Book Review – The Escape Game

The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer, Tamara Moss
Narrator: Keylor Leigh, Ryan Vincent Anderson
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Reader on April 7, 2026
Length: 11 hours 36 minutes
Genres: Crime & Mystery, Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Pages: 403
Format: Audiobook, eBook
Goodreads

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.

Julie’s Review:

I’ve done a few escape rooms and found them very exciting and also very difficult. So the puzzles and clues in this book were a fun theme! I also liked the premise that these teams are competing on a game show to win big bucks, and meanwhile, there’s an actual murder mystery and real dangers all around for our contestants. 

However, with the characters being teenagers, it really didn’t seem believable or plausible that they would even be allowed to participate in something like this with no parental supervision, especially after the murder in the previous season. No way. Maybe if they were college-aged kids and had their own agency.

I really liked Sierra and all her layers. She hides behind this exterior look, but when you get to know her, she’s got much more depth. But I didn’t feel as much of a connection with the other characters. I felt like they had a lot more to offer, but didn’t share as much. I wanted more emotion and maybe a more believable friendship between the team.

And the adults, well, I guess no one in Hollywood is free from drama or their vices. Someone is scheming to get ahead and stab someone else in the back, literally or figuratively.

The story was fast-paced and an easy read. I enjoyed the clues and puzzles, but would have loved to see more of it illustrated and displayed so we could follow along and solve the clues beside the teams. The high stakes and intensity made it an exciting read, and the ending, possibly setting up a second book, made up for everything going nutso when the murderer was unmasked.

Will I read the next book if there is one? Probably. But I won’t be in a huge hurry to do it. But I’m probably in for most of what this author writes, since I have loved so many of her fairy tale retellings.

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Lynn’s Review:

I liked this one, but didn’t love it. Let’s call it 3.5 stars. 

• Maybe it’s just me, but all of the main characters being teens was distracting. I think I’ve reached the stage in life where I don’t have a lot of interest in teenage characters. Sierra, Carter, Adi, and Beck are interesting in and of themselves. But I don’t find that I relate to them at all. The four very different characters on a team learning to work together was and interesting sub-plot. But we never really dig deep into their actual characters to learn much about them.
• I enjoyed the mystery solving portion of the novel. There are lots of twists and turns throughout the story. I did guess one or two of the main players, but not the others. And not in the correct circumstances. I think the escape rooms were also well-designed. I’ve only been through a few escape rooms. The ones in this book are way more involved!
• The audio narration was well done. Multiple narrators help here, making it easier to keep the different characters straight while listening. My challenge was listening to all of the different puzzles. It’s challenging to drive and try to figure out puzzles at the same time. In this instance, a case could be made for dual listening and reading to get the most out of this book. 

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