No Exit: A Novel

Taylor Adams

Jan 2019 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

“What a box of tricks! This full-throttle thriller, dark and driving, rivals Agatha Christie for sheer ingenuity and James Patterson for flat-out speed. Swift, sharp, and relentless.” — A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

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?

On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers.

Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate.

Who is the child? Why has she been taken? And how can Darby save her?

There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, and no way out. One of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. But which one?

Trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation, with a child’s life and her own on the line, Darby must find a way to break the girl out of the van and escape.

But who can she trust?

With exquisitely controlled pacing, Taylor Adams diabolically ratchets up the tension with every page. Full of terrifying twists and hairpin turns, No Exit will have you on the edge of your seat and leave you breathless.

Ratings and reviews

No Exit by Taylor Adams manages to move at breakneck speed, even though its action takes place in an enclosed setting over the course of twelve hours. It is almost Christmas Eve, and Darby Thorne is reluctantly travelling home from college through the Rocky Mountains after learning that her mother’s death from cancer may be imminent. A winter storm interrupts her journey and forces her to seek refuge at a remote rest area already encased in snow. There are a few other stranded motorists already waiting out the weather in the visitor’s center, and Darby figures that she will be in for a tedious wait before the plow trucks clear the way. When she ventures outside to try to get a phone signal, however, she happens upon a disturbing sight that sets off a shocking chain of events. Thrust into the role of heroine, Darby needs to take make vital decisions about who to trust and take some immediate action that will challenge her physically and mentally for the rest of the night. Adams does an admirable job portraying an average person placed under extreme circumstances. Can mental agility and strong moral determination triumph over brute force and callously evil intentions? A combination between a “Locked Door” and a “Ticking Clock” mystery, No Exit relentlessly ratchets up the tension and uses unpredictable plot twists to maintain its momentum. The reader can feel the claustrophobic chill as the evening grows darker and increasingly more sinister. This novel would captivate thriller fans and those who enjoy a story involving a deadly game of cat-and-mouse.

amazing twists and turns. really gripping and i found myself holding my breath and tensing my body unknowingly while reading. quick read, great story.

An intense and thrilling read. Another story that had me reading late into the night to see what happened next. I found myself rooting for Darby as she did the impossible, and crying for her as her efforts seemed fruitless. Overall, a really well-written story that had me gasping at every twist, cheering at every success, and groaning at every misstep. I was definitely engaged in the story and invested in the characters. ***SPOILERS*** I will say that I was almost disappointed at the ending because it was very difficult to tell that Darby survived. I ended up having to reread it to be sure I understood that she was still alive.

About the author

Taylor Adams is the author of several acclaimed thrillers including The Last Word, Hairpin Bridge, and No Exit. No Exit has been published in 32 languages and was recently released as a Hulu Original film. Adams lives in Washington State.