Escaping Denver

by Teague Bohlen

An original novel set in the universe of the wildly popular podcast of the same name! Perfect for fans of The Infinite Noise and You Feel It Just Below the Ribs.

A group of arm chair detectives—determined to unearth the truth behind the secret facility hidden miles beneath the Denver International Airport—get much more than they bargained for …

For internet sleuths, nothing beats a first-hand account—especially when it’s your own. Desperate for tangible evidence about a shadow government, monstrous creatures, and a laboratory complex built deep beneath the Denver International Airport, Jessica wrangles a gaggle of like-minded armchair warriors to break into the facility seeking not only validation, but vindication too.

Using the Escaping Denver podcast as a loose guide, this ragtag team discovers it’s not breaking in that’s hard, it’s getting out.

Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery

300 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2025

Reviews

[Teddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow!!! Escaping Denver had me on the edge of my seat.
I am familiar with the podcast that this novel is based on, and I was NOT disappointed. Action packed from start to finish.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for my review.
Escaping Denver will be published on August 5, 2025

[Windsor Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for a review. As soon as I saw the name of this book, I knew it was referencing Denver International Airport. I used to live in Denver and the conspiracy theories about the airport were a favorite topic of discussion among residents. If you’re unaware, there are a lot of weird things about DIA. Firstly, there is a giant blue horse with red laser eyes greeting you along the highway on your drive in. Not only is this statue creepy as hell, it also killed it’s creator. There is weird art all over the airport, including a painting of a soldier brandishing a scimitar and a machine gun at a group of crying babies and women, all while wearing a gas mask. The airport even started embracing the conspiracy in their construction signs (pics in carousel). As you can imagine, I was very excited to read a fiction book about all this. Unfortunately, the book didn’t deliver on my expectations.

A group of online conspiracy theorists meet in Colorado to investigate strange reports about DIA. They cautiously make their way into the underground bunker far below the surface, and things start going wrong immediately. As they traverse the vast maze of tunnels and biodomes, the group is chased by monsters, plagued by traps, confused by terrain, and shot at by soldiers. As discombobulating as all of this is, things twist even further when the group finds out everyone in their party isn’t what they seem. Instead of receiving the answers they came for, new questions are unearthed at every turn.

I wanted to like this book so much, but it became tedious. I can only take so many pages of running and being confused. Something needs to happen to bring it all together and make it original—unfortunately, we never got there. I didn’t feel as if there was anything new happening in this book that hasn’t happened in other conspiracy novels. Nothing was surprising or original. It reminded me of Staircase in the Woods in that, we get it, they’re trapped in a scary situation. There needs to be more.

[Fran · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this book on a whim at the Denver Airport. I knew - vaguely - about the many conspiracy theories about the Denver Airport, mainly about the supposed vast underground network of secret tunnels and bunkers to house the global elite, or maybe aliens, or perhaps the ever-popular lizard people. The growth of conspiracy theories in the past few years, thanks to a certain orange-hued president and his fans, feeds into or maybe out of all this. But I also knew that the Denver Airport has fun with all the ridiculous theories. So I thought maybe this book will do the same. Wrong. The characters in this book are deadly serious in their beliefs. Emphasis on the word deadly because several of them die in pretty gruesome ways, eaten by giant mutant birds or frogs, shot by mysterious, never-explained soldiers, or whatever. And then there are the characters who are not who they think they are, and again, that's never explained.

It's not fun. It's not clever. And to top it off, it's not a good read. Oh, the writing is okay. Commas in all the right places and all that. But a good thriller knows to inject breaks in the action. Here, the characters fall into trouble as soon as they arrive at their mysterious (never explained!) destination (which, BTW, isn't Denver) and everything just goes from bad to worse. Almost every chapter ends with someone screaming because some horrible thing is attacking them and the next chapter begins with that person being eaten or torn apart. Nope. Not a good book. I did finish it, but only because I skimmed through the repeat attacks about half way in. I give this 1 star, because the writing shows awareness of grammar and style (and I can't see a way to give it no stars). If you really believe outrageous conspiracy theories and you enjoy nasty gore for no obvious or explained reason, then this might be the book for you. If not... don't waste your time.

[Miranda Beystehner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Escaping Denver by Teague Bohlen is a fast-paced sci-fi thriller based on the Escaping Denver podcast. While I haven’t listened to the podcast myself, I was curious about the book, especially as a Denver local eager to see how the story would explore the conspiracies tied to the area.

