When I say I RAN to the bookstore, as soon as Hairpin Bridge hit the shelves I’m not even exaggerating (much) – Taylor Adam’s previous publications have held my heart in their ironlike grip, cackling madly while the heart rate spiked up and I never was able to put any of the three previous books down, as soon as I started them. To say I enjoyed them might be a bit misleading, but those were some of the best thriller I’ve ever read, so twisty-turny that I never anticipated the next move or even the final outcome. If someone asks me for a thriller recommendation that keeps them on the edge of their seat for hours, Taylor Adams is my recommended choice. Imagine my utter disappointment when it took me so much longer to finish Hairpin Bridge. It still is a good read, though compared to previous publications of the same author? Not even close. It never had the same effect on me, feeling the physical involvement in a fictional story by my own heartrate spiking, gripping the pages tight and reading in a hectic manner because I NEEDED TO FIND OUT how this story continues. That was most definitely what I expected Hairpin Bridge would make me do, but it didn’t. While having those twists and turns that kept me engager, it just did not drag me in the same way. The female MC tended to get on my nerves, the antagonist annoyed and disgusted me (as expected), both lit up through moments of sass and savagery. I had the odd chuckle here or there; I was never bored but Hairpin Bridge to me just lacked the special something. If you plan to read Taylor Adam’s works for the first time maybe start with this one and leave the others for last, because to me this was definitely the weakest link of the chain so far.