A tremendous thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Reader’s Group for my advanced reader’s copy of The Escape Game. This book published in the US on April 7, 2026, and is one of my favorite reads of the year (so far).

The Story

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

I am absolutely obsessed with The Escape Game. How has a reality show like this not been invented yet?! A competition to get out of various escape rooms, but your teams are comprised of strangers. It’s the perfect level of mystery and drama.

I love puzzles and have always wanted to do an escape room. HOWEVER, I can get a little claustrophobic when I can’t get out of somewhere, so that has kind of prevented me from ever trying one.

This book just had everything I’m looking for in a solid mystery. It wasn’t overly gory. It was paced well with enough side drama to keep you interested. You got enough of each character’s story without extraneous information meant to distract you. The ending was heart-pounding, and you feel like you’re living it alongside these characters.

There are, of course, characters you’re designed to hate. They’re the very obvious ones though. The lines of good vs evil are (mostly) clean cut throughout. I’ll also say that the characters you’re supposed to love you absolutely do love.

The only annoying thing about The Escape Game is that it’s the first in the series, and the other books aren’t out yet. There is some good news there though. 👇

The book sets us up for the next one in the series, but it’s not a colossal cliffhanger. The book wraps up completely, and then leaves some breadcrumbs for what’s next.

Seriously. I can’t get enough of this book. Whenever I do my next book order, I’m absolutely ordering a copy. It’s everything I love in a good mystery.

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