I've missed writing a thriller review :( even more so, I've missed reading escape room tensions trope books so much. 2020 saw the release of Diana Urban's thriller debut book, All Your Twisted Secrets. Several thriller novels have been put out by her since then.
One 'killer' among the six high school seniors who are locked up in a single premises is the central setting of the book.
SYPNOSIS: “Welcome to dinner, and again, congratulations on being selected. Now you must do the selecting.”
What do the queen bee, star athlete, valedictorian, stoner, loner, and music geek all have in common? They were all invited to a scholarship dinner, only to discover it’s a trap. Someone has locked them into a room with a bomb, a syringe filled with poison, and a note saying they have an hour to pick someone to kill...or else everyone dies.
Amber Prescott is determined to get her classmates and herself out of the room alive, but that might be easier said than done. No one knows how they’re all connected or who would want them dead.
As they retrace the events over the past year that might have triggered their captor’s ultimatum, it becomes clear that everyone is hiding something.
And with the clock ticking down, confusion turns into fear, and fear morphs into panic as they race to answer the biggest question: Who will they choose to die?
***
The suspense switches up notch by notch in every succeeding chapter. And every chapter actually ends on a little cliffhanger. The build up kind of dissolved completely in the last two chapters with the revealing of the 'killer' which was quite disappointing. You'll know why I've quoted killer when you finish reading the book.
“The thing about being trapped in a room with five other people, a bomb, and a syringe of lethal poison is that at some point, shit's going down. No matter how frantically you claw at rationality, how desperately you cling to common decency, you eventually give in to your basic instinct to survive.”
The setting of the scholarship dinner was inconveniently convenient. What do you mean there's only one tiny window in the room which is guarded off by grills? It would've been so much more believable if the dinner was simply hosted in a basement. And don't get me started on the fake fireplace too.
The main character, Amber, was pretty likeable and her building tension with Sasha was so satisfying when it finally exploded in the end. Sasha slowly going insane chapter after chapter also had me in a chokehold.
“Can I . . . can I get your autograph?” he pleaded with wide eyes, clasping his chest.
Sasha furrowed her brow. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“It’s just . . . I never thought I’d meet the person the world revolves around.”
Although Amber is the only character delivering this story, all of the other characters were well set up. I loved Diana's touch of introducing past timelines alternately in her chapters. It really helped to sympathize with the messy backstories of the characters and also brought more tension to the present story.
“I’m just tired. I’m tired of trying to make everyone happy, and doing the exact wrong thing. I’m tired of doing the best I can, and it’s never good enough. I’m tired of being manipulated. I’m tired of failing so miserably. I’m. Just. Tired.”
The anti-bullying end message of the story was well delivered in my opinion. Amber and Priya's coming together was honestly so wholesome and the Agatha Christie aura of the novel was super satisfying.
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