her last breath by taylor adams

An absolutely CLAUSTROPHOBIC cave cat-and-mouse thriller.

New fear unlocked! CAVES. Leave it to Taylor Adams for creating a new primal fear, a highly descriptive thriller that alternates between police interview- as homocide detective Washington talks to Tess, who has just escaped evil killer Jacob from NINE stories underground in the pitch black. Tess was “caving” and exploring the earth beneath with her best friend, influencer Allie. They ran into a stranger who claimed to be working with the park to do signage.

Alternating timeline and viewpoint, we slowly learn more and more about Tess, Jacob, Allie, and Allie’s boyfriend Ethan. Although it may seem hard to determine motive and a deep storyline within a tight space cave, this book absolutely pulls it off. Taylor Adams is a master of creating suspense while revealing secrets and identity at exquisitely paste intervals.

This was one of the best thrillers that I have read in a while, I found it to be quite the page turner. It is equal parts mystery and thriller. The suspense builds tremendously and the setting is second to none. I was so engaged, I felt like I was in that cave with Tess and Allie.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC. Book to be published February 16, 2026.