I really liked No Exit. It kept me on my toes and I found it very exciting. I did not have the same experience with Hairpin Bridge. I didn't understand what was going on in the beginning. When I started to understand more, I couldn't find interest in what happened. I didn't like the main characters. I found the exciting bits (speeding cars, fishtailing, chases, etc.), not really the type of excitement that floats my boat.

Hairpin Bridge by author Taylor Adams is a wild and crazy ride! This was my first time reading this author and I was blown away by his writing. The way he wrote the scenes throughout the story were so detailed and explicit that it made me feel as if I was right there in the middle of it all. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where I found myself holding my breath quite so much. The action and suspense was amazing! The character of Lena who was supposedly a shy introvert really turned out to be a total badass when it came to defending her dead twin sisters memory. There was even a surprise ending to the story that I didn’t see coming. It was almost as if Cambrey was guiding Lena from the grave. I loved reading this book and it’s one I’ll be recommending to others I’d like to thank Scene of the Crime Early Read program and NetGalley for the arc to read, review and enjoy. I’m giving this a 5 star rating!

I really enjoyed this book! I was a fan of No Exit, and I think anyone who liked that one will also enjoy Hairpin Bridge. The story is engaging, suspenseful, and fast-paced. I enjoy thrillers with limited amounts of characters, like this one, because you can really see the author's creativity in how they'll incorporate twists. This one did not disappoint in that aspect. I'd recommend readers clear their schedule - this one is best devoured as a binge read. You won't want to put it down!

My two minor hang-ups with this book: First, it exists in a pretty tight bubble (the whole story takes place across a few hours). While this is exciting, sometimes I felt like the book gave me a sort of whiplash as the characters again and again were faced with impossible tasks and managed to get around them. I would love to have a bit more time to really know and explore the characters and see the author explore more time and space! Maybe in the next one. My other critique is the book is pretty gory and violent, sometimes seemingly for the sake of gore and violence.

As I read, my heart was pounding the whole time. Lena is an incredibly smart, driven character. I enjoyed her blog entries along the way and though this gave the book an interesting perspective. I also REALLY loved the ending twists!

Hairpin Bridge was fun of twists and turns and completely binge worthy. Lena proved to be a heroine that would not give up no matter how hard things get. This was fast-paced and gripping and I think those that enjoyed No Exit will like this one. I personally did not enjoy this as much as No Exit but the suspense and action were similar and Taylor Adams' writing is phenomenal. I just felt like there could have been more towards the end and at some points things were just repetitive. Overall a really good read though!

Thank you William Morrow Books, author Taylor Adams and NetGalley for a gifted ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ughhhhh this was pretty disappointing. I want to say that it's just because No Exit was so insanely good, but I unfortunately think that I wouldn't have liked this either way. The first chunk of the book was pretty good. I was hooked and the mystery was very interesting, as well as Cambry's backstory and her and her twin's strained relationship. I think the main problem for me was that Lena's interaction with Ray was SO long. It gave me just enough time to figure everything out and not be even remotely surprised by any of the reveals. The back and forth between Cambry and Lena's stories at the end also got super confusing and I was finding myself annoyed, not intrigued. Hopefully Adams' next book is a little more straight forward and fast-paced like No Exit was.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hairpin Bridge is a good thriller but not as outstanding as No Exit. At times the story is hectic and gets a little muddied between the real and the imagined storylines, and a couple times I was a bit confused by what was happening. What I'm finding with Taylor's books is that they don't really come with satisfying endings. You get the sense that all works out well in the end but no real conclusion.

Lena Nguyen arrives in Montana to figure out what happened to her twin sister, Cambry. Three months ago, Cambry supposedly committed suicide on Hairpin Bridge, but Lena simply cannot believe it's true. Now she's at the bridge, driving her sister's abandoned car, to find out what really happened. She's meeting Corporal Raymond Raycevic, the highway patrolman who found the body, at the scene itself. He seems apologetic and straightforward. Still, Lena remains suspicious. Records show Raycevic pulled Cambry over for speeding just a hour before her death. And what about the sixteen attempted 911 calls she made in the dead zone? Or the fact that Raycevic's name appears in the final text Lena ever received from Cambry? Despite the fact the sisters were basically estranged, Lena needs to know what happened to Cambry. But the more she digs, the more Lena's own survival may be in jeopardy out there on Hairpin Bridge.

"I have to know. What happened to you, Cambry?"

I actually read Adams' NO EXIT not that long ago and that book totally stressed me out. This one did the same, though thankfully a kid wasn't full and center. Goodness, he excels at writing at tense, action-packed books. This thriller certainly keeps you guessing--I was never exactly sure what was real or what was truly happening or had happened.

