Thank you Libro.fm/Harper Audio for the ALC and William Morrow Books, #partner for the finished copy of Her Last Breath in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: William Morrow Books / Harper Audio
Published: February 17, 2026
Summary:
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?
My thoughts:
Taylor Adams has proven he is the master of fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled reads and this latest one is no exception. Talk about a wild, anxiety-inducing read! This one had me on the edge of my seat for most of the time!
I have never been caving and let me just say, after reading this one, I’m not sure I’ll ever go! I felt the claustrophia come of the pages in spades! Those tiny spaces, being underwater at times – no thank you! Yes, the I loved the way the story was told, flipping from Tess actually being there to her recounting events in the hospital to the detective. It was wild, unnerving and really gets under your skin. Just when I thought I knew where it was all headed, a new twist would pop up to shake everything up.
Audio thoughts:
I started eyeball reading this and quickly switched to audio and loved the narrator. Sophie Amoss does a fantastic job infusing just the right amount of suspense and tension into her voice.
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