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A review by justinkhchen
No Exit by Taylor Adams
4.0
4 stars
Comparing to movies, if you enjoy one-location thrillers with a dash of dark humor, such as Panic Room or Red Eye, than No Exit by Taylor Adams should be right up your alley. Even with its shaky beginning, the novel briskly transitions into an efficient tale for survival, with just enough twists and turns to excite.
**Minor spoiler ahead**
In contrary to most thrillers, which tend to trip over their narrative in their last act, No Exit begins with its weakest section. Taylor Adams sets up plenty conditions in order to isolate the characters as well as their location (a highway rest stop), unfortunately many of them seem naively convenient (such as the absolute absence of traffic and device to charge a phone). Suspension of disbelief aside, the protagonist, college student Darby Thorne, initially comes across as very standoffish and judgmental, profiling people based solely on their appearance (she immediately labels Lars as THE suspect without any substantial proof), which leads to some questionable character decisions in order to get the plot rolling.
Fortunately once the cat-and-mouse game starts, there are enough fast actions and clever fake-outs to distract readers from over-analyzing their validity. Even with some extraneous threads never being fully utilized (the child's Addison's disease is basically a throwaway detail) or fleshed out (the initial kidnapping is possibly the worst planned crime ever), Taylor Adams is able to sustain a level of entertaining chaos, ramping up each character's inadequacy at being either a kidnapper, or a heroine. The constant course correction by both parties is what keeps No Exit addictively engrossing, and the novel also doesn't hold back when it come to violence, adding a layer of irreversible severity to the mix.
**Minor spoiler ends**
Overall, No Exit is a lot smarter than most thrillers, with just enough levity keeping it from descending into merciless torture porn. If you can get pass the unrealistic setup and an unlikable protagonist in the first couple chapters, you'll be rewarded with a wild ride.
Comparing to movies, if you enjoy one-location thrillers with a dash of dark humor, such as Panic Room or Red Eye, than No Exit by Taylor Adams should be right up your alley. Even with its shaky beginning, the novel briskly transitions into an efficient tale for survival, with just enough twists and turns to excite.
**Minor spoiler ahead**
In contrary to most thrillers, which tend to trip over their narrative in their last act, No Exit begins with its weakest section. Taylor Adams sets up plenty conditions in order to isolate the characters as well as their location (a highway rest stop), unfortunately many of them seem naively convenient (such as the absolute absence of traffic and device to charge a phone). Suspension of disbelief aside, the protagonist, college student Darby Thorne, initially comes across as very standoffish and judgmental, profiling people based solely on their appearance (she immediately labels Lars as THE suspect without any substantial proof), which leads to some questionable character decisions in order to get the plot rolling.
Fortunately once the cat-and-mouse game starts, there are enough fast actions and clever fake-outs to distract readers from over-analyzing their validity. Even with some extraneous threads never being fully utilized (the child's Addison's disease is basically a throwaway detail) or fleshed out (the initial kidnapping is possibly the worst planned crime ever), Taylor Adams is able to sustain a level of entertaining chaos, ramping up each character's inadequacy at being either a kidnapper, or a heroine. The constant course correction by both parties is what keeps No Exit addictively engrossing, and the novel also doesn't hold back when it come to violence, adding a layer of irreversible severity to the mix.
**Minor spoiler ends**
Overall, No Exit is a lot smarter than most thrillers, with just enough levity keeping it from descending into merciless torture porn. If you can get pass the unrealistic setup and an unlikable protagonist in the first couple chapters, you'll be rewarded with a wild ride.