up.

What really stood out to me was how the author balanced the high-stakes competition with the underlying mystery. The puzzles and challenges added an extra layer of urgency, while the lingering questions from the previous season kept me guessing. At times, the shifting suspicions between characters made it hard to know who to trust, which only added to the suspense.

Overall, this was an engaging and cleverly constructed mystery that kept me invested from start to finish. If you enjoy closed-circle whodunits with a modern twist, this one is definitely worth picking up. I found myself just as eager to solve the crime as I was to see who would make it out of the escape room.
Many thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marissa Meyer is the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles, Heartless, The Renegades Trilogy, and Instant Karma, as well as the graphic novel duology Wires and Nerve. She holds a BA in Creative Writing from Pacific Lutheran University and a MA in Publishing from Pace University. In addition to writing, Marissa hosts 
The Happy Writer podcast. She lives near Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and twin daughters.


Tamara Moss 
grew up in Perth, Western Australia. She has a BA majoring in Asian Studies and a teaching diploma, which she used to teach primary school for ten years. Inspired by her students' love of adventure, Tamara wrote the Lintang series, beginning with Lintang and the Pirate Queen.

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