Happy pub day to one of my most anticipated reads of 2021! @taylor.adams.author knocked it out of the park again with HAIRPIN BRIDGE! This one is out in the world today! Thank you so much to @netgalley and @joffebooks for my e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVED No Exit by Taylor Adams! I couldn’t put it down and I felt like I was racing to catch my breath the entire time. That same feeling sparked again should reading his latest book, HAIRPIN BRIDGE!

I love how Adam’s books only take place within ages hours, but so much happens! The attention to every last detail was so well done! Like in No Exit, I kind of figured it the “culprit” but was still totally wrong about how the actual story unfolded. You basically just have to go along for the ride.... but I really hope it doesn’t take you to Hairpin Bridge... bad things happen there!

I also really related to this book because the main character(s), Lena and Camry are twins. I have my own twin sister, so I could really understand and connect with Lena. Tho my relationship with my twin is much healthier than Camry’s and Lena’s, it all felt very real for me. I hope this kind of situation never happens in my life 😬😅

If you loved No Exit and the fast paced, edge of your seat, need to know what happens next feeling, I recommend this book! I loved it!

There are some trigger warnings worth pointing out: suicide, murder, graphic descriptions, gun violence, animal death, child harm

Let me first say that I LOVED No Exit by Taylor Adams and I wanted to love this one just as much. I just...didn’t. It felt disjointed. It went back and forth between 3 different perspectives/times. Firstly, Lena in the present, her former blog posts and a book she’s writing, guessing what happened with her sister, Cambry. It was confusing and didn’t ebb and flow well. The story had potential at first, but it became far fetched.

This was an exciting book! Twists and turns and unreliable characters kept me guessing until the very end. Thank you to NetGalley for the E-ARC!

Hairpin Bridge – 3 stars – PUBLISHED THIS WEEK (6/15)

When I realized this one was written by the author of ‘No Exit,’ I RAN to NetGalley (THANK YOU!) in the hopes I’d get to read this one early. I didn’t even need to read the synopsis to know I was going to pick this up… but for those of you who do want to know what you’re getting yourself into:

Hairpin Bridge is the site of Cambry Nguyen’s suicide – at least that’s the official story. Her estranged twin, Lena, doesn’t believe that version and comes to Hairpin Bridge to meet Corporal Raymond Raycevic, the man who not only discovered Cambry’s body, but also pulled her over a full hour before her death. Things aren’t adding up and the more that’s uncovered about Cambry, the more Lena’s life is also in danger.

To start, although an interesting plot, I thought it odd that the entire book is about a girl who is estranged from her sister yet goes through as much preparation, planning, and ultimately, risks her life to get revenge for her sister. Like you didn’t care about your sister when she was alive so like…?

I also thought it got fairly repetitive with pages and pages describing car chases and gun fights. At first, it was exciting and made my pulse elevate with the intensity, however, those scenes lasted a bit too long and I found myself skimming.

HOWEVER, this book was still such a page turner. Despite my need to skim at some stages, this was actioned packed, heart-racing, and oh so entertaining. I think Taylor Adams has a knack for writing this type of novel where we cover SO much in just one day and I absolutely will continue to pick up whatever he writes next.

PS- with the way this one is formatted, I can imagine it would get really confusing to listen to on audio (unless they have multiple narrators), so if you do decide to pick this one up, I’d recommend paper/e-book format!

And just like that, the author of “No Exit”, which I absolutely LOVED; wrote another book that I couldn’t put down!

The imagination behind this story is fascinating, the details so perfectly added and the intensity of the novel is just mind blowing. I could not put this book down, it captured me from start to finish and I’m here to tell you, go buy it!! It releases tomorrow and if you don’t read it, you’ll be missing out!

Lena sets out on a suicide mission to find out exactly what happened to her twin sister, Cambry. Did she really jump or was she murdered? How does Corporal Raymond Raycevic know more than he’s letting on? How did her sisters final moments really play out? Will she ever really know the truth as to why her sister was found under the Hairpin Bridge.

Special thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy!

Taylor Adams is a master at popcorn thrillers.

