Her Last Breath

 Her Last Breath by Taylor Adams was recommended highly in the NY Times Book Review section, and it was a dynamite thriller. I had a personal connection to the plot which surrounded the activity of caving or spelunking. There was an intense chase scene deep underground in some technically difficult areas of a large cave. The personal connection for me was my own caving experience. I was in college in southern Indiana when six guys from my fraternity announced they were going to one of the famous caves in our area and I accepted their invitation to go. It was not the only time in my life I had been in a cave, but this was not a well-organized outing. The caves were known to claim a couple lives each year when an unexpected rain trapped and drowned some explorers. Three of the six guys had been in the cave before and one said he was an expert in the circle trip that led from one room to the next before returning to the entrance. It turned out he was not an expert and got us lost. Rather than it being a mild stroll through the cave, it turned out to be an ordeal. It didn’t help when several guys lit up some joints, some of whom were under the influence before we started. It was a good gag when three guys jumped into a hole and turned out their lights just to scare us rookies. But, as we searched how to move from one room to the next, I ended up second in line, crawling between tight boulders at a 30 degree tilt downhill. After about 30 feet, by sticking a flashlight through a narrow opening, we could see the next room. I could hear the guys behind me arguing that they were not going to enter the tunnel. But then the guys who had yet to enter the downhill section saw our light, and literally just walked around a boulder and into the next room. Meanwhile, I was left in a precarious situation. By exhaling all my air , turning my head sideways, and squeezing through boulders, I was able to get to that next room. I was okay at the moment but it was later that I realized I had been in a potentially lethal position. It still scares me today when I reflect on the poor judgment that led to the dangerous event.

In the novel, two young women, Tess and Allie went caving together. Allie was the expert and had been pushing Tess to come along just to get her out of her rather boring existence. As they were about to enter the cave, they encountered a single caver who was much too friendly. Allie insulted him and told him to get lost, but then he followed them into the cave. There was an intrigue between Tess and Allie who had lived together during high school. Allie described the abuse that she had suffered from her own parents, so Tess’ parents allowed Allie to move into their home. Back in the cave, the unwanted guy shows up and shoots Tess. Allie runs away, but she repeatedly encounters scary situations. As she tried to escape the guy, she kept going deeper and deeper into the cave. When she finally escaped and told her harrowing story to the police, one senior woman detective thought the whole scene did not make sense the way Tess reported this event.

There are several unexpected twists and turns at the end of the novel which I did not see coming, and kept me attached to the story. This book gets my strong recommendation. It’s going to be a while before I can get away from the nail-biting cave action.