The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss

The quick cut: The competitors on the latest season of an escape room competition show try to solve the murder of a contestant from the previous season. 

A real review: 

 Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for providing the arc for an honest review.

 Competition shows involving mystery and intrigue are nothing new. What if the majority of the intrigue was coming from the unsolved murder that occurred the previous season? This is the scenario for season five of the escape game.

 Season four of the escape game ended suddenly with one of the final team members, Alicia, was found dead in the final escape room. No one knows how she was placed there and no suspect has been identified. Many assume the killer is Sierra, a member of the other final team and the victim's sister. When she agrees to participate in season five, everyone wonders why she'd come back. Who killed Alicia? Why is someone planting clues about last season's murder? 

 I admittedly love competition shows that require intelligence to do well, so this particular book is absolutely my jam from the start. The authors do a brilliant job keeping my interest with the powerful dynamics between the team members and the surprising reveals at the end. I absolutely cannot wait to see what book two brings! 

 The narrator changes from chapter to chapter, with a few cut ins of interview transcripts from the prior season. It means that you see multiple perspectives, which helps you come to a conclusion around who could be pulling the strings. The answers provided at the end genuinely shocked me. There is nothing I love more than a surprise! 

 One of my favorite elements of this story is the disability representation using synesthesia. One of the team members has it and yes, it does play an active role in the story. Seeing the representation though and how synesthesia can appear in different ways excited me. The low key way it's introduced and utilized through the story made me smile. 

 There were a few slow points, but they were short and didn't pull me completely out of the story. 

 A fun and surprising thriller set in a competition show. 

My rating: 4.5 out of 5