What I enjoyed:
The premise of this novel was interesting - the twin sister connection, the rural/abandoned bridge setting, and the small cast of characters. There were only a handful of characters in this story and it was mostly set it one location but the author was able to weave quite the suspenseful story. I love reading books about twins and their innate connection and intuitions

What I didn't like:
I felt like the book was a bit repetitive in the middle. Due to the small number of characters, I felt that they were well established and we didn't need quite as much time on the bridge.

Overall good read, it was unexpected.

Hairpin Bridge by @taylor.adams.author

So, this is my first book by the author. The book cover, description all just grabbed my attention and I quickly requested it and they accepted.

I started reading this book around 2:00 am in the night and trust me reading first two chapters simply gave me goosebumps. I nearly thought that I misread or confused thriller with horror genre but still read it.

This is a story about twin sisters Lena and Cambry and how're fated or destined. They both are very different. You'll know how much after you read it for yourself.

Hairpin Bridge is where it all started and ends. Lena, Cambry, Raymond Raycevuc & the mysterious truck driver. After Cambry's death Lena fixed a meeting with the officer on the accident scene. And, Lena is out to reveal the ugly and pathetic story behind her sister's death. It's almost a suicide mission but "you cannot hide truth for long time" it'll peak at you.

I know twins are interconnected and this book is the ultimate proof. I find few mid chapters dragging but later on realised that's a good drag. I was totally gripped by the story.
Simply a story of revenge and truth.

Blog entries which Lena wrote before meeting Ray was to fill out the story, to be honest I liked those blog entries 🤷🏻‍♀️ and the stoey telling techniques are awesome. Just expect sooooo many twist & turn moments. Trust me the truth will blow your mind off totally!

Highly recommendable.

Thank you @netgalley @williammorrowbooks for the #arc in exchange for an honest review.

Suspenseful - yes indeed! It took a while to get into and then I couldn’t read fast enough wondering what would happen next. The first few car chases were exhilarating and then they became somewhat repetitive. Lena’s estranged twin sister, Cambry, has allegedly committed suicide, jumping from a bridge in the middle of nowhere. Although Lena has not seen her in over a year, the story does not ring true to her and three months later she sets off to confront the police officer who investigated. There are multiple narrators, including Cambry, which is somewhat confusing as it seems to be what Lena thinks Cambry is doing. I was reading so fast and couldn’t put the book down until the exhilarating stand off suddenly became too gruesome for me. I have to admit to skipping over those sections, thinking they were not only gruesome but totally unrealistic. The twist at the end was redeeming. Many thanks to Taylor Adams for making my heart race, William Morrow, and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read an arc of this book, to be published on June 15th.

I received a gifted copy of HAIRPIN BRIDGE by Taylor Adams from William Morrow Books!

Rating: 4.5 / 5
HAIRPIN BRIDGE begins three months after Lena’s estranged twin sister Cambry jumped to her death off a bridge in Montana. The case was ruled an obvious suicide, but Lena isn’t so sure. Now, Lena has come to Montana to get answers from Corporal Raymond Raycevic, the man who both last saw Cambry alive and who discovered her body.

The second I heard Taylor Adams had another book coming out, I added it to my TBR. I loved his debut, NO EXIT, and credit it with reviving my love of thrillers after reading primarily literary fiction over the couple years prior. I didn’t even fully read the synopsis for this before requesting a copy and I’m actually glad I went into this blind.

This book is written in multiple points of view, three of them coming from Lena. We’re following Lena in the present day as she confronts Ray, but we’re also reading her blog post from before she went to meet him and we’re also getting her account of what she believes happened to Cambry over her final days. Lena admits she can’t know all the details, but feels that as Cambry’s twin she has the best insights into how her sister would have thought and what she would have done. I really loved how the author played these different narratives against each other.

This is a book that takes you to some pretty dark places and it isn’t shy with the gore and in that I felt it had a lot of similarity with No Exit. Also similar, the events of this book play out over a very limited setting and a very limited time span. I wouldn’t necessarily say the pace is slow, but I can see where that might be a complaint for some. Given the structure of the book and the shifting narratives between perspectives and time periods, the whole book is not nonstop action. Still, I was gripped throughout to keep reading and surprised by the twists the author threw in.

