Escape Room

There's no escape from this room. Full of menace and suspense, it's an unputdownable thriller--and a paperback original! Alissa, Sky, Cleo, and Miles just wanted something to do on a Friday night, so they signed up for an Escape Room. They have one hour to find clues, crack codes, and figure out puzzles. The Game Master told them they can always leave the game. But what if that's not true? What if the Game Master has no intention of letting them out?

Auteur
Maren Stoffels published her first book at age 17. She likes stories that are based on real experiences. Reading her books make you feel like it could all happen to you. And maybe it will...

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Texte du rabat

There's no getting away from this unputdownable thriller--and paperback original--about teens being held captive in an escape room where the stakes are all too real. Perfect for Halloween!

All they need to do is get out.

Alissa, Sky, Miles and Mint are ready for a night of fun at the Escape Room.
It's simple.
Choose their game.
Get locked in a room.
Find the clues.
Solve the puzzles.
And escape the room in 60 minutes.
But what happens if the Game Master has no intention of letting them go?

Underlined is a line of totally addictive romance, thriller, and horror paperback original titles coming to you fast and furious each month. Enjoy everything you want to read the way you want to read it.

Résumé
There's no getting away from this unputdownable thriller about teens being held captive in an escape room where the stakes are all too real. Perfect for spooky season!

All they need to do is get out.

Alissa, Sky, Miles and Mint are ready for a night of fun at the Escape Room.
It's simple.
Choose their game.
Get locked in a room.
Find the clues.
Solve the puzzles.
And escape the room in 60 minutes.
But what happens if the Game Master has no intention of letting them go?

Underlined is a line of totally addictive romance, thriller, and horror paperback original titles coming to you fast and furious each month. Enjoy everything you want to read the way you want to read it.

Échantillon de lecture

Mint

“He’s gay. For sure.” Sky’s sitting on the backrest of the bench, right behind Alissa and me. It’s just the three of us. The rest of the park is deserted.

“Don’t think so.” Alissa takes out her wallet. “How much do you want to bet?” 

I have no idea who my two best friends are talking about. Their conversations often pass me by, like I’m on the other side of a wall. 

Alissa waves a five-dollar bill around. It reminds me of the first day of junior high. I thought Alissa had made a bet then too. 

She came up to my desk that first morning and asked if the seat next to me was taken. Alissa was the kind of girl who could have sat anywhere. She was so incredibly beautiful. Her eyes were the color of the sea on the Italian coast, where I’d spent the summer. I looked around suspiciously. Where were her giggling friends, laughing at me from a distance because I’d fallen for it? 

But there was no one else there. We were the only ones in the classroom. 

Sky’s voice brings me back to the present. “Let’s bet for a pizza,” he says. “And Miles can deliver it. Perfect.” 

So they’re talking about Miles, who works at the pizzeria with Sky. I’ve never seen him before, but Alissa’s mentioned him a few times. 

A girl with blond hair and a red scarf around her neck comes jogging into the park. As she passes us, she flashes me a quick smile. 

“He’s on his way, so now we just have to wait and see.” Sky puts his phone in his pocket and casually rolls a cigarette. He never has actual packs of cigarettes. Sky always does everything just a little bit differently from everyone else.

 

“Did it hurt?” I hear Alissa ask. I’m back on the bench in the park. What were they talking about now? 

I follow Alissa’s gaze to Sky’s eyebrow piercing, which he had done a while ago. When he turned up at school the next day, the skin around the piercing was red and swollen. I touch my own eyebrow, which also hurt for a few days. 

At first I thought it was a coincidence, but then when Alissa broke her wrist in gym, mine was painful for weeks too. 

Can I feel other people’s pain? Is that possible? It feels supernatural, weird. And if anyone finds out, I’ll get even more of a reputation for being crazy. 

Sky points at his eyebrow. “So much gunk came out! I could have made it into a smoothie.”

Alissa gives him a shove and he nearly falls off the back of the bench. “Stop! You’re going to scare me out of it.” 

Since when has Alissa wanted a piercing? I try to imagine what it would look like on her, a little ring through her eyebrow. 

A couple weeks ago in Textile Studies, we had to make dresses out of garbage bags. Alissa pulled hers over her head, grabbed hold of it on one side, and shot a staple through the plastic. Then she paraded around the classroom like she was on a catwalk. Some of the boys started whistling. Even in a garbage bag, she was stunning. 

“Where’s that pizza?” Alissa asks impatiently. 

“Miles has half an hour to get here. After that, the pizza’s free.” 

A few minutes later, a scooter with a big blue trunk on the back drives into the park. 

Sky grabs my wrist and looks at my watch. “Bang on time. Typical Miles. You see? He’s a punctual gay guy.” 

My stomach’s churning, like I’m about to take an important exam. 

“Stop it.” Alissa quickly straightens her T-shirt. It’s a small gesture, but I can tell she’s nervous. 

Miles brakes in front of our bench and gives Sky a wave. When he lifts the visor of his helmet, I see two bright-blue eyes, like Alissa’s. But there’s something cold about these eyes. They have nothing to do with the Italian sea, but are more like icy water. I get a weird feeling that I can’t quite identify. 

“One pepperoni pizza?” The boy takes out a pizza box. The scent of melted cheese makes my mouth water. 

“Yep. It’s for us.” Then Sky points at Alissa. “She’s paying.” 

“You think?” Alissa looks at the boy. “Hey, Miles.”

 

Miles

I don’t like it when people know my name and I don’t know theirs. Feels like I’m down 1–0.

I’ve seen this girl before. She meets Sky after work sometimes. I noticed her immediately because she has the same blue eyes as me. Dad used to say I was the only one except him with blue peepers like this, but he was wrong. This girl’s eyes are hypnotic. 

Did Sky tell her my name? 

The girl smiles. “Want a slice?” 

I hesitate, because I really need to get going, but something about her voice makes me stop. 

It’s only then that I notice the other girl on the bench. She’s leaning forward slightly, with her straight hair hanging over her face like two curtains. She doesn’t quite seem to belong. 

“It’s almost time for your break, isn’t it? Come on, have some.” Seems the girl with the blue eyes knows not just my name, but my work schedule too. 

I can see part of her bare neck. 

What would it feel like to kiss that soft bit of skin? 

I’m startled by my own thought. After Karla, I made up my mind never to fee…