Literary Leftover Book Review: No Exit by Taylor Adams

Stranded in a Colorado snowstorm, at a rest area. Darby doesn’t have a cord to charge her phone, there is no wifi and nothing but coffee to consume. What is worse, she just saw a kid locked in a dog cage in the back of a van that belongs to someone else who is stranded just like her. Now she needs to find a way to free the child and figure out who owns the van.

A perfect book to imagine yourself as the main character facing her challenges. You will not be disappointed. Darby makes good choices given her circumstances and yet she must continue to fight. She fights her battles all the way to the end.

No Exit by Taylor Adams

Literary Leftovers are book reviews and recommendations that do not contain recipes, but are books that I highly recommend.

No Exit by

Taylor Adams

Outline and Tone:

As an avid thriller novel reader, I know not to always trust every character, their motive, and action at face value. I began this novel skeptical of everything. The plot did not disappoint. There were some times when my skeptical nature paid off and sometimes that it didn’t. Set in a snowed in rest area in the mountains of Colorado. The remote isolated setting gives the reader a feeling of claustrophobia while being shocked over and over at all of the danger that keeps coming after Darby.

The main character is a smart, independent, college aged female who has her own issues to deal with as well as the dangers at the rest area. She is not written as a weak, helpless victim, but as a smart and strong woman. Because of the excellent narration, I was surprised to find out that Taylor Adams is a man. Thanks to the gender neutral name (Taylor) I kept imagining the author as a woman. Taylor Adams’s writing skills are outstanding. He created a realistic setting and actions that played out in a way that I wondered if he himself has ever been snowed in at a mountain rest area. The main character Darby does have to face numerous challenges and there was one time I thought, “More? Again? Didn’t she escape?” only to be satisfied with how the author kept the story a realistic nightmare.

The Best Quote:

“You’re involved now. It’s 11:10 P.M. on a Thursday night, and there’s a child abductor in the next room, and a little girl locked in his shitty van outside, and that’s the hand we’ve been dealt. And I’m asking you now–will you help me?”

Point of View:

For the majority of the novel, the story is told in third person from main character Darby’s point of view, but it does occasionally shift to help build suspense.

The Author: Taylor Adams

Taylor Adams has written several thriller novels. A quote from Micheal Koryta (New York Times best selling author) declared “Taylor Adams is a master of suspense.” No Exit has received critical acclaim. has even been made into a Hulu Original film. His next novel, Her Last Breath, will be released February 17, 2026. His website includes a link for preorders. He posts book signings and other events on his Instagram page. I am certain as his latest release date approaches, there will be more activity posted there as well as his Facebook page.

What is not to like?:

In true captor-escape trope, there does seem to be a few times too many when you think there has been a successful escape only to have the killer emerge again. However, that being said, all of the action is well written and fast paced.

The verdict:

I am so delighted to have found this author. Taylor Adams has a new fan in me and I will be reading everything else he has and will write!

Book Statistics

No Exit

by Taylor Adams

Rating: 4.75/5 Stars
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Setting: Colorado Mountains
Pages: 352 pages
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Paperback, Audio Book
Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Published by: William Marrow Paperbacks (June 24, 2017)
Information Sources: Amazon, Goodreads, and Author’s website

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