No Exit – Review – Ashes Books & Bobs

Thanks to Independent Bookstore Day, I discovered Libro.fm and was able to get THREE free audiobooks of my choice, No Exit being one of them! What a win! I like Libro.fm better than Audible because a percentage of each purchase goes to the independent bookstore of my choice. I chose to support my favorite bookstore, MacDonald Bookshop in Estes Park, Colorado.

BLURB:
On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside, are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers.

Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate.

Who is the child? Why has she been taken? And how can Darby save her?

There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, and no way out. One of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. But which one?

Trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation, with a child’s life and her own on the line, Darby must find a way to break the girl out of the van and escape.

But who can she trust?

I’ve heard only great things about this book and couldn’t wait to see what the fuss was about for myself. Once I started listening to this story, I didn’t want to stop! I was constantly looking for ways to prolong my spring cleaning just so I could keep my earbuds in and listen to a few more minutes of this book! I couldn’t believe how immediately interesting it was. It grabbed my attention and did not let it go, even leaving me thinking about the book days after I finished.

I rarely give five stars to Thrillers, I think I can count my favorites on one hand. Most Thrillers simply are not thrilling enough for me as a reader. I often feel like many feature the same themes, lack of proper plotting, or have predictable storylines. While I might enjoy the book, the majority do not blow me away as a reader. No Exit, on the other hand, was everything I was looking for and more. While particular plot points could have been considered predictable in this story, there were enough shocking moments that had my jaw on the floor. I was constantly thinking, “What are they going to do next?” or “What will happen now?” and I loved every second of it.

One of my favorite things about this story was how accurate the setting was described. I could easily imagine the freezing cold rest stop with the cars becoming buried by more snow by the minute. There are areas in the mountains of Colorado that feel scary enough in the middle of summer, I can’t imagine being stranded in the winter. That idea alone was terrifying, then add a psycho kidnapper to the mix and this story is downright disturbing – perfect for fiction, but realistic enough to not feel completely manufactured.

I also enjoyed experiencing how Darby navigated the gamut of crazy situations thrown at her while she was stuck at this rest stop. She felt like a real person and not a dingy college girl from a movie, which was refreshing. The choices she made were realistic and didn’t make for perfect outcomes. She was constantly having to adjust to things as they came, much like a person would have to do in real life. She wasn’t an outright hero but instead, someone simply trying to do what was right. I need more realistic, likable fictional characters like Darby in my books!

There were also lines in this story that had me laughing out loud, like “beached male” and Darby’s digs about Ashley’s name. I didn’t expect to find the dialogue or internal monologue hilarious at times, so that was a favorable addition.

If you’re only of the only people left on the planet who hasn’t read this book yet, do it! I’m happy the hype was real for this one – it’s actually deserving of it!

Rating: 5 stars

Purchase on Amazon.