HAIRPIN BRIDGE, crazily enough, mostly takes place on a bridge (who knew?), but it alternates between the past and present. It's told in snippets, with Lena and Raycevic's perspectives in the here and now, and then pieces of Lena's blog, as well as what seems to be Cambry's past flashbacks, but could be Lena's own interpretation of what happened. This part was the hardest for me, as that was incredibly confusing. The idea is to keep you off-balance and prevent you from knowing what was really happening, but sometimes I felt a bit too confused.

This thriller feels more like a movie than a book at times, with its dramatic tension and constant "what on earth can happen next" feel. Lena comes across like an action hero in moments, and I often wondered what else Adams could throw at us. (Oh, he could come up with more insanity, don't worry.) The result is a book that's dark, action-packed, and sometimes completely horrifying. It's incredibly dramatic, but wow, does it keep you turning the pages. I know I finished this one in less than 24 hours. I absolutely had to find out what happened to Cambry, Lena, and Raycevic.

As I felt with NO EXIT, I'm not sure I really enjoyed this book. It's more that I survived it. I admire its structure, and it's great having a page-turner to fly through. I would have liked being a little less confused, but there were some great, terrifying twists here. If you don't mind a graphic and dark thriller, I recommend this one.

If you want to imagine me reading this book, then just picture me internally hollering "LENA!" in various intonations. I didn't love this as much as I loved No Exit, but that would be a pretty high bar. In any case, I really did like this one a lot. It has the same high-intensity vibe as No Exit, but didn't give me a constant feeling like I was about to have a heart attack. It's a thrilling book that's ultimately about the things we do for love. Would I do this for my own sister? In a heartbeat.

Thanks to William Morrow and Custom House, particularly the very nice lady who suffered through days of technical uh-ohs with me to provide this copy for review.

Thank you to @netgalley for the early gifted e-ARC and to @goodreads for the physical copy of Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams, set to release on June 15. As always, thank you to the publisher, @williammorrowbooks, for these copies!

As a huge fan of No Exit, I was really excited to read Hairpin Bridge. There are similarities between the two books in that there is a fierce female protagonist taking on a tense situation with the odds stacked against her. However, in No Exit, Darby stumbles upon her situation by chance, where as Lena, in Hairpin Bridge, sets out purposefully on a mission for revenge.

Taking place in one setting over a series of hours, there were just too many implausible things that happened. The storyline goes back and forth between present day and a recently written blog post by Lena, and flashbacks to her twin sister, Cambry’s, story. I found the flashback scenes confusing, because Cambry’s third person narrative was interspersed with Lena’s first person narrative. Yet Lena’s chapters were told in third person, with the exception of the blog post. Huh? I found myself going back and re-reading for clarity. It really wasn’t even Cambry’s narrative. It was what Lena imagined had happened. It pains me to say this, but the plot just fell flat. I had such high expectations for it, but it just didn’t work. That being said, I actually think it would make a great movie. I could see this being one of the rare times the movie is better than the book. I’m still looking forward to Taylor’s next publication, despite not being a fan of this one. His writing is engaging, and he has a great imagination!

Given the description of the book, it had all the promise of a mystery/psychological thriller and the added bonus of being about a twin, Lena, seeking answers about her sister Cambry’s death. I’m a twin, would knife a person that harmed my bestie, so completely relatable storyline. This book is a RIDE y’all. We follow Lena who is about to meet up with the police officer who pulled her sister over just one hour before Cambry jumped to her death off of Hairpin bridge that has a history with suicides and might be haunted. It is a bit too neat of a story for Lena’s understanding of her sister and the book flips back and forth between Cambry’s last day and Lena’s day of discovery. The nature of the relationship between the sisters slowly unfolds over the course of the book which serves up a few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. Lena is a badass who likely wouldn’t have been unleashed had it not been for the death of her sister. Fantastic read and I’ll be following this author for more adventures.

I had tried to read "No Exit" and just could not get into it. I gave "Hairpin Bridge" a chance and I'm glad I did.

I absolutely loved No Exit. This one doesn't hold up to it at all. I did enjoy it and thought it was very thrilling. It didn't keep my attention or hold me on the edge of my seat like his other work. I felt it repetitive at times and a little redundant at times.

I was so excited to read Hairpin Bridge as I read No Exit in 5 hours flat without stopping to do anything else. Hairpin Bridge is about two twin sisters. One sister's search for herself and one sister search for the other. It is told from Cambry's and Lena's point of view. This story was slow going for me. I did not have the same sense of urgency as I did with No Exit but I still enjoyed the story. About half way through the story picked up and I couldn't wait to finish it up. It was a fun read.

I could see this one enjoyed on the pool deck or at the beach. Thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for my advanced copy.

If I hadn't enjoyed No Exit so much I probably would have just stopped reading this book all together, but I was curious enough to see what kinds of twists and turns could be in store after all the frantic driving. Because that's what so much of the first third of the book was. And even then, it was imagined frantic driving and attempted escapes because it's Lena writing what she thinks her sister experienced on the night of her death. I found myself skimming some sections, though I'm the first to admit that chase scenes don't really do much for me in any medium.
The different points of view, that were often just Lena's point of view felt really convoluted, and by the end I couldn't be certain of what was real and what anybody's deal was, except for maybe the main villain. The ultimate ending also felt so random, like the author decided there needed to be a uplifting redemption, even if it really had nothing to do with the sisters.

