suicide – Freshly Printed

Book Description:

Dr. Robert Hart, Sag Harbor’s just-named Man of the Year, is the envy of his friends and neighbors. His medical practice is thriving. He has a beautiful old house and a beautiful new wife and a beautiful boat docked in the village marina. Even his wayward son, Jonah, is back on track, doing well at school, finally worthy of his father’s attentions. So when Jonah’s troubled college roommate, Nick, needs a place to stay for the summer, Hart and his wife generously offer him their guest house. A win-win: Jonah will have someone to hang with, and his father can bask in the warm glow of his own generosity.

But when he begins to notice his new houseguest getting a little too close to his wife, the good doctor’s veneer begins to crack. All the little lies Robert tells—harmless falsehoods meant to protect everything he holds dear—begin to mount. Before long, he’s embroiled in a desperate downward spiral, destroying the lives that stand in his way. It’s only the women in his life—his devoted office manager, his friends, his wife—who can clearly see the truth.

Biting and timely, Man of the Year races along at an electric pace, with a wicked twist that you won’t see coming.

I cannot explain the spiraling this book does. It starts out with a very proud man, seemingly humbled by an award for his accomplishments and contributions in Sag Harbor, which would give us all the impression he is loved and a friend to all. But is that really who Robert is?

Within the pages of this book, readers get a glimpse of the real Robert: he is somewhat paranoid and judgmental of those around him. He also comes across very insecure and accusatory. His relationship with his wife is very complicated and her behavior doesn’t help us to narrow down her faithfulness. There are a few scenarios that definitely lead us to believe that his wife may in fact be having an affair, however the accusation includes Nick who is currently living with them.

The bizarre events that happen about 25% into the book really reveal the depth of these characters: Robert, his wife Elizabeth, son Jonah, roommate Nick, and even Robert’s office assistant. Who do you trust? Who should you trust? Is anyone even trustworthy? Your mind spins with each new development and it appears the web gets more and more tangled the more we read.

This book was delicious to read, very fast-paced, kept me speculating and intrigued, and definitely did not see the major conflict coming, nor the outcomes! If you like suspense and bizarre twists, this book is definitely for you. I also commend Caroline’s writing. She is very easy to read, but her characters have moral depth (or lack of) that draw you in and make you wish the story went longer.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Gallery Books and NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I appreciate the opportunity to receive an advanced reader copy to do so. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Description:

“One of my favorite books of the year.” —Lee Child

“Cancel all your plans and call in sick; once you start reading, you’ll be caught in your own escape room—the only key to freedom is turning the last page!” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“A sleek, well-crafted ride.” —The New York Times

In Megan Goldin’s unforgettable debut, The Escape Room, four young Wall Street rising stars discover the price of ambition when an escape room challenge turns into a lethal game of revenge.

Welcome to the escape room. Your goal is simple. Get out alive.

In the lucrative world of finance, Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam are at the top of their game. They’ve mastered the art of the deal and celebrate their success in style—but a life of extreme luxury always comes at a cost.

Invited to participate in an escape room challenge as a team-building exercise, the ferociously competitive co-workers crowd into the elevator of a high-rise building, eager to prove themselves. But when the lights go off and the doors stay shut, it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary competition: they’re caught in a dangerous game of survival.

Trapped in the dark, the colleagues must put aside their bitter rivalries and work together to solve cryptic clues to break free. But as the game begins to reveal the team’s darkest secrets, they realize there’s a price to be paid for the terrible deeds they committed in their ruthless climb up the corporate ladder. As tempers fray, and the clues turn deadly, they must solve one final chilling puzzle: which one of them will kill in order to survive?

This book took me five days to read (and that’s only because I have a marriage, a job and other commitments). It was so hard to close this book at the end of the night!! What an incredible story!

It starts out with a security guard opening the elevator to find people inside and from there, we go back to the beginning of the story to find out what happened…

Told from two perspectives: The Elevator and Sara Hall, the story shifts between them to explain the past and real time. Sara Hall is down on her luck, has parents who need assistance paying medical bills and happens to have an interaction with Vincent, a man from upper management, in an elevator when she’s leaving a poor interview. Given his card, she schedules an interview with him and lands a job at one of the most prestigious investment firms.

Learning the ropes and the games played by the employees at Stanhope & Sons, she learns quickly the culture of “dog eat dog” and no sleep. She works under Vincent and most of his team: Jules, Sam and Sylvie. Sara is an outsider, but soon makes her way to become valuable as an employee.

One night the employees are brought to a team-building exercise in an elevator and have to solve clues to get out. But this isn’t your typical escape room. And the way in which the story is told, is so suspenseful that you don’t want to put it down. Vascillating between the events in the elevator and Sara’s perspectives, the entire story is told and we finally find out at the end what leads to the escape room.

Fantastic read, would love to see it become a movie, and told the way that it was in the story. Everything was perfect and the ending MAGNIFICENT!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 (http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html): “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”