Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

No Exit by Taylor Adams

30 reviews

melliedm's review against another edition

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dark 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? Yes

4.0

An absolute page-turner that, despite its flaws, never fails to keep up the tension. Felt like exactly what I needed, super fast-paced to the point I finished it in one sitting.

I’ve seen the movie before, and even though I knew most of the twists, the text was still very worthwhile. Lots of background and perspective shifts that a movie simply can’t portray, and the movie also changes the main character into an addict, which impacts the plot thoroughly. 

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xiacatt's review

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dark emotional sad 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? No

5.0

Book review: Multiple plot twists. All amazing and jaw-dropping.

Movie review: If you love the book, you'll hate the movie. It's more "reimagined" rather than "inspired by". Too many changes in characters and plot. Would not recommend. 

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sydoodle's review against another edition

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hopeful sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This was pretty sick. Awesome suspense, read it all in one sitting. Only qualm is that there was no reason for this white man to write several racial and derogatory slurs - we can tell the bad guy is bad from the murder and stuff, you don't need the unnecessary and unimportant to the plot language.

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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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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kweenreads's review against another edition

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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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hippie_raccoon's review against another edition

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

2.75

A fast read.
Ashley was almost cartoonish in how terrible he was. He casually murdered a kitten, kidnapped a little girl for sex work, mutilates others, slowly kills people....
 It's almost too much. 

I don't know if the author has ever interacted with a 9 year old, but Jay is not a convincing child. 
For that matter, Darby isn't really a convincing young-20s woman. She's kind of flat. There's a subplot about getting home to see her mom in an emergency with some self guilt thrown in.

I did enjoy the overall action of the book. The violence was over the top, but I can appreciate the fact that people actually get hurt. Although Darby's plot armor is thiiiick. So is Ashley's for a lot of it, I guess.

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aniwillow's review

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dark emotional 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

4.75


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xlipkins's review against another edition

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

4.0


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wends_nblw's review

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dark mysterious 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

I need to start taking reviews with a grain of salt because they always set my expectations too high. That being said, this was still a good thriller.

I couldn't stand Darby at first, but I found myself warming up to her towards the halfway point before fully loving her character by the end. With the rest of the cast, I couldn't decide if I hated or loved them. There aren't many side characters : aside from Darby, we have five other distinctive characters.

As for the culprit
(in this case : one of the culprits, Ashley)
... I found myself fully enraptured by them. Their motive, their point of view, the way they spoke.. I couldn't help but find myself being manipulated by them. By the end, I was as smitten with them as they were with Darby. For sure one of my favorite antagonists of any book.

So many twists and turns, I wouldn't say this book had me on the edge of my seat, but it certainly had me sitting up straight. Every time I thought this book was going to end, that Darby and this little girl, Jay, were going to escape, 'No Exit' would toss that hope aside and shoot me with a nail gun. I would groan and in the words of our villain, say "oh, come on."

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claire_reardon's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

This was the exact kind of nonsensical stupidity I needed after two heavy fantasy books. Can’t wait to see the movie and laugh through the entire thing. 

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