Helpful Score: 2
Author Taylor Adams certainly knows how to set a scene and ratchet up the suspense, and he was wise to let readers occasionally hear Cambry's voice as her final hours on earth unfolded. However, what could have been a white-knuckle, edge-of-my-seat read turned into a bit of a mess.
First and foremost, I didn't care one little whit about any of the characters. The bad guys didn't even drum up much of a response, and Lena-- although some of her plans showed signs of genius-- was so hostile that I gave up on her, too. What kind of a reader am I? One that has to have at least one character in a book that holds my interest, even if it's the bad guy. This didn't happen in Hairpin Bridge.
Second-- and most important-- was the plot. The first half of the book was good. The pace was steady and everything flowed well, but then the second half of the book came unglued. I'm probably dating myself with the analogy I'm going to use, but as a reader, I felt like a playing card stuck in the bicycle spokes: I kept getting slapped upside the head by one plot twist after another in rapid succession until the whole thing became unbelievable.
There are some good things in Hairpin Bridge, but ultimately, I found it weighed down by an unbelievable plot and unlikable characters. Your mileage may certainly vary.
First and foremost, I didn't care one little whit about any of the characters. The bad guys didn't even drum up much of a response, and Lena-- although some of her plans showed signs of genius-- was so hostile that I gave up on her, too. What kind of a reader am I? One that has to have at least one character in a book that holds my interest, even if it's the bad guy. This didn't happen in Hairpin Bridge.
Second-- and most important-- was the plot. The first half of the book was good. The pace was steady and everything flowed well, but then the second half of the book came unglued. I'm probably dating myself with the analogy I'm going to use, but as a reader, I felt like a playing card stuck in the bicycle spokes: I kept getting slapped upside the head by one plot twist after another in rapid succession until the whole thing became unbelievable.
There are some good things in Hairpin Bridge, but ultimately, I found it weighed down by an unbelievable plot and unlikable characters. Your mileage may certainly vary.
tedious, boring, unreal and written in a format I dislike, like reading a diary---boring
Adams certainly knows how to write a unique and different kind of thriller. This kept me turning pages even though most of what transpires is set on and around the Hairpin Bridge. This isn't the edge of your seat, can't get enough book that Adams' NO EXIT is but it's a good read and has some twists. It is a clever tale with an ending I felt made the journey worth it. I look forward to his next book.
Lena Nguyen's estranged twin sister, Cambry, drove to a remote bridge sixty miles outside of Missoula, Montana, and jumped two hundred feet to her death. At least, that is the official police version. But Lena isn't buying it. Now she's come to that very bridge, driving her dead twin's car and armed with a cassette recorder, determined to find out what really happened by interviewing the highway patrolman who allegedly discovered her sister's body. Corporal Raymond Raycevic has agreed to meet Lena at the scene. He is sympathetic, forthright, and professional. But his story doesn't seem to add up. For one thing, he stopped Cambry for speeding a full hour before she supposedly leapt to her death. Then there are the sixteen attempted 911 calls from her cell phone, made in what was unfortunately a dead zone. But perhaps most troubling of all, the state trooper is referred to by name in Cambry's final enigmatic text to her sister: Please Forgive Me. I couldn't live with it. Hopefully you can, Officer Raycevic. Lena will do anything to uncover the truth. But as her twin's final hours come into focus, Lena's search turns into a harrowing, tooth-and-nail fight for her own survival -- one that will test everything she thought she knew about her sister and herself. This book is a slow-burn. I liked the premise of the story but feel like the author didn't execute the story with enough suspense. I really liked his first book, No Exit, but I think he felt a little short with this one.