This was such a fun read that I was able to finish in one day! I was fully hooked and couldn’t stop turning the pages. Taylor Adams is always able to write stories that make me afraid at night!! Some parts seemed a little drawn out, but it still amazes me that Adams can write an entire story from one location and with limited characters.

This book was amazing! So full of action, twists and turns and a heroine that will not give up no matter how hard things get. This is one that you will not be able to put down once you start.

Lena is in the end quite a strong young lady, although you would never think that at the start. I felt sorry for her from the beginning, she just wants some answers as to what happened to her sister, but as the story goes on I began to have my doubts about her. I found myself at times not liking her that much, but she was determined and did what she needed to to survive. Although I did question her motives and her need to put herself knowingly in harm’s way.

Lena’s relationship with her sister is complex. They are estranged, but they were never close even in childhood. There were times when they almost seemed to be total opposites of each other. People always expect twins to be similar to each other, but this is not always the case.

Raymond Raycevic was also a tough character to like, and I don’t think any one will. He was a sympathetic character in the end though. He also had a drive to survive no matter what, and this certainly colored his perspective on the world. I do believe there were times that he could be good and selfless, but this story was not one of those times.

The book is basically told through Lena’s point of view. However there are parts that seem like they are from Cambry’s viewpoint, but if you are paying attention, you will realize they are not. This part of the story is Lena trying to piece together what happened to her sister. Which makes it hard to rely on whether or not this part of the story is true, you will be left guessing this until the end. There are a few parts told from other character’s points of view, and those were actually more believable and reliable than Lena’s parts.

I can’t speak much about the story without spoiling anything. It is a little slow to start as the story needs to be set up quite a bit before it can really start going. There are so many twists to this one that it will most definitely keep you guessing as to what really happened to Cambry. I really liked that there were really only about 4 characters involved in this whole story, and only two of them for most of it. Cambry’s character was sort of like a ghost, she was there, but we only saw her through both Lena’s and Ray’s voices, so we never really get to know her. I will warn you that there are some rather gory parts and there is gun violence. The gun violence was realistic, and by this I mean that at one point Lena is crouched behind a car when she realizes that this isn’t really a good shield, even though Hollywood would certainly have you believe otherwise.

If you liked No Exit, which was my favorite thriller from 2019, then I think you will really like this one as well. While there were a few moments in this one that seemed less plausible, it is easy to forgive those because the rest will blow you away.

Hairpin Bridge was one thrilling and binge-worthy read! It was choke-full of suspense and action, and I just had to keep reading to find out what happens next! This story follows Lena Nguyen and her mission to uncover the truth behind the suicide of her estranged twin sister Cambry. Lena did not believe the official police version that Cambry drove to a remote bridge and jumped two hundred feet to her death. She will do whatever it takes to find out what really happened to Cambry.

What I really liked about this story is that all the events took place in a span of few hours. So it was fast-paced, intense and time is of essence kind of scenario. The plot is intriguing and I loved it! It was a bit confusing in the beginning but all make sense in the end. I think it was pretty clever!

I liked the small cast of characters. Lena is a strong character. This story is told from three different POVs and I enjoyed it especially Cambry's POV which was so intense!

I did find some parts were repetitive and a bit unbelievable but overall it was an engrossing read!


Pub. Date: June 15th, 2021


***Thank you William Morrow Books, author Taylor Adams and NetGalley for gifted review copy to read & review. ***

If you want a book that is intense Taylor Adams is the author to read. Hairpin Bridge is a strap on your seat belt kind of read. I read a previous title by him and it was the same, I couldn't put it down. In both books, the timeline takes place in just a couple of days and usually involves someone that has been murdered or is going to be murdered. In Hairpin Bridge one is rooting for the heroine throughout. If you like really intense action this is the book for you.

Lena Nguyen travels to a remote town in Montana after learning that her twin sister allegedly jumped to her death from Hairpin Bridge. She meets with creepy police officer, Raymond Raycevic, to get some answers. Why? She doesn’t believe that her sister committed suicide and Raycevic is the last person to see her alive. With the eerie bridge as the backdrop, Lena slowly learns what really happened to her sister.
This was an exciting, fast paced page turner with many surprises. The chapters alternate between the present and what Lena believes may have happened. They slowly merge together as the truth comes out. Thriller and mystery lovers need to read this! Adding other Taylor Adams books to my to read list now. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for a digital arc of this book.

Great twist. This book had me pulled in from the beginning. So many twists and turns I didn't expect. Great research and factual information on certain hobbies, and descriptions. Sad parts, action, and lots of thriller. Well done!