Girl Well Read

A special thank you to Edelweiss, NetGalley, Macmillan, and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam are high-rollers in the world of finance. They are relentless in their pursuits and are masters of their craft and their lavish lifestyles are proof of their successes. But this life of luxury comes at a great cost—a gruelling schedule and oftentimes unrealistic expectations and deadlines.

The four are called in for an after-hours meeting on a Friday night. Given the out-of-the way location, and their recent failure to close on too many lucrative deals, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam fear that they've been summons as a result of their poor performance and that they are going to be made redundant. Vincent informs them that they are actually there to participate in an escape room challenge. Agreeing that it is smart to be on their best behaviour before bonus day, and their competitive personalities getting the best of them, they pile into the elevator. But when the doors shut and they are plunged into darkness, it quickly becomes apparent that they are trapped.

Welcome to the escape room. Your goal is simple. Get out alive.

What starts off as a game turns into survival. Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam need to put aside their differences and work together to solve clues in order to be freed. But when the game reveals the secrets they've been hiding from one another, they realize that the terrible things they've done to get them where they are come at a high price. The final puzzle: which one of them will kill in order to survive?

Goldin's debut is a stomach-dropping ride. Alternating between past and present, the cast of characters are completely ruthless and will stop at nothing to succeed. They are fuelled by the rush that comes with making high-profile deals and will do anything that the company asks of them. Despite the unlikeable characters, or in spite of them, this story is totally compelling.

There are a few times where the reader has to suspend their disbelief and in this case, I'm willing to overlook it because it was so enthralling! Also, there were pockets in the narrative where it got repetitive and a touch (dare I say) predictable. But because it was so entertaining, I was completely captivated.

Whether it is a commentary on corporate finance or greed itself, the writing is clever and razor-sharp and I can't wait for more from Megan Goldin.