In James Bond movies, one of the many ways of ratcheting up the tension is to introduce a Bad Thing About to Happen in, say, five minutes' time, and to regularly return to the flashing digital countdown amid the action to see how much time is left before the Bad Thing transpires. Author Taylor Adams updates this suspense-building device in his supercharged novel No Exit with a dwindling cellphone battery peppering the high-tension text. The scene: a lonely snowbound rest area in rural Colorado, a place with little to no cellphone service, and a protagonist who has left her charger at home on what will prove to be the worst night of her life. At risk are a kidnapped child, albeit a rather resourceful one; a pair of innocent (or maybe not) bystanders; and the aforementioned protagonist, a college student named Darby Thorne, who was en route to her mother's hospital bedside before her plans were interrupted by the freakish snowstorm and an even more freakish group of fellow strandees at the mountain shelter. Oh, and one last thing, and it really is the last thing—the twist ending is way cool.

 

This article was originally published in the January 2019 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Waiting out a Colorado blizzard at a rest stop, college student Darby Thorne is horrified to discover a little girl locked in an animal crate in the back of a parked van. Film director Adams has published ebooks (e.g., Eyeshot); this hardcover gets a 75,000-copy first printing.

After learning that her estranged mother is dying, Darby Thorne sets out in the middle of a fierce snowstorm in her old Honda, hoping to get to Utah in time to say good-bye. But the weather halts her plans and deposits her in a Colorado rest area to wait out the blizzard. There she meets other stranded travelers: nice guy Ashley, middle-aged cousins Ed and Sandi, and creepy man-boy Lars. While trying to make a phone call in the parking lot, she matches up the cars with their owners. A snow-covered van gives her pause. Peeking through the vehicle's window, she spies a child's hand reaching out through the bars of a dog cage. Can she believe what she's seeing? Which one of the people inside is the monster behind this, and how can she rescue the child? With minimal resources at her disposal, Darby must flush out the kidnapper, try to rescue the little girl, and survive the night. VERDICT This well-written, fast-paced thriller by Adams (Eyeshot; Our Last Night) has enough twists to ensure an enjoyable read for even the most seasoned suspense fans. Purchase where B.A. Paris's titles are popular. [See Prepub Alert, 7/30/18.]—Marianne Fitzgerald, Severna Park H.S., MD

College student Darby Thorne, the heroine of this nail-biting thriller from Adams (Our Last Night), braves a Colorado blizzard to try to reach her mother, who's in the late stages of pancreatic cancer. But the weather is too much for Darby's aged Honda Civic, and she's forced to spend the night at a rest stop visitor's center. The volunteer-run facility is nearly empty, except for four other stranded travelers—a quirky, but seemingly harmless group of strangers. That is, until Darby goes to the parking lot, in search of a cell signal, and finds nine-year old Jamie "Jay" Nissen—mouth duct taped, in a dog crate, locked inside a van. With no cell service and no prospect of the roads being cleared until dawn at the earliest, Darby has to figure out a way to save Jay. The only problem, she doesn't know which traveler is the kidnapper or who can be trusted. The action drives to a climatic and emotionally charged ending. Only a predictable twist and moments when Jay's maturity feels beyond her years mar this otherwise satisfying page-turner. Agent: Lorella Belli, Lorella Belli Literary. (Jan.)