I enjoyed this read, even though, like another book I read recently, the narrative does not do anything unique and followed a lot of typical plot beats of the sort of fantasy. Even though I am writing this review only a couple days after reading the book, nothing specific about the narrative sticks out in my mind, nothing that would make it easier to write the review. Basically, I enjoyed the narrative and will likely read the sequel/conclusion.
What on earth was this book? I’m actually surprised that I continued reading especially considering that I DNFed the next book I read just because I wasn’t interested, even though it was much better written. The premise of this book is that in a hit reality escape game show, the dead body of a contestant was found in the final escape room of the season and that mystery has not been solved. The supposed solving of this murder is undertaken by contestants in the next season which include the sister – who is also a suspect -and includes just about every single supporting past member from the previous season. There is no way that this show would’ve gotten another season, at least not one so closely thereafter, or that the production company would’ve been able to hold onto so much material from the crime scene. So, from the very beginning of this read, I could not believe what I was reading. Then I got to the end and the reveal. The stated motives clash between the suspects. There is no way that these two people would have ever worked together. Hopefully, this is the worst book. I will read this year.
It took seven months, but I finally found a five star fantasy for 2026. I knew going into this book that the tone would differ significantly from White’s first book, Voyage of the Damned, which I really enjoyed. Those expectations were definitely met. While Voyage of the Damned has a much more lighthearted, comic comedic tone, even though it was a murder mystery, this book delves into extremely serious, heartbreaking topics. This book is definitely not for the faint of heart or for those unwilling to examine the consequences of horrific, selfish actions. The book follows a somewhat standard format with the main character and his later companions having to complete a series of trials to escape and get back to reality, or what he thinks is reality. White takes that traditional format and uses it magnificently to explore extremely complex issues. I definitely recommend this book, but with the acknowledgment that one should read it only with careful preparation.
If I did not have this book as a NetGalley eARC, I would have DNF’ed the book around halfway, not because it was bad but because I spent all that time wondering when the plot would finally get going. I spent nearly the entirety of my experience reading the book, trying to figure out where the plot was. Even after finishing, I really could not tell you what the driving conflict/problem of the story was. Other parts of the narrative weren’t bad, they just were not enough to make up for a completely missing plot. It also did not help that all of the cover design and comps led me to expect a completely different type of narrative.
I should have remembered that this book did not fall into the cozy mysteries genre like Vera Wong series. Part of me kept expecting a mystery to get started, but this is more of a slice of life, midlife crisis, sort of story. I liked seeing Mebel confront her set in stone habit of trophy wife existence after her husband decided to leave her for a much younger woman. This book was cozy, but I think that this sort of cozy needs something else to go along with it to push it over the edge into a more entertaining narrative, I enjoyed my read, but will likely forget this one quickly.
Once again, the Comix subscription has chosen a winner. The author and illustrator did a fantastic job setting up this world that has stark class differences glaringly obvious for even the youngest of the readers to confront. The author and illustrator also did an excellent job giving enough information to hook the reader into the narrative in the world, but not all the information which keeps the reader eager for subsequent books in the series. This is so much is not told in this first book which makes me eagerly anticipate the sequel.
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