An escape room competition turns deadly when contestants start dying one by one.Seventeen-year-old Persey and seven other young adults qualify for the first annual escape room All-Star Competition for a chance to win a cash prize of $10 million and become ultrafamous. The competition, formerly run by Escape-Capades (now under new management after a scandal led to the murder-suicide of its previous owners), has high stakes and supposedly impossible-to-break puzzles and only the best of the best-Persey included-are competing. Persey can certainly do with the money if she wins, but it's obvious that something is very wrong with the competition, as people start getting killed in the increasingly dangerous rooms, with no option left but to go forward. The survivors need to work together and cooperate, but suspicion abounds, as one of them may be the killer. The question is why? This stand-alone prequel companion to McNeil's #MurderTrending series combines inventive, geeky puzzles; twisted locked-room(s) murder mysteries; and vengeful horror. Flashbacks to Persey's abusive childhood are interspersed throughout the narrative and give insight into her frame of mind and motivation; other characters are less well fleshed-out. Although the main plot twist is telegraphed, it doesn't ruin the fun of its gory puzzle-break-or-die premise. Persey is assumed White in a diverse cast.Gory and campy horror, perfect for the Halloween season. (Thriller. 14-18)

Gr 9 Up-Twenty years before Alcatraz 2.0 and "Who Wants To Be a Paniac?," eight seemingly unrelated contestants unwittingly entered the first murder games at Escape-Capades, Ltd. For white 17-year-old Persey, the day was meant to be an opportunity to earn enough money to finally be free. But when the puzzles turn deadly, solving them is suddenly about getting out of the escape room alive. In this prequel to McNeil's "rderTrending" series, the narrator skips between the present deadly situation and her not-so-distant past, giving the reader glimpses into her reasons for participating in the escape room competition. However, it's not until the very end of the story that readers will learn Persey's true motivationa plot twist that may leave some readers disillusioned. As with the rest of the series, the cast of characters are a diverse lot racially, but they all feel more like caricatures designed to check various boxes than fully developed individuals. VERDICT Fans already invested in the series are sure to enjoy this prequel companion, though new readers may come away more confused than anything. A strictly additional purchase.Kaitlin Frick, Darien Lib., CT