No Exit by Taylor Adams: Book Review

No Exit  by Taylor Adams
Publication: Jan 15, 2019 By William Morrow
352 Pages
Affiliate Link: Buy On Amazon

From Publisher: A brilliant, edgy thriller about four strangers, a blizzard, a kidnapped child, and a determined young woman desperate to unmask and outwit a vicious psychopath. A kidnapped little girl locked in a stranger’s van. No help for miles. What would you do?

My Thoughts: Oh boy, this is an interesting review for me to write. On the one hand, I read this in a day, so the pace was on point. On the other hand, I had many issues with plot holes and inconsistencies. What does that mean? Basically, if you are someone (like me) who gets hung up on illogical plot details, character inconsistencies, and a few plot holes, you might have similar issues with this book.

Darby Thorne is a sophomore in college in Colorado when she gets a dire text from her sister about her mom having pancreatic cancer and going in for surgery the next day. This is the first Darby is hearing about her mom being ill because they had a falling out and she hasn’t spoken to her in quite awhile. On the spur of the moment, she decides to get in her beat up OLD Honda Civic and drive hours through the mountains to Utah to get there for her mom’s surgery. Her pressing goal…beat the blizzard that’s barreling toward those very mountains she’s going to be driving through. Hours into her drive, she finds herself immersed in the blizzard which (not surprisingly) is no match for her old Civic and it’s not long before the snow is piling up and she is forced to pull off at a nearby rest stop. It’s here that she parks, goes in to find 4 other stranded strangers, and we find out that not only is there no cell reception, but NO ONE has an iPhone charger!? What?!! Here’s my first issue…(in my opinion) most people, especially college students would never go on a long road trip and not bring a phone charger. At the very least you’d stop and buy one.

The strangers she encounters seem ok although one guy appears a little weird but Darby doesn’t waste too much time interacting with them before she sets off outside, trudging though waist deep snow (in jeans & converse sneakers mind you) in search of a spot to get cell reception. Finding none, she circles back through the parking lot and what she sees or thinks she sees sends her world into a tailspin.  From here the pace is frantic, the tension high, as she works to figure out what she should do next.

Despite my many issues with this one, I did like it and read it in one sitting so there was that addictive, must find out what happens next quality to this story. Other things to note: the violence can be particularly gory at times which didn’t bother me but might others. I would say if you’re looking for a fast paced, wintry thriller give this a try. Then please email or direct message me so we can discuss!!

Thanks to William Morrow via Edelweiss for my copy