I will be waiting (not so) patiently for the next Taylor Adams book, but in the meantime I’ll go ahead and recommend this one to the thriller fans! HAIRPIN BRIDGE is out today!

The beginning of this book was great with lots of action. However, as the story line went on, it just seemed to drag on with very far-fetched plot twists. I liked the fast paced action in the book, but the redundant plot took a lot away for me.

"Twins share a soul, they say. It's an abomination when one dies. The other is cursed to wander the earth incomplete and alone."

Hairpin Bridge is a fast-paced, action-packed survivor thriller from Taylor Adams', author of No Exit. Was it suicide or was it murder? That's the question that's been haunting Lena Nguyen for months. She was told by authorities that her twin, Cambry, jumped to her death from a bridge in Montana. But certain things don't add up. Like a cryptic suicide text, 16 attempted calls to 911 and a state patrolman pulling Cambry over an hour before she supposedly lept to her death. Lena is determined to get find out the truth, no matter the cost. Whihc is why she arranges to meet up with Officer Raycevic, the man who pulled Cambry over. The man she thinks might know way more than he's letting on.

To better streamline my reviews, I utilize CAWPILE, a rating system created by G of Book Roast (@book_roast). Thank you so much, G, for creating such a helpful system!

Characters – 6
Unfortunately, I didn’t particularly find any of these characters to be likable. Now, characters don’t necessarily have to be likable for me to find them enjoyable. But I didn’t find that to be the case here. The book hinges on two things: readers caring enough about Lena to root for her survival or being interested enough in the mystery of Cambry’s death to need a definitive conclusion. More on the second point later. Personally, I didn’t like Lena. I also didn’t like that at random points throughout the story, it's conveniently revealed that she has various skills that were previously not mentioned or even hinted at. I liked Cambry a bit more and found myself skimming through Lena’s sections so I could get back to Cambry’s story. Finally, as far as the baddie goes, they were very conventionally evil. They didn’t really have any depth or intricacy, which I actually didn’t mind. Sometimes, I like when characters are evil or deranged just because. I find that to be way more terrifying than if they have a backstory explaining their viciousness.

Atmosphere – 9
Picture this: you're parked on a deserted stretch of road, a decrepit bridge before you, and the crackle of a wildfire in the distance, slowly creeping you’re way. An officer of the law stands before you, a big guy in uniform, likely in possession of at least one deadly weapon. You’re all alone. And you think this man killed your sister. Does that not give you major chills? I found the atmosphere to be one of the strongest parts of this novel and had no difficulty picturing everything described.

Writing – 8
Like with Adams’ No Exit, I found the writing to be average to above-average. From the very beginning, the tension and suspense are at a 10 out of 10, and at no point does it ever decrease. I think it takes skill to keep readers engaged and compelled to keep reading when the entirety of a 300+ page novel remains at that level of intensity. The one gripe I have relates to the formatting of the ebook, and this might not be the case in the finished copies. However, the way my ARC was set up made it really difficult to differentiate between Lena telling Cambry’s story after the fact, Lena’s blog entry before confronting Officer Raycevic, and Lena’s perspective in the present. There were definitely moments where I had no clue who was telling me what, when. So, hopefully, that’s been cleared up.

Plot – 7
I’m a huge true crime fan, and I’ve always found cases where there’s confusion over the cause of death. So, a story involving a death that might be suicide or might be murder really appealed to me. Very early on we pretty much get a definitive answer, though figuring out how Cambry ended up on the bridge that night was an equally interesting mystery. While I liked the journey of figuring everything out, I can’t say I particularly liked the ending. There were some movements that felt truly convoluted and out of left field, which I’m not a huge fan of. I prefer novels that deftly drop clues in earlier parts of the narrative, but I don’t feel Adams’ did a ton of that. So, some of the twists came out of nowhere and didn’t make a huge amount of sense. A lot of them were also incredibly convenient. Still, I found myself gasping at certain reveals and on the edge of my seat to find out how everything plays out, so I can’t fault the plot too much.

