Week 44 Review: #noescape

From Goodreads:

The #murder and mayhem continue in this prequel companion novel to the grisly, campy social media insanity that is #MurderTrending and #MurderFunding. Gretchen McNeil brings her signature wit and merciless kills to this gruesome yet hilarious, wildly topical young adult novel.

Twenty years before Dee Guerra and the Death Row Breakfast Club took down The Postman and Alcatraz 2.0, long before Becca survived The Juggernaut and Who Wants to Be a Painiac?, the murder games first began with the wildly popular "escape room" trend. Specifically, with Escape-Capades, Ltd.?

When seventeen-year-old Persey, along with five other teens, enters the latest escape room game, they're competing for a grand cash prize. But while most escape rooms are about teamwork and collaboration, this one is all about being cut-throat-literally. When contestants start being killed off, Persey must solve a series of bizarre and gruesome puzzles, riddles, and games to make it out alive. She uncovers secrets about each contestant along the way, learning they're all mysteriously related-and someone is out for vengeance.

Whether readers are new to the #MurderTrending sensation or hungrily back for more, this wickedly campy prequel companion novel delivers a read you won't want to escape.

My Review:
Man, this book! I loved the twists and turns, and watching these kids go through this escape room, and slowly be killed off! I enjoyed Persey, who had a crappy childhood, who didn't do well on tests, but is a genius at escape rooms. Such an entertaining read! 

Watching this cast of characters figure out each portion of the escape room, gathering clues as it went along, leading them to discover that almost all of them are connected to the deaths of the former owners of the company that builds these escape rooms? Yeah, it was really entertaining. And that someone apparently wants revenge...

Throughout the book we would get snippets of Persey's past, of a father who thinks she doesn't apply herself, that she's stupid, doesn't believe that she could have a learning disorder (and it's not confirmed, but she probably does), and alcoholic mother, and a brother who is the apple in their dad's eye, but has some dark secrets. Of course some things weren't as they seemed, otherwise, why would we be getting this? 

That ending, with the reveal? I was kinda thinking something along those lines, but I didn't guess how far it actually went. And those names, oh! It's been a while since I read the first two books, I know they're the bad guys in the first two, but I'd need a reread to be clear on the details. 

This was a really great read, and I can't wait to read more by Gretchen McNeil! 

Author: Gretchen McNeil
Series: MurderTrending #3
Read: October 30th, 2022
Source:  Bought 
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series, and it's a End of Series 2022 Book, Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Published: September 15th 2020

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars