It’s by no means perfect but No Exit is still a decent thriller that’s worth the time picking up. It’s fast-paced which makes for a fairly quick reading experience and despite the odd hiccup here and there, it’s almost entirely a constant push forward.
The story follows Darby who is forced to take refuge at a rest stop during a blizzard along with four strangers. While there, she discovers evidence of a kidnapped child and has to figure out what to do and who might be involved.
As the plot progresses there are multiple twists and turns throughout, especially towards the end. Unfortunately, it gets a bit excessive and makes things feel a little messy but considering how quick and easy it was to get through this book, it wasn’t too disruptive to the overall experience.
While not too tense, No Exit is still entertaining and thrilling enough. Even though parts of it are a little predictable, it’ll still leave you wanting to know what happens next. Some of that predictability makes sense for the genre and tropes explored and generally, the set-up for these is good. There are, however, occasions where this isn’t the case. Luckily, it never goes too far that it ruins the enjoyment of the book. Essentially, No Exit does what it says on the tin and despite a couple of surprises here and there, it doesn’t push things too far beyond that.
The characters are varied enough in personality and no one’s POV was boring to read. They each serve some kind of purpose to the plot and push it forward. That being said, we do get to know almost all of them in fairly decent detail so that as readers, we can care about what happens to them, especially Darby. There’s also care and attention taken to develop dynamics so that certain twists hit harder. Like the plot, specific characters are over dramatised but it tends to fit with the overall vibe and in the end, it all comes to a close with a good and satisfying enough conclusion. There is one final little twist used to evoke certain emotions that could have been left out but other than that, the story stopped on a decent note.
While flawed, No Exit is one that I’m pleased to have picked up and it gave me almost exactly what I hoped to get out of it. It certainly grew on me in the days after I finished it. This may not be everyone’s next favourite but it’ll be an entertaining and quick read nonetheless.
Rating: ★★★½ /5
wonderoes 