Intrigue – 8
Like I mentioned above, I was intrigued by the story and desperate to see how it would end. There were a lot of excessive gunfights and car chases, though, and I ended up skimming the majority of them. So, I was intrigued to get to the end and figure everything out, but I wasn’t necessarily captured by every word and every section.

Logic - 5
There’s not a ton of logic to anything that happens. I mean, it’s a real-world (not fantastical) explanation, so in that way, sure. It’s logical. But otherwise? Eh. Let me give you some examples. At various points throughout the narrative, it’s revealed that Lena has various skills or knowledge that help further the plot. But it’s not mentioned or even hinted at before then. Additionally, some of the twists seemed absolutely ludicrous. There were multiple times that I felt like screaming “what?!?!” at my book. It made the twists surprising and unexpected, but also outlandish and unbelievable. I definitely think the book struggles the most with logic and believability. You can only suspend your disbelief so much, ya know?


Enjoyment – 8
I know I’ve been hard on the book in previous sections, but overall, I really did enjoy my time reading it. The atmosphere and intrigue kept me glued to my Kindle and I made it to the end of the story in record time. Everything tied up neatly, and while I found a lot of the ending to be deeply convenient and the explanations to be a bit nonsensical, I still felt satisfied with the conclusion.

Final rating – 7.00/4 stars.

To wrap things up, I found this to be a fun, fast-paced time that kept me on the edge of my seat to the final page. I actually enjoyed Hairpin Bridge more than Adams’ No Exit, and I’m looking forward to picking up whatever he writes next, as it seems he’s improving with each book he publishes.

CW: gun violence, police brutality, blood, gore, talk of suicide, torture, murder, death, death of a pet.

Additional Notes:
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends, for sending me this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Taylor Adams sure knows how to grab my attention with the promise of a great plot. A twin (Lena) trying to find out the truth about her sister Cambry's suicide that she suspects is murder and may involve a police cover-up? Sign me up. Unfortunately, similarly to No Exit, I didn't love the book the way I wanted to.

The positives: Both in this book as well as No Exit, the majority of the action takes place over a few hours. I don't read a lot of books that utilize this short of a time frame and it makes for a gripping read where the reader really feels like they are right there in the middle of the action. I absolutely tore through this book wanting to see what happened next.

I also really enjoy that Taylor Adams writes badass female characters who don't shy away from rough and tumble sequences worthy of an action movie. (However, I didn't love how often male characters pointed out or were surprised by this)

The not so positives: I was confused quite often while reading because the narrative switches POVs sometimes clearly announced and other times with no warning. Lena's blog entries appear throughout the book, mid chapter, and then we jump back into the story, sometimes from a new character's perspective. It often took me a few paragraphs to get my bearings, which took me out of the otherwise intense page-turning reading experience.

Also, Cambry's narrative just didn't work for me. Early on, we're told it is Lena imagining what Cambry must have been doing and thinking. Maybe it's just me, but with all of the switching between various characters and timelines I often forgot this was just a (possibly unreliable) guess at what happened, versus following Cambry in real time like we were following along with Lena.

Too much suspension of disbelief was required for me. Having a character sigh along with me with an "oh, come on..." after every every implausible twist doesn't really help to alleviate my own eye rolls. Some of the more ridiculous twists and events didn't add much to the story anyway, which made them even more frustrating.

Overall this is a quick, fun read, but wouldn't be high on my list to recommend. I do think people who are more into intense, fast-paced action movies and books would enjoy this much more than I did though. If you're into car chases, buckle up, because this book is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy.

This is my first book by Taylor Adams although No Exit has been on my to read list for some time now. The book follows a young woman named Lena who is convinced that her sister's suicide wasn't actually a suicide. She travels to the town where her death took place determined to find the truth. She convinces the cop who found her sister's body to meet with her at the same spot of her death so that she can get the closure she needs. But Lena's true intentions are to get the cop to admit to her sister's murder.

I really did enjoy the main character Lena. She is a badass and at one point she does something that caused me to audibly yell, "Oh hell yeah!" I thought the first part of this book moved pretty slowly. Like somebody else's review that I read, it talked about how it always seems like a car chase is happening. You can only read about it for so long until you start to get bored. The second half of the book definitely picked up, but again I just felt like something was lacking. Overall I wouldn't say that it was super suspenseful or thrilling.

