Her Last Breath

By: Taylor Adams

HarperAudio

ISBN: 9780063394131

Publisher: William Morrow

Publication Date: 02/17/2026

Format:Hardcover

My Rating: TBR (ARC)

FEB 2026 MUST-READ BOOKS

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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Praise for Taylor Adams

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

“[A] nail-biting thriller. . . . The action drives to a climactic and emotionally charged ending.” — Publishers Weekly

“[A]n enthralling tale that features a wonderfully relatable and gutsy heroine. Give it to readers looking for a female-led drama in the mode of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sibling works.” — Booklist

"Adams' gripping psychological thriller is haunting, disturbing, stomach-churning, and violent. . . . As layer after layer of this stunningly crafted story are peeled back, readers will be shocked by the devastating twists. No one is what they seem; what appears to be true is often false. This is a strange and powerful tale of justice, mercy, revenge, and regret, with a dramatic and unexpected ending." — Booklist

"If many thrillers suffer from an inability to live up to their initial promises, The Last Word is the opposite: It gets more clever and interesting as it goes along. It’s not just a suspenseful story about a woman in extremis fighting for her life, but a fine exercise in authorial misdirection and an incisive metacommentary on crime fiction and true-crime writing. Also, it’s unexpectedly moving." — New York Times

“There’s a cinematic propulsion to No Exit that commands the reader’s attention, and Mr. Adams times his shocks with a sure hand.” — Wall Street Journal

“There’s a cinematic propulsion to No Exit that commands the reader’s attention, and Mr. Adams times his shocks with a sure hand.” — Wall Street Journal

“Hairpin Bridge reads like a Stephen King novel and is especially reminiscent of Misery in how the characters shape-shift as the narrative progresses, leaving the reader wondering who is more dangerous—and more importantly, which one will prevail.” — BookPage

"Hairpin Bridge reads like a Stephen King novel and is especially reminiscent of Misery in how the characters shape-shift as the narrative progresses, leaving the reader wondering who is more dangerous—and more importantly, which one will prevail." — BookPage

"Adams' plotting is relentless, making The Last Word one of the scariest mysteries of the year." — Florida Sun-Sentinel

“No Exit is everything I want in a thriller: ingeniously crafted, unapologetically relentless, and shamelessly suspenseful. The twists go off like a series of expertly planted detonations and the tension never lets up. I was blown away. No Exit is a damn good time.”

— Joe Hill, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman

“What a box of tricks! This full-throttle thriller, dark and driving, rivals Agatha Christie for sheer ingenuity and James Patterson for flat-out speed. Swift, sharp, and relentless.”

— A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

"The imaginative and thoroughly original plot features bewildering and bizarre twists and a totally unexpected ending. Adams' modern-day Gothic effectively blends horror and thriller and is guaranteed to keep readers off-balance with its intensity and overall creepiness." — Booklist

"Knives are out, as well as swords and stun guns, in this breathlessly paced, head-spinning tale." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A white-knuckle, read-in-a-sitting thrill ride. In The Last Word, Taylor Adams ratchets up the tension to an unbearable pitch—then keeps going. Thriller fans, take note: You need to read this book!” — Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of The House Across the Lake

“No Exit opens with an ingenious, chilling setup and then delivers a wicked ride of psychological tension. Taylor Adams is a master of suspense. I’m already impatient to see what he does next.”

— Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling author of How It Happened

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