Hello, beautiful people! Welcome to a new review! For this review, I am getting into No Exit by Taylor Adams, a heart-racing thriller that keeps you glued to the pages from start to end. I really enjoyed this one and devoured it quickly because, at first, you are drawn into the high-paced mystery, and then further thrown into an action-filled ending that’s hard to turn away from. Let’s get into it!
Main Characters:
Darby Thorne: After taking a trip to visit her sick and dying mother, Darby finds herself stuck in a snowstorm in the middle of nowhere, finding herself at a local rest stop with a slew of interesting local characters, Darby finds herself in far more trouble than she could ever imagine
Jay: At the rest stop, Darby finds a young Jay locked in a dog cage in the back of a van, realizing that Jay’s kidnapper must be one of the people inside Darby and the girl fight against the storm and the others to try and save themselves
Ashley Garver: A young man who, like the others, finds himself stuck at the rest stop, it becomes much nicer though when he has a cute traveller in Darby to flirt with and pass the time
Lars: A suspicious and strange man who is also stuck in the storm, gives Darby strange vibes
Sandi: An older woman also at the rest stop who is generally uninterested in what the others are doing to pass the time, and kind of gives off that grumpy older woman vibe
Ed: An older man also at the rest stop, who is a warm presence in the cold storm
My Review
A long while back, I had seen these previews for this movie, No Exit, and it seemed super interesting and like a movie I would be into. Before checking it out, I found out that it was a book first, and I always prefer to check out a book before a movie, leading to me picking this read up! And I am definitely glad I did because it was a great and interesting read from start to end. It’s not super long, which I felt like was a great choice for the book and really fit this feeling of panic in the book, where this is all taking place in a short frame of time. I haven’t checked out any other Taylor Adam’s books before, but will definitely check out more in the future. I rated No Exit 7.5/10. The characters and the plot all work really well together, and even when the mystery clears up about who owns the van, Jay is locked in halfway into the book, you are still really pulled into that last half and want to know how it concludes. I definitely found my heart racing throughout this one and felt like I was right along with Darby and Jay as they tried to navigate this horrible experience.
No Exit follows Darby Thorne as she makes the painful trip to visit her sick and dying mother for probably the last time. Already struggling with so much in her life, Darby is thrown off her path when she runs into a major snowstorm. Pulling off at a rest stop to wait out the storm and the plows, this choice will change Darby’s life forever. Finding that she isn’t the only one waiting out the storm, Darby finds herself thrown into an eccentric group of people: Ashley, Lars, Sandi, and Ed. All different from the other Darby finds herself feeling on the outside of these people. When Darby travels back out to her car for some supplies, she discovers something that would make anyone sick. In a van in the lot, there is a young girl locked in a dog cage in the back, and the setting is anything other than positive. Darby knows she has to save young Jay from her kidnappers, but the only question is, who of the four owns the van? While some of the crew seem more suspicious than others, Darby is left to question everyone, and how, once she finds out who owns it, she will save Jay. With phone lines down and connection to the rest of the world severed, Darby is racing against the clock to try and save Jay before the storm is over and she potentially loses her from her grasp forever. With multiple heart-racing factors at play, and two young women against the world, you are pulled into the mystery and what the outcome of one of the most horrifying nights one could have will be.
No Exit is one of those books that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let up, and a huge part of that is thanks to Darby. She’s an incredibly compelling main character, flawed, relatable, and someone you can’t help but root for. She’s already in the thick of emotional turmoil, rushing through a snowstorm to see her dying mother, and then she stumbles into a full-on nightmare at a remote rest stop. Like, she really cannot catch a break. But instead of crumbling, she rises.
What I loved most about Darby is that while she’s not perfect, she panics, she doubts, she makes mistakes, she consistently puts herself second in order to help someone else. She doesn’t hesitate to risk everything for a girl she doesn’t even know, and honestly? That’s not just heroic, that’s downright powerful. Sure, we all like to think we’d do the same if we were in her shoes, but Darby actually does it, and in the most brutal, relentless circumstances. She’s clever, calculated, and constantly working out her next move, knowing one wrong step could cost more than just her own life. Her strength never feels over-the-top or unrealistic; it’s grounded, which makes it all the more impactful.
The rest stop setting gives us a cast of characters that are all a little too mysterious for comfort. Lars gives off the immediate creep factor; he’s awkward, off, and just has something about him that makes your skin crawl. But what works so well here is that everyone seems to be hiding something, and you’re constantly wondering who’s in on it, who’s lying, and who might just snap. It keeps you on edge in the best way. And then there’s Ashley. What a wild character. He’s the kind of guy you wouldn’t mind being stuck in a snowstorm with, charming, easygoing, kinda hot, and that’s exactly what makes him so dangerous. He plays his role so well, which also makes him just as suspicious as the others.
I also have to shout out Jay. While she doesn’t have a ton of dialogue or direct involvement in the action, she’s more than just the helpless victim in a cage. She’s sharp and observant, and she mirrors a lot of Darby’s qualities, doing what she can to help, even when she’s completely powerless. She gives Darby a reason to fight, sure, but she also holds her own in subtle ways that really stuck with me.
Between the breakneck pacing, the constant tension, and the endless twists that just keep coming (seriously, so many shoes drop), this book is a wild ride. You think you know what’s going on, and then, bam, there’s another twist that has you questioning everything all over again. It’s a quick read, but it’s packed with adrenaline and character depth, and it never lets up until the very last page.
If you’re looking for a fast, suspenseful read with gutsy characters, a ton of tension, and enough plot twists to make your head spin, No Exit is 100% worth picking up.
*** Don’t read any further if you don’t want to read any spoilers***
The questions that come up throughout the book are: who owns the van where a locked-up Jay is, why are the kidnapping Jay being kidnapped, and can Darby save both her and Jay in the end before the storm clears up?
Well, let’s start it off with who owns the Van. Darby discovers that the van is owned by Ashley and Lars. The two are working together to kidnap the girl and have known each other before the stop. Darby becomes suspicious when she notices that there are not enough cars in the lot for the people inside and eventually figures out that they are working together and that it’s Ashley’s van.
Halfway through the book, it becomes clear that Ashley knows what Darby is doing and that the gig is up. Ashley threatens to kill everyone to get away with the girl, putting Darby in a difficult situation. Many things happen, and Darby, very wounded, is able to outsmart and fight off Lars and Ashley, Ed dying in the process to try and help the girls.
The last big exposure comes when Darby finds out that Sandi was a part of it all along and was arguably the brains of the kidnapping. She also has to fight her of, but in the end can get away with Jay. The book ends with the two safe and healing.
I had thought the twist of Sandi being involved (and I think also being Jay’s aunt, but I can’t recall if I am misremembering that) was a last really good blow to the story and showed that all along, everyone except Ed was a problem at that rest stop.
I hope you enjoyed this review. Thank you for checking it out! Feel free to subscribe to the page to be one of the first to know when I release a new review!
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