Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

No Exit by Taylor Adams

9 reviews

clareolivia's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

Finished reading: February 28th 2024

"Don’t fear the pros, Darby. The pros know what they’re doing, and do it cleanly. Fear the amateurs."

I loved my first experience with Taylor Adams' work when I read The Last Word last year, and I've been meaning to dive into his backlist ever since. With No Exit fitting multiple challenges this year, I thought it was the perfect excuse to finally do so... I do love a good bout of bad weather to spice up the plot, and the premise of this thriller sounded SO good. And I have to say that it is one heck of a rollercoaster ride! Sure, it is definitely key to be able to suspend your disbelief and the plot is WAY over the top, but if you are able to sit back and enjoy the ride you are in for a wild one. I tend to love my thrillers on the high octane and dark side, but No Exit definitely goes beyond that and dips its toe in the horror genre with plenty of gruesome and gory scenes. I wouldn't recommend it if you have a weak stomach, that's for sure! That said, No Exit is basically one tense and dangerous moment after the other; the author not giving you a minute to breathe in between accute situations. I literally couldn't stop reading as I HAD to know how everything would end. The fact that the characters are trapped and Darby doesn't know who to trust only adds to the suspense... I do have to say that some of her actions were beyond stupid, and this prevented me from giving it an even higher rating. The bad guy was also a bit too much for me, and his actions and attitude almost felt cartoonish in points. BUT. The whole situation was too tense to stand still by these minor niggles for long, and it's a true pageturner indeed despite the confusing ending. If you are looking for a credible plot and thorough character development, I suggest looking elsewhere... But if you are in need of a dose of high octane, twisted and intense action and just care about being entertained, No Exit should work just fine. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Violence, Animal cruelty, Gore, Body horror, Car accident, Vomit, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Cancer, Child abuse, Murder, Blood, Confinement, Alcoholism, Animal death, Medical trauma, Rape, and Abandonment

kweenreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Pedophilia, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Ableism, Murder, Bullying, Mental illness, and Gun violence

biblio_millie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

At one point last year I got so stressed reading this that I had to put it down so I’ve only just finished it. My only real gripe was that the child didn’t really read like a child. Apart from the occasional line where I was like yeah a 7 year old might say this, I kind of kept imagining her as maybe 11 or 12. Otherwise very enthralling and I really enjoyed it. Lots of possible triggers, more than I normally find in a book like this, I’m glad mine didn’t come up but I was very lucky. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Trafficking, Violence, Confinement, Blood, Body horror, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Death of parent

hayleyvharrington's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Slavery, Trafficking, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty, Dementia, Animal death, and Car accident

steigmd's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

This book could have been so much more if it didn’t rely on racism for the main villain. The story was fine, unbelievable at times, but nothing too crazy for thrillers. However, I had to stop myself from throwing the book across the room more than once at its blatant racism and the fact that it seemed like Taylor Adam’s has never met a women in his life, with how Darby was written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Cancer, Pedophilia, Racism, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Trafficking, Violence, Animal death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Xenophobia

annabulkowski's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Car accident, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Terminal illness, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Cancer, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Gore, Confinement, Alcoholism, Torture, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Blood, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

libraryofdoe's review

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

While snowed in at a rest stop, a woman sees a child’s handprint on a van window and upon further inspection realises there might be a child trafficker among the friendly faces trapped with her.

I really enjoyed this. While I was initially mildly upset that the twists were clunky and easy to foresee, the last fifth of the book really surprised and intrigued me and the plot was gripping.

On the whole I highly recommend, especially if you enjoy tense thrillers with relatable leads. Darby Thorne, you have my whole heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Death of parent, Excrement, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Torture, and Vomit

Minor: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Stalking

caties_books's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and Vomit