Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Four people answer an ominous summons from human resources only to be deliberately trapped in an elevator in Goldin's debut thriller.In the highflying world of finance, Vincent, Sam, Jules, and Sylvie used to be superstars, but recently they've failed to close too many lucrative deals, and they know their jobs are hanging by a thread. Called to a Friday evening meeting at an office building under construction, they become trapped in the steel elevator, which has been rigged to emulate an escape room. If they solve the clues, perhaps they can find their way out. At first, they assume it's just the worst team-building exercise everbut the clues point them toward a much darker possibility. How much do they know about the deaths of two young associates? Will they be able to solve the mystery and escapeor is the whole system rigged against them? There's a Spanish proverb used by Tana French in The Likeness: " 'Take what you want and pay for it,' says God." The main characters in Goldin's novel should probably have paid more attention to the second half of that saying. Powerful, attractive, and unbelievably wealthy, they truly believe that their security and success are worth protecting at any cost. Despite the unsavory charactersor perhaps even because of themthis novel is pure entertainment. Offering a modern take on the classic locked-room mystery, Goldin strings the reader along by alternating chapters set in the past and in the present and by peppering the present chapters with riddles and word games. This is a commentary on the cutthroat, hypocritical world of finance, where one must sacrifice everything to stay on top. It provides us with antagonists we love to hate as well as a sympathetic heroine who pays the ultimate price for survival: her own sense of goodness and fair play.Cancel all your plans and call in sick; once you start reading, you'll be caught in your own escape roomthe only key to freedom is turning the last page! Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

It is not difficult to figure out who has set up the escape room, which is actually an elevator, in this debut from journalist Goldin, and there is clearly no happy ending likely for the four colleagues trapped inside; but fans of JP Delany and Ruth Ware will want to be right in there with them. Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam are living the life of overindulged entitlement, straight out of The Wolf of Wall Street. Their ruthless ambition and greed drive them to all manner of arrogance and intimidation. Perhaps even murder. Their poisonous remarks to each other have always concealed secrets that leak out as the hours pass in a hellishly overheated, confined place, and it seems only a matter of time before they turn feral and attempt to devour one another. Meanwhile, the sad fates of two of their coworkers unfold in the background. A nail-biting tale of a corporate team-building exercise gone horribly wrong, with a credible explanation of how the seemingly undoable is done. And to the victor go the spoils.--Jane Murphy Copyright 2019 Booklist

Publishers Weekly
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Australian author Goldin makes her debut with a riveting, if flawed, tale of greed and revenge set on Wall Street. After being called to an out-of-office meeting, four investment bankers from the Stanhope and Sons firm are trapped in an elevator on their way to an escape room challenge organized by their company. They realize that the elevator itself is the escape room when they start to receive increasingly more personal puzzles to solve on the elevator's TV monitor. Meanwhile, in flashbacks, recent hire Sara Hall becomes indoctrinated into the firm's culture of long hours and incredible pay. When a coworker dies, Sara wonders whether foul play was involved. Though both plots start off strong, the elevator narrative slows as it waits for Sara's story to catch up. Lucky flukes and coincidences stretch credulity, and the unlikability of those targeted for revenge lessens the scheme's impact. But these shortcomings aren't fatal. Thriller fans will eagerly turn the pages to see what happens next. 150,000-copy announced first printing. Agent: David Gernert, Gernert Company. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.