Review: The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss

 

The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss

Publication Date: April 7th 2026 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Pages: 403

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Season four of The Escape Game, a reality escape room game show, didn’t end well. Sisters, Alicia and Sierra were pitted against each other on rival teams, each working to solve escape rooms for a cash prize. The finale was like a scene from a horror movie when Alicia is found murdered. It’s rumored Sierra killed her.

 

Surprisingly the show is going on with season five. There are new contestants: Adi, a cryptographer, not excited to be on the show but if he wins, it will help him escape the clutches of his mother, a horrid, attention seeking woman. Carter is brilliant at math and solving puzzles, famous on social media under her avatar, but she’s painfully shy in person. Beck designs his own escape rooms and has a history with the show’s backer. To everyone’s surprise, Sierra returns and is the most controversial contestant. A lot of people think she killed her sister in a fit of sibling rivalry, but she doesn’t let that derail her mission. Together they form Team Helsing.

 

Sierra’s motives are unclear at the beginning, especially when she leans into her goth-girl-with-a-grudge persona, but it didn’t take me long to root for her. I enjoyed seeing these misfits merge and slowly build trust. Together they confront danger from unknown fronts as they try to keep ahead in the game.

 

The Escape Game was an edgy and fun YA mystery that hooked me from the start!  I had my suspicions which were confirmed in one way, but there was a big surprise I didn’t see coming. Things got a little crazy in the end! This mystery wraps up, but there’s another book coming. I look forward to joining Team Helsing in their next adventure!

4 Stars

Book 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.