Synopsis
Everything is a clue.
Bonnie arrives on a remote sea fort off the coast of England to take part in a mysterious reality TV show. Competing against seven strangers, she must solve a series of puzzles to win the prize money, but this is no game – and the consequences of failure are deadly.
No one leaves.
Under scrutiny from the watching public, the contestants quickly turn on one another. Who will sacrifice the most for wealth and fame? And why can’t Bonnie shake the creeping sense that they are not alone?
The only way out is to win.
When the first contestant is found dead, Bonnie begins to understand the dark truth at the heart of this twisted competition: there’s a killer inside the fort, and anyone could be next. If Bonnie wants to escape, she needs to win…
Are you ready to play?
My Review
Bonnie makes the biggest mistake of her life when she takes her sister Clara’s place on a reality TV show called The Fortress. But as the contestants soon learn The Fortress isn’t just any escape room it hides a deadly secret. Who will survive? Let the games begin.
As someone who loves puzzles and escape rooms, I was completely drawn to this book. I would describe the story as a cross between The Traitors and Squid Game with a dash of the movie Seven and Saw.
The storyline was fantastic and so very clever. It was an intense, claustrophobic and dark read where you would never guess the ending. There were quite a few plot twists in the story and towards the end I did find myself on the edge of my seat and not being able to believe what I was reading. I loved the writing style because it drew me into the story and I felt like I was one of the contestants trying to work out the clues and escape. What initially seems to be a group of eight people taking part in a reality TV show quickly changes after they take part in the first challenge. They realise that this isn’t just a game anymore and they’re not playing for money or fame but they’re playing for their lives. Initially all the contestants work together until the real intention of The Fortress is revealed by The Director and the contestants start to turn on each other. They realise this isn’t just an ordinary escape room; it’s a deadly game where they are pitched against each other and are destined to lose.
I thought Bonnie was a very clever character because from the beginning she was trying to work out what The Fortress was all about. Taking part in the show is important to both Bonnie and Clara because it is a chance for them to save their home. Bonnie was the only character that felt something wasn’t quite right about The Fortress. She picks up straight away that where escape rooms have a story or goal the tasks they are faced with are disjointed and not connected. She also starts to see clues and situations that seem suspicious even though they are accepted without question by others. Bonnie has a difficult task because she is pretending to be her sister Clara and trying to hide who she really is not only from her fellow contestants but also the cameras which are monitoring her every move.
When I first started to read I couldn’t understand how the start of the book was connected to the rest of the story but as the story gained momentum towards the finale everything made sense and all the dots connected. The reveal at the end was shocking and mind blowing.
If you’re a fan of escape rooms, puzzles and the locked room genre then this is a book that will truly mess with your mind and have you on the edge of your seat.
Author Bio
L. D. Smithson was born in Staffordshire and now lives in Ilkley. She is an occupational psychologist and a crime writer who has published under another name.
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