I enjoyed the beginning of the book, as a group of conspiracy theorists ventures to Colorado with plans to investigate a mysterious underground compound supposedly hidden beneath Denver International Airport, along with other conspiracy-laden sites. Once the team arrives, the story takes a shocking turn, and what they uncover below ground is far more intense than I expected. The book is packed with action, and I appreciated the unexpected twists toward the end.

I rated the book 3 stars. While the plot was engaging and moved quickly, I found myself wanting more background on the “why”- a deeper dive into the history and reasoning behind the events and the compound itself. Still, the non-stop discoveries and strange phenomena kept the momentum going.

I’d recommend Escaping Denver to fans of the podcast, as familiarity with it might enhance the reading experience. I’d also suggest it to readers who enjoy imaginative sci-fi/fantasy stories involving cryptids and hidden worlds.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing this advance reader copy.

[Jacquelyn Dohoney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so entertaining! I’ve been on an escape room story kick lately and this one definitely fit the bill! Picture your favorite creature-based conspiracy theories, add in a shadowy government entity, throw in an escape room setting, and you have Escaping Denver. I’ll be honest, I knew what who was involved in the conspiracy and why pretty early on, but man it was a fun ride watching it all play out! I really liked all the characters, even though a couple of them were absolute tools. Was there weirdness in this? 100%. The only thing I had a problem with was the… killer kangaroos. Don’t judge me. I have a major phobia of them. Have you ever seen the videos of kangaroos trying to break through a sliding glass door? Those things are terrifying! But there’s other equally cool critters that show up that had me jumping with glee, especially the herd of jackalopes. In any case, I can totally see this getting made into a movie. Would it be low budget? Probably. But I would love every second of it!

Huge thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda of a cross between the films Resident Evil & The Cabin in the Woods. Fast paced. Sufficient character development. Just the right amount of adjectives, such that you could build your own images, without being overwhelmed like you're reading a thesaurus. No plot holes or inconsistencies jumped out at me. A bit of mysteries to be solved. A couple of twists. Overall, an entertaining read. And clearly set up for a sequel, which I'm actually looking forward to.

I picked this book up, though,because of the Denver tie-in. If you're expecting something specific to DIA you'll be disappointed. I have to think the fun rumors about DIA were just the catalyst. In fact, the only thing that bothered me about the book is when they drive by Brainard Lake, there's suddenly a mobile home park there? As a Denver resident, that took me right out of the story and it was totally unnecessary. Why mention Brainard Lake at all? Or driving into Indian Peaks Wilderness? The author lives in Denver, not sure why he didn't pick a route that was accurate. Although he did a great job of describing Ward! Beyond that portion early in the book, the location could be anywhere in the world.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, apparently there’s a conspiracy theory that there’s a secret government facility and/or laboratory beneath the Denver International Airport. There’s even a real podcast about it called Escaping Denver. In this novel, a group of five people meet online to discuss the podcast. They’re so into it that they decide to actually go there and check it out for themselves. They were in no way prepared for what they encountered.

Deep in the bowels of the airport live all the deadly cryptids you only read about in folklore. And let’s just say, not all of our main characters make it out alive. What a thrill ride! This was one of the most entertaining, creepy, surprising, and informative reads of the year for me. I loved learning about all the crazy conspiracy theories and mythical creatures out there. It was fast-paced, exciting, and full of interesting characters. Five stars for me.

Thank you @BlackstonePublishing for my advanced copy.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Escaping Denver is a novel by Teague Bohlen, based on the popular narrative podcast of the same name created by Mike Howorun and Brady Roberts. The book takes the widely known conspiracy theories about the Denver International Airport—tales of secret bunkers, monstrous creatures, and a shadow government—and turns them into a fast-paced sci-fi horror thriller.

And now for the bad news. I found the concept of reading what originally was part of a podcast to be an extreme challenge. Mainly because the story was a jumbled mess that made reading it a challenge. Getting to the end was the best part.

[Avri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this book at the Denver airport and bought it on a whim because I love the airport conspiracy theories. I was so pleasantly surprised with how entertaining and fast paced it was. It had so much lore all looped together in a nice and cohesive way. Only took one star off because the writing could’ve been a bit better. I definitely want more though!

[Kim Bragado · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe I would have liked this better if I had listened to the podcast first, but I didn't know about the podcast and went in blind. Overall I didn't care for any of the characters and it felt like really lazy writing.

[Ryan Hillis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Slow and dull.

[Chan L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the integrated conspiracies of the Denver Airport but the actual story just went downhill halfway through the book…