Her Last Breath
From the critically acclaimed author of No Exit and The Last Wordcomes 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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Taylor Adams
Taylor Adams is the author of several acclaimed thrillers including No Exit and The Last Word. His newest novel, Her Last Breath, released in February 2026 to starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, BookPage, and Library Journal. 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 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 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, and by bestselling authors including Freida McFadden, Joe Hill, Riley Sager, A.J. Finn, and Michael Koryta. “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.
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