hippie_raccoon's review against another edition
- 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
Spoiler
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.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, Murder, Gun violence, Gore, Violence, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Torture, Racism, and Kidnapping
aniwillow's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual violence, Blood, Gun violence, Confinement, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cursing, and Death of parent
Minor: Terminal illness, Excrement, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Grief, and Animal cruelty
rawrsoobin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Trafficking, Gaslighting, and Ableism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Vomit, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Cancer, and Alcoholism
kamrynkoble's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
It was super twisty and kept me on my toes. The ending also made me cry—I don’t think I’ve EVER cried over a thriller! This was a great one. Perfectly plotted and worth studying.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Animal cruelty, and Sexual assault
kingcrookback's review against another edition
- 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
Is this one of those books I'm going to think about for the rest of my life? No. But I really enjoyed this. It pulled me out the reading slump I could feel myself sliding into. The way Adams structured the tension within scenes and chapter to chapter kept pulling me along for the ride, it was almost beyond me to put my e-reader down. I will admit that the number of times where something that was planted in an earlier scene paid off perfectly later does strain credulity sometimes. But honestly, I'd rather that than twists thrown in for shock value, so I didn't mind all that much.
Graphic: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Trafficking, Death of parent, Child abuse, Gun violence, and Grief
Minor: Rape, Animal cruelty, and Vomit
ohkaereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Torture, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Racial slurs, and Cursing
Minor: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, and Terminal illness
savvyrosereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
College student Darby Thorne gets stranded in a rural rest area during a snowstorm—and then finds a young girl locked in a dog cage inside a van in the parking lot.
It took me YEARS to get to this book but I am so glad I finally did! I read it in a single day because I literally could not put it down. No Exit is a true thriller in every sense of the word—fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. I also really loved the characters (even those I hated were rendered really well) and Darby in particular made for a kickass heroine.
My one quibble with this is that I anticipated more of a mystery element with big reveals and this isn’t really that kind of story. But if you want a super entertaining locked room drama and don’t mind a bit of gore, I highly recommend giving this a try.
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: high octane thrillers; locked room settings; crisis/survival plotlines
CW: Mentions of animal cruelty/death; kidnapping; mentions of child abuse and sexual abuse; trafficking; blood/murder/gore
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, Gun violence, Trafficking, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Dementia
breeski's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Trafficking, Gore, Torture, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Murder, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Bullying
sgreising's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
- 3.5/5 can finally unclench my jaw now that I finished. I literally could not put this down. Lost 3/4 of a point due to how graphic it was in the end, but wow
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Trafficking, Body horror, Blood, Death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Trafficking
madsgirl007's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Alcoholism, Death, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Blood