Hairpin Bridge is a compulsive and twisty thriller from one of the most exciting crime writers in the game and follows a young woman determined to prove her twin sister’s suicide was really a murder—and to catch the police officer she thinks did it. Lena Nguyen is struggling to come to terms with her identical twin sister's death so she decides to make the trip from her home in Seattle, Washington, to see the bridge her 24-year-old sister, Cambry, apparently jumped from 60 miles outside of Missoula, Montana when she had been nearing the end of a year-long journey across America. She meets with Corporal Raymond Raycevic who was the one to discover her body beneath the derelict Hairpin Bridge located on a road now closed to the public, and although he seems friendly and open about his experience, Lena cannot shake the strange feeling that something is not quite adding up regarding the official police account. Although Lena and Cambry had been somewhat estranged of late, Lena doesn't believe her sister would commit suicide. Plus, there's the cryptic last text message Lena received somehow foreshadowing what then occurs. It had read: “Please Forgive Me. I couldn’t live with it. Hopefully, you can, Officer Raycevic?”

Not only does the text seem incredibly suspicious but Cambry had rung 911 no less than 16 times before her demise. Lena discovers that Raycevic has pulled Cambry over for speeding only an hour before her death but when asked he dismisses it as mere coincidence. Did Raycevic have a hand in Cambry's death or is Lena just clutching at straws to try to explain the unexpected suicide of a loved one? What is the text referring to? This is a riveting and compulsively readable thriller not only packed with hairpin bends and a plethora of twisty surprises but also the emotion of losing a family member suddenly and unexpectedly. Lena is a brilliant protagonist and the sort of person who fights to the ends of the earth to get justice. It is a thrilling, absorbing and exciting cat and mouse game with Raycevic dangerously underestimating Lena's tenacity and desire to bring who she believes is the killer to heel. But is she a fantasist or a realist? Adams is a highly adept crime writer, and I found the third-person narrative and the use of Lena's blog posts and excerpts from the book she was writing about Cambry made the story all the more engaging as the sister's backstories were revealed. Highly recommended.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🔊Song Pairing:
Don’t Fear (The Reaper) - Blue Oyster Cult

💭What I thought would happen:

I thought it would be spooky and intense and perhaps a jumping from a bridge…

📖What actually happens:

Lena is on a mission to solve her identical twin sister, Cambry’s suicide. In this journey, she goes to where her sister supposedly jumped. Interviewing the cop that first pulled her over prior to jumping, THEN also happened to find her body…coincidence??

🗯Thoughts:

Had me at the first page. I was like Woah this has me sweating. It’s a classic cat and mouse story.

I don’t know about you but car chases or escapes just don’t thrill me when reading, this book was 10/10 written to be turned into a film…where’s Vin Diesel at 🤪

I was wondering what was up with the book because it was giving everything up all too soon...what do they say about getting the milk for free...right the eARC was free...What more could happen? MUCH, much more

“A man dressed like a condom who talks like the lucky charms leprechaun” can we take a second to appreciate this line. One of the better insults I’ve ever read. Waiting for the day that I can use it 🙋🏼‍♀️

Lesson learned. Never trust a man who keeps his pet snake in his truck….I once went out with a corporate lawyer who not until our third date when I was at his place did he tell me he had a PET SNAKE. There was no fourth date. This guy wore Armani for goodness sake! How was I to know!

4.5 ⭐ One helluva ride!

No need for a notepad to keep track of the cast. Hairpin Bridge is my kind of book, with characters you can count on one hand. Yet, you still wonder who did what, why and how! The story is told in two timelines, three months apart with two POVs, as Cambry's story and Lena's, the Nguyen twin sisters.

Cambry's story or the chase is nail-biting and very tense. With time ticking away, literally, it is absolutely gripping and pulse-racing.

Lena's story is about seeking the truth. What happened to Cambry? She travels from Washington to Montana to find answers. I like the switch between the two POVs as this one is mellow where I can take a breather. Then halfway through, Lena's story becomes just as harrowing as Lena's if not even more so!

