Exclusive: Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss's New Thriller 'The Escape Game' Hits Shelves in 2026

Published: June 25, 2025

Get ready for a thrilling ride! PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the cover of 'The Escape Game', a new young adult thriller co-written by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss. The book will hit shelves in early 2026 from Putnam Books for Young Readers.

The novel centers on a fictional escape room game show called The Escape Game, where contestants must solve a murder before things turn even deadlier. The story takes a dark turn when one of its contestants, Alicia Angelos, is found murdered on set. Instead of getting canceled, the show is green-lit for another season with all new contestants, including a cryptographer, a math genius, a determined game master, and Alicia's sister, who many believe to be the murderer.

As the competition wears on, the show's contestants begin to uncover the truth about Alicia's death and soon realize they're all at risk of facing deadly consequences. If they want to win The Escape Game, they must find out who really killed Alicia — before it's too late.

Moss and Meyer met as critique partners and had long considered the idea of writing a book together. Meyer suggested writing an "escape room murder mystery." "Writing The Escape Game has been the most rewarding experience of my life," Moss says.

"Marissa and I have been friends for several decades, and to be able to co-write such a fun story, with so many twists and turns, was an absolute blast," Moss adds.

Meyer, who's also author of the Lunar Chronicles series, says, "I'm so thrilled for The Escape Game to hit shelves next April! The book combines some of my all-time favorite things (codes and puzzles and escape rooms!) with a hefty dose of murder, sabotage, and found family."

And though The Escape Game is a riveting whodunit, its characters are sure to be a hit with readers too, Meyer says. "While Tamara and I were writing the book, I couldn't help but fall in love with our four protagonists, and I hope readers will laugh, cry, swoon, and cheer with them as much as we have."

The Escape Game will hit shelves on April 7, 2026, and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.

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