No Exit

Title: No Exit

Author: Taylor Adams

Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Published: 2017

Obtained: Amazon

Darby is on her way home from college for the holiday when she becomes stranded at a rest area due to a Colorado blizzard. She finds herself waiting out the storm along with four strangers. As Darby is attempting to find some cell reception, she is shocked to find a child locked in the back of a van. Thus begins the longest night of her life—who is the child and which one of the strangers is responsible for her abduction?

Let me just channel my inner Janice Hosenstein and say…”OH MY GOD!” This book is intense—like nail-bitingly, jaw dropping, I need a strong drink kind of intense. I was a little skeptical going in because it had so much hype, and lately overly hyped books have been underwhelming for me. But this one did not disappoint! The main character, the tension, the twists…it all was pretty damn near perfect.

Darby is a fantastic narrator. I found her funny and intelligent. She is flawed, as is everybody, and totally believable as a character. I rooted for her throughout the story. I enjoyed the other characters, as well. It’s hard to go into too much detail without giving away spoilers, but I found them all to be written convincingly well. I was surprised that the villain is glaringly obvious from the start, and yet, I loved that not all the characters are what they initially seem to be. 

The tension is deliciously stressful. I wanted to cover my eyes at so many parts, but they were glued to the words. Adams has a wonderful way of painting the scene with just enough gore and suspense to keep you engaged, but not too much to make you want to put the book down. A lot of the twists stem from mistakes the characters make, particularly Darby; however, this made it more believable, because at the end of the day, Darby is an ordinary young woman thrust into this terrible situation. Any bits that I managed to predict (or blatantly saw coming) didn’t deter me from devouring this book within two days. 

Overall, I loved this read. It was fast paced, terrifying, a little gory, extremely intense and super vivid. If you love a good thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat, I highly recommend it. I give No Exit a rating of 5 stars. I also recommend Tall Dark Stranger, a rich malbec from Argentina. It’s strong and smooth with a nice berry flavor, but not sweet—a full-bodied wine to sip with a rich, intense thriller. Enjoy!

Rating: 5/5

Wine Pairing: Tall Dark Stranger 2017 malbec

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