Great mystery and thrills. This is my first book by Taylor Adams and I'll be looking forward for more.
Thank you, Joffe Books, and Netgalley for my ARC.
Publish date June 15, 2021.

I haven't read a ton of thrillers this year, but when I saw a new Taylor Adams, I knew I'd want to read it because I loved No Exit. Lena's twin sister, Cambry, ends up dead in a remote town and Lena wants answers. What follows is a twisty, dark story with a lot of surprises. I went into this one not even trying to guess most of the surprises because I felt like there was no way I could get it right, and I'm glad I did because a lot of the revelations were not anything I would have guessed. This one did take me a while to get into, but once I did I could not put it down. Hairpin Bridge is full of action and characters that are holding on to tons of secrets. Overall, it was definitely an enjoyable read, but if you aren't into action or blood/gore, this may not be the one for you. I received a copy of this from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own.

Synopsis -

Lena Nguyen’s twin sister Cambry, jumped to her death over the secluded Hairpin Bridge in Montana. But Lena isn’t convinced with this police version. She has her suspicions on Officer Raycevic, who had pulled over Cambry an hour before her death and whose name was in her sister’s last text. Lena sets out to the very bridge, determined to find out the truth about her sister’s death. But first, she will need to overcome a battle of survival and confront her twin’s real identity.

Review -
The narrative alternates between Lena’s current situation over the bridge and Cambry’s story as imagined by Lena, along with her blog entries. The author did a fine job of setting up the atmosphere. The isolation, remoteness and the wildfire nearby, all worked out really well creating a bone chilling and frightening ambience.

But I struggled with the first 60% of this book and I felt it moved atrociously slowly for a thriller. It was after this point that it picked up pace and got me interested. Lena’s imagination, I thought was in serious overdrive. She just seemed to be so overconfident and made some poor choices and judgements.

Another major issue was the excessive detailing about the guns/pistols which mostly went over my head. The descriptions of gore, bloodshed and violence also proved to be too gaudy for me to handle. The car chase scenes were prolonged for way too long and were often pretty far-fetched to believe. Also, not sure why death takes so long to come after a gunshot to a vital body part , again so unrealistic.

Adams has brought out the difficult childhood and strained relationship of the twin sisters very well. I also did not see some of the twists coming and they thankfully got my adrenaline pumping towards the end.

The ending, however was again a bit of a slow burn, taking long to give us all the answers. I did not feel satisfied with the whole mystery that got unraveled nor did I experience any excitement I usually get with thriller finales.

Thanks NetGalley and Joffebooks for the ARC!

Couldn't finish this book. Completely beyond belief. Not development of premises. Very disappointed.

I devoured this book! Taylor Adams has once again created a compulsive, claustrophobic, tense, engrossing story that both stressed me out (in a good way!) and had me rooting so hard for our protagonist, Lena. I love me a badass woman!

This was such a tense and twisty story. Stylistically I liked the blend of present day, blog posts and "the night of". And based on my experience with No Exit I would say that in typically Taylor Adams fashion you just never know what's going to come next.

Three months ago Lena Nguyen's twin sister, Cambry's body was found after she jumped off Hairpin Bridge. The police have ruled it a suicide. But Lena's not convinced. Even though she and Cambry have been estranged for a while and Cambry was in the midst of a cross-country road trip, Lena still believes she knows her sister better than anyone - especially the highway patrolman, Corporal Raymond Raycevic, who allegedly discoverer Cambry's body.

An hour before her death, Raycevic pulled Cambry over for speeding. Then there are the sixteen 911 calls Cambry made. And the last text that Lena ever received from her sister - "Forgive Me. I couldn’t live with it. Hopefully you can, Officer Raycevic".

Raycevic has some explaining to do.

Raycevic agrees to meet with Lena on the very bridge that Cambry jumped from. (Nevermind that Lena is driving Cambry's car!) And while what happened that night is still a mystery Lena is not letting Raycevic leave that bridge until she gets the answers she came here for.

This book will grab you from the start and not let go - easily one you can gobble up in a weekend! Taylor Adams has found his niche and is fully embracing it. If you loved No Exit this book will be another win and if you're new to Taylor Adams buckle up for a wild ride!