Getting Away With Murder

by Kathryn Foxfield

Overview

The bestselling author of Good Girls Die First is back with an entertaining, high-octane and read-in-a-single-sitting new thriller.

Walking disaster Saffron and her perfectionist twin sister Georgia have only one thing in common-they are both obsessed with battle royale video game Sole Survivor.

While working at a brand new, high tech escape room complex, Saffron poses a question to the resident AI: which high school stereotype would survive the longest in a real life version of Sole Survivor? She is convinced a rebel like her would beat a know-it-all like Georgia. Unbeknown to her, the AI decides to determine the answer to her question by testing it out for real. It invites Saffron and Georgia's gamer friends to a preview of the escape rooms, but then it locks the doors and turns the rooms into a life-or-death battle to be the last player standing.

The rebel, the know-it-all, the princess, the jock, the geek, the weirdo, the star, the artist and the criminal. Just like in Sole Survivor, only one can survive the night...

• It's Cabin in the Woods meets Squid Game
• Perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and Karen McManus.
• Knife-edge tension and twists you won't see coming.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728278919
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	11/05/2024
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	64,775
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	HL640L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Kathryn Foxfield is the critically acclaimed and best-selling author of GOOD GIRLS DIE FIRST and COME OUT, COME OUT, WHATEVER YOU ARE which have been translated into multiple languages. She lives in Oxford, England.

Editorial Reviews

01/31/2025

Gr 9 Up—A rogue AI-powered computer system hijacks a new high-tech escape room complex, trapping a group of teens in its clutches and forcing them to play a deadly game. Twins Saffron and Georgia couldn't be more different, with Saffron finding joy in being the rebel, posting prank videos online—such as reading her sister's diary on a livestream—even if they hurt others. Georgia, meanwhile, is a go-getter good girl proud of her achievements. Saffron, while interning at the escape room, ponders to the AI Lightman that each member of her online Sole Survivor video game team fits a typical teenage stereotype—rebel, know-it-all, jock, princess, star, geek, artist, weirdo, and criminal. She wonders who would survive a real-life game and unknowingly prompts Lightman to create such a game. When her team, summoned by Lightman, arrives, they're forced to play games full of violence and gore, while also confronting interpersonal issues—Squid Game meets Breakfast Club. The book is told from the twins' perspectives, primarily Georgia's as Saffron spends much of the book trapped in the control room, and while the story flows during the action, the ending falls somewhat flat. The setting is not explicitly stated, but there are Briticisms ("I can't see a bloody thing") in the text. Most characters cue white, except for Aidan, who has brown skin and is, unfortunately, cast as "criminal." VERDICT For larger collections. Thriller fans in search of a creepy game read may also enjoy Foxfield's own Tag, You're Dead and Kelsea Yu's It's Only a Game.—Amanda Mastrull

School Library Journal

2024-08-30
Nine teens are trapped in a deadly game that’s overtaken by rogue AI.

Saffron and twin sister Georgia both have internships coming up: Saffron at Play a Game, a new high-tech escape room, and Georgia at the local newspaper. Even though the sisters have had a falling out, they still play the online game Sole Survivor together with a group of seven others. Saffron overhears a conversation at Play a Game in which a software engineer warns the owner that Lightman, the AI running the game, has grown too powerful. Meanwhile, Lightman, posing as a work friend of Saffron’s, uses a group chat to invite the other members of the sisters’ gaming group to Play a Game. It’s scheming for them to compete in a real-life version of Sole Survivor; the goal is “to be the last player standing when the 10-minute timer runs out.” As they begin to compete, compelling details slowly emerge, revealing that several group members have past relationships that have led to simmering tensions among them. The breakneck series of events is engrossing, and the explicit on-page gore thrillingly escalates the stakes as the players begin to die. Disappointingly, the abrupt ending fails to live up to the story’s earlier strengths. Most characters are white; unfortunately, one of the gamers—a boy who’s “brown-skinned with chaotic black hair”—is described as an “unrepentant criminal” who’s been arrested multiple times.

A page-turning locked-room mystery that doesn’t stick the landing.(Mystery. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews