Her Last Breath
Tess is already dreading a caving trip with her fearless best friend, Allie, thanks to her claustrophobia. But tight spaces quickly become the least of her worries. Before they even enter the system, an aggressive stranger confronts them. When Allie refuses to back down and insults him, it sparks a terrifying retaliation that leaves Tess trapped in a tiny, subterranean crawl space.
Against all odds, Tess survives the underground ordeal and makes it to the hospital. But the horror follows her to the surface. As she works with a detective to piece together the attack, dark secrets about Allie's history come to light. It becomes clear that the confrontation at the cave wasn't a random encounter, leaving Tess to wonder who Allie really is—and if the danger is actually over.
- Layla Washington - Detective
- Tess - Allie’s best friend
- Allie (Alma) - Tess’s best friend
- Ethan - Allie’s boyfriend
- Jacob - Tess's boyfriend
- Part I
- Allie and Tess go to the Devils Staircase to go caving.
- While in the hospital, Tess recounts her version of the events in the cave to Washington.
- In Tess’s version, Jacob ambushed them in the cave, shot Allie in the head, and Tess fled deeper underground.
- Part II
- Tess says she descended into the Devils Chimney to escape Jacob.
- Tess claims Jacob dropped his gun into the chimney and she recovered it.
- Ethan arrives at the cave searching for them and, according to Tess, Jacob stabs him.
- Tess says she lured Jacob to the edge by offering the GoPro, then shot him in the throat when he leaned over.
- Washington believes Tess is lying—she suspects Tess orchestrated the attack with Jacob, that Allie was the one fleeing through the cave, and that Allie is the one who shot him.
- Before leaving the cave, Tess checks the GoPro and realizes the memory card is missing.
- Part III
- Allie has swallowed the memory card.
- Tess left Jacob on the surface to bleed out and followed Allie into the lower chamber to retrieve the memory card.
- When the cave starts filling with gas, Allie and Tess realize they need to leave, fast.
- Unable to climb back up the chimney, they swim through flooded tunnels to find another exit.
- Tess reaches the surface believing she is the only survivor.
- Washington reveals that Ethan survived and that rescue teams have been searching for Allie the entire time Tess has been in the hospital.
- Tess is arrested.
- Tess wanted Allie dead because she was committing wire fraud and stealing from her, and knew Allie was on the verge of finding out.
- Epilogue: Ethan survives surgery, and Washington tells him Allie has been rescued.
This book kicks off with a massive amount of tension that immediately draws you into the story. It’s fast-paced initially, and the premise itself is interesting enough to keep you turning pages.
However, the middle and the lead-up to the finale felt significantly slower than the opening, and it lost some of that "edge of your seat" energy that started so strong. While there are several big twists thrown at you, I managed to guess the main one pretty early on. It’s always a bit of a letdown when a reveal you’ve already anticipated finally happens, especially when you're hoping for something that catches you completely off guard.
The writing itself is solid, but the execution of the ending was where things stumbled. There were a few directions the author took that didn't quite sit right, and while it’s hard to get into the specifics without giving everything away, the resolution felt like it undercut the rest of the book. It’s worth a read if you enjoy a survivalist thriller, but the payoff just didn’t match the setup for me on this one.
- Ethan - Alive - Survived surgery
- Jacob - Dead - Shot by Allie
- Allie - Alive - Rescued from the cave
- Tess - Alive - Arrested for attempted murder of Allie
- Murder
- Pregnancy
- Mention of abortion
- Claustrophobia
- Alleged child abuse
- Gun violence
- Gaslighting
Publisher: William Morrow
ISBN: 9780063394131
Publication Date: February 17, 2026
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
