The Escape Room cover art

The Escape Room

Squid Game meets The Traitors, a gripping debut thriller about a reality TV show that turns deadly

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Eight contestants. One killer. Can you find the traitor?

'Wow! What a page-turner. I'm a Celebrity meets Lord of the Flies.' Emma Curtis

‘The pace never slackens.’ Faith Martin

Everything is a clue.
Bonnie arrives on a remote sea fort off the coast of England to take part in a mysterious reality TV show. Competing against seven strangers, she must solve a series of puzzles to win the prize money, but this is no game - and the consequences of failure are deadly.

No one leaves.
Under scrutiny from the watching public, the contestants quickly turn on one another. Who will sacrifice the most for wealth and fame? And why can't Bonnie shake the creeping sense that they are not alone?

The only way out is to win.
When the first contestant is found dead, Bonnie begins to understand the dark truth at the heart of this twisted competition: there's a killer inside the fort, and anyone could be next. If Bonnie wants to escape, she needs to win...

Are you ready to play?

©2024 L. D. Smithson (P)2024 Penguin Audio

 Crime Fiction Mystery Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Money Fiction Crime

Critic reviews

'Wow! What a page-turner. I'm a Celebrity meets Lord of the Flies. The nicest people turning on each other when the going gets tough.'
'What fun!'
There’s been a legion of thrillers about reality TV shows recently, but this stands out for the clever escape room-style puzzles that form part of the plot.
‘A definite page-turner. The pace never slackens. One for people who like puzzles and contemporary themes and characters.’
'The pace is relentless, meaning there’s plenty to keep you entertained throughout.'
Smart, suspenseful and seriously tense, The Escape Room is the very definition of a page turner.
The Escape Room is thrilling, thought-provoking and exciting enough that you might – like me – tear through it over the course of one train journey.
'Dark, disturbing and addictive. A jaw-dropping thriller that delves into the best and worst of human nature in our fight to survive. Loved it'
A gripping debut thriller.
Praise for L. D. Smithson:
All stars
Most relevant
I loved the readers use of accents and the gripping and interesting story and the plot twists

The pure immersion and tenseness of the book

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Bravo! The characters come to lofe with this narrater and the plot keeps you hanging just that little longer than you expected. I was suprised to see another hour to go at one point. Well worth a listen :-)

The twist and the accents

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I listened it all in a day!! Couldn’t stop, loved the story and how it was narrated

Loved it!

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I seem to have listened to loads of books based on reality tv series recently but this is definitely one of the best. Eight strangers arrive at a remote sea fort off the English coast and have to play a series of puzzles. What starts as fun soon becomes very dark indeed. The show is a little like The Crystal Maze but with definite Saw vibes! It is fast paced and very suspenseful. I did try to solve the puzzles myself but I was hopeless. The characters were all interesting and I was fascinated by the dynamics of the group, but the only ones I actually liked were Bonnie and Jacko and I was really rooting for them both. The story is full of twists and turns and kept me guessing all the way through. And the ending makes me wonder if there might be a sequel?

Great narration by Catherine Bailey.

Excellent debut

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Starts off ok but turns dull with some twists that should have played out. Seems a rushed ending with far too much fluffy filler in the middle.
The narration is ok but there are too many regional accents and the story is too UK centric to appeal to an international audience. This could have been good but it never lifts off.

Premise was good but not really developed so story never flows

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