No Exit: A Novel
by Taylor Adams
2018, Hardback — Thriller
Tagline: When you’re snowed in, and stupid
I might have picked up this book because of the snow on the cover. And because the heroine is a college co-ed, who seemed smart, at least at first. It certainly wasn’t because of the title, which tells me nothing, although it hints at Jean Paul Sartre.
I picked it well! Taylor Adams delivers on the snow! You should read this on a too hot summer day in the hammock, and you’ll find yourself cooling off nicely. For me, I was renting a room in November and suffering from a demented landlady. She harassed me by turning down the heat to 60 every night, among other things. So I was cold a lot. This book made me feel like I wasn’t alone.
Darby is the sensible co -ed who is driving back home from her college when her car gets stuck in a snowstorm. She’s half way up a mountain. I guess they have these little kiosks or rest stops on the mountain roads, as getting stuck in high snow is dangerous, and common. I appreciated a new (to me) environment.
Our heroine is smart and independent, and we’re happy to follow her. However, once in the nice warm shack, with 7 or 8 other passengers waiting for the snowplows coming the next morning, she starts making some very bad decisions.
Everyone is trapped. All the cars are in drifts several feet high, but there is a little to eat and drink in the cafe. Darby, trying to get to better reception outside for her phone, sees someone in one of the vehicles who might or might not have been in danger. And then she panics.
Spoilers, or WTH?
Not exactly the ending…in the first 20 pages, Darby, our protagonist, decides that she should rescue the person, and — get this — KILL the kidnapper. 🙂 Who does that? You see a (possible) crime and then you want to kill the bad guy? No trial, no passion, just first degree murder!
Snowplows, the outside world, phone reception, all will come early the next morning. You have help coming. Also, a young woman with no weapons would probably think of defense first, before offense. (Unless she’s part of Antifa.)
If you can get past this major plot hole, the story is fast moving, and Darby is worth rooting for. And the story has a lot of surprises and kinks, nice. But there’s also torture; I don’t know when this became routine in thrillers, but it’s not, really.
Endpaper
Here in LA, a mountain mystery novel was a fun place to go for a few hours. I might even look up more of his books. (Taylor is a he.) It will distract you from your problems, and isn’t that what fiction is all about?
Actual Reader Reviews of No Exit
Oh, wow, Amazon has it as Editors Pick. I’m pretty surprised. I would have guessed this to be a first novel that had been ravaged in a writing group or class. Says something about Amazon…
Average rating is 4.4 stars out of 5, and many of the reviews say they couldn’t put it down, and loved all the twists. Others below.
–It was like a horrible Scooby Doo episode. No one talks like this. Especially cops. No cop says they’re going to go search for clues!
–Agatha Christie could not have set it up better. Our heroine is a young college student returning to a home she swore was behind her…The plot contains little new for a seasoned mystery reader, but it is the execution that sets NO EXIT apart from the rest of the pack. A well sketched,sympathetic main protagonist and believable supporting characters drawn with depth make this an intriguing read.
–I read it in one sitting and devoured the pages completely unaware of anything else going on around me. (I didn’t even hear my husband calling me I was so engrossed!)
–From the beginning I could not believe that a supposedly intelligent college student would make such stupid choices. (I swear, I didn’t write this!)
Where to find No Exit
Your friendly local library. Free!
Powell’s – Largest Indie bookstore
Barnes & Noble – Usually one around
Amazon – if you must
ISBN 9780062875655
Set painter in studio Art Depts. Member Scriptwriters Network, script analyst.
Author, 2 hardcopy books, Barnes & Noble Calendar.
- Emma in the Night ~ Wendy Walker ~ Thriller - May 11, 2023
- Still Alice (2014) ~ Psychology Movie Review ~ Julianne Moore - January 25, 2023
- The Other Emily ~ Dean Koontz - January 23, 2023
