Her Last Breath
A Novel
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- Vorbestellbar
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- Erwartet am 17. Feb. 2026
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- 20,99 €
Beschreibung des Verlags
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?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This intricate thriller from Adams (The Last Word) kicks off with a daring attempt to rescue a young woman trapped in a remote Washington State cave system known as the Devil's Staircase. Meanwhile, aging detective Layla Washington of the Stevens County Sheriff's Department grapples with the fact that she faces mandatory retirement at the end of the year. Sidelined during the rescue mission itself, she's sent to interview the survivor, Tess. During the interview, Washington teases out the harrowing story of what happened to Tess and her best friend Allie, a successful travel writer and influencer who organized the trip. What began as a bonding exercise, Tess says, quickly turned dangerous when the friends were pursued by an armed killer in the depths of the Devil's Staircase. As Tess's tale unfolds, however, Washington notices discrepancies and wonders what the young woman might be hiding. Adams expertly manipulates readers' expectations, neatly dropping in clues and surprises that cast suspicion in new directions. The result is a visceral tale of daring and deceit that will keep even seasoned suspense fans on their toes.
