Her Last Breath
- Judith D Collins
- Feb 19
- 5 min read
By: Taylor Adams
Narrator: Sophie Amoss
ISBN: 9780063394131
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: 02/17/2026
Format:Hardcover
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
From the critically acclaimed author of No Exit and The Last Word comes a story of two friends who embark on an ill-fated caving expedition—and the dark truth of what happens deep underground.
After years of excuses, Tess has finally agreed to go caving with her best friend Allie. Their lives have diverged sharply since high school—Allie is a self-made travel influencer, while Tess is a shy (and claustrophobic) legal assistant struggling to pay for law school. Maybe she’s a little jealous of Allie's globe-trotting life. Who wouldn’t be?
As Tess and Allie descend into the depths, they realize they’re not alone. A stranger who claims to be a fellow caver harasses them. Confident, take-no-shit Allie insults the guy—and he retaliates. Soon, Tess is trapped inside a narrow crawl space hundreds of feet underground, fighting to stay alive.
Twenty-four hours later, as a hospitalized Tess recounts her harrowing story of survival, the detective interviewing her shares new and shocking secrets about Allie's true past. Together, they begin to suspect the brutal attack wasn’t so random after all.
Who was Allie, really? Why did this man target them? And did Tess really leave the danger behind when she escaped the cave?
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My Review
From the acclaimed author and beloved storyteller, Taylor Adams, known for his gripping novels No Exit and The Last Word comes a gripping new thriller, HER LAST BREATH.
This heart-pounding, smartly written psychological thriller follows two adventurous friends as they venture into the perilous depths of a mysterious cave system ominously dubbed the "Devil’s Staircase."
In this claustrophobic setting, where shadows loom and echoes whisper secrets, they soon discover that their expedition is not just a test of courage but a harrowing journey into the dark truths lurking beneath the surface. Brace yourself for a tale filled with suspense, intelligence, and the chilling realization of what it truly means to be ensnared in the depths of danger.
Main Characters...
Tess DeWater:
A 28-year-old law student and part-time administrative assistant for her friend Allie. She is highly anxious, claustrophobic, and prefers to stay in her apartment. A cave is not the place for her if trapped.
Allie Merritt:
A successful travel influencer and experienced caver who organized the trip. She is never afraid, bold and confident, and the opposite of Tess.
Detective Layla Washington:
A veteran investigator with the Stevens County Sheriff’s Department is facing mandatory retirement. Sidelined during the actual rescue mission, she interviews the survivor at the hospital to reconstruct the events of the "Devil’s Staircase" homicide.
The narrative alternates between the cave ordeal and a hospital interview 24 hours later. Detective Layla Washington, facing mandatory retirement, interviews Tess to piece together the events. As Washington investigates, she discovers that the survivor she is interviewing may be someone else. A major twist and the dark truth are revealed.
My thoughts...
In HER LAST BREATH, Taylor Adams cleverly uses a structural and cultural critique to deepen the thriller's tension, making the reader part of the deception.
The descriptions are visceral, intense, and claustrophobic. The story flips the "Final Girl" trope on its head, where readers wonder who is the survivor and who is the villain. The narrative centers on a small cast of characters trapped in a web of survival, deception, betrayal, and trauma.
The dual-timeline structure creates a fast-paced "ticking clock" feeling as the detective gets closer to the truth. The novel explores a dark view of friendship, suggesting that people are often driven by greed and self-preservation rather than loyalty.
Readers will enjoy Detective (Layla Washington), who is tenacious and intuitive, despite being pushed toward retirement, and refuses to let the case go until the pieces fit. She relies on "gut feelings" and small behavioral inconsistencies to dismantle the lies.
In a Dual Timeline: Cave vs. Hospital, the story alternates between the survival ordeal inside the "Devil’s Staircase" and the interrogation at the hospital 24 hours later. This structure reinforces the book's themes of deception and unreliable narration.
While the cave timeline focuses on the physical claustrophobia of the tunnels, the hospital timeline focuses on the psychological claustrophobia of Washington’s investigation. Tess is "trapped" in both—first by rocks and water, then by the detective’s mounting evidence.
By jumping back and forth, Adams keeps the reader in the dark about Allie's true fate until the final moments, mirroring the confusion of being lost in a dark cave. Taylor Adams brilliantly explores how extreme environments can strip away social masks to reveal the predator beneath with razor-sharp plotting.
The central takeaway of HER LAST BREATH is that vulnerability can be a mask for extreme malice. The author challenges the reader's instinct to equate "trauma" with "innocence," delivering a message about human nature:
The title essentially asks: Who drew the last breath, and who took it?
Absolutely captivating! As an avid admirer of the author’s work, I’ve immersed myself in every book he has written. His masterful storytelling consistently keeps his readers on the edge of their seats, skillfully weaving suspense and intrigue that lasts until the very last page.
Fans are sure to eagerly devour each new release, hungry for more of his enthralling narratives and unexpected twists.
Recs...
If you enjoyed the high-stakes survival and psychological betrayal in "Her Last Breath," you might enjoy these thrillers featuring claustrophobic settings, toxic friendships, and unreliable narrators.
~No Exit by Taylor Adams
~The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
~The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz
~The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
~Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
~Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
Special thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for providing an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Feb 17, 2026
My Rating: 5 Stars
Praise
“An intricate thriller . . . Adams expertly manipulates readers’ expectations . . . a visceral tale of daring and deceit.”
- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Readers will hold their breath with every page, desperate to see who survives. Fans of Adrian McKinty and C. J. Tudor will also find much to love in this adrenaline-fueled story, quite possibly Adams’s best yet.”
- Library Journal (starred review)
"A true thriller, with plenty of horror movie-style scares, this had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. It's also the perfect book to get anyone out of a reading slump."
- IGN
“Taylor Adams’s fourth stand-alone thriller moves at about 150 miles per hour until its closing scene, which is still and tender . . . A novel that’s part action flick and part affecting rumination on moral responsibility within families.”
- Washington Post
About the Author
Taylor Adams is the author of several acclaimed thrillers including No Exit, Hairpin Bridge, and The Last Word. His works have been featured as Book of the Month Main Selections and Amazon Editor’s Picks. No Exit has been published in 32 languages and was recently adapted as a Hulu Original film directed by Damien Power (Killing Ground), produced by PGA-winner Scott Frank (Logan), and starring Havana Rose Liu (Bottoms), Danny Ramirez (Top Gun: Maverick), and Dennis Haysbert (Breakthrough).
His novels have been praised by critics at the The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, and by bestselling authors including Joe Hill, Riley Sager, A.J. Finn, Michael Koryta, and Karen Dionne. “Taylor Adams is a master of suspense,” said Michael Koryta. “I’m already impatient to see what he does next.” Publishers Weekly wrote in their starred review: “Adams is a writer to watch.”
Adams lives in Washington State with his family. WEBSITE
