BUY LINKS:
EXCERPT:
I didn’t recognize the name on the street sign. Nothing
about the rural road looked familiar or
friendly. Tall, imposing trees and overgrown weeds choked
the front of the dilapidated home.
Windows were boarded up. There was a gaping hole where the
front door had been. I shivered,
wanting to be far away from here…wherever here was.
Walking felt harder than it should be, and I stumbled off
the chilly asphalt, wincing as
sharp gravel dug into my feet.
My bare feet?
I stopped and looked down. Chipped pink nail polish peeked
through the dirt…and blood.
Mud caked the legs of my pants, leaving the hems stiff. It made
sense, seeing as how I wasn’t
wearing any shoes, but the blood…I didn’t understand why
there was blood staining the knees of
my jeans.
My vision clouded and dulled, as if a gray film had been
dropped over my eyes. As I
stared at the weathered asphalt under my feet, large and
smooth rocks replaced the tiny stones.
Something dark and oily seeped over the rocks, slipping
through the cracks.
Sucking in a sharp gasp, I blinked and the image was gone.
Hands trembling, I raised them. They were also covered with
dirt and scratches. My nails
were broken, bloodied. A silver ring wrapped, encased in
soil, around my thumb. Air froze in my
chest as my gaze crawled over my arms. The sleeves of my
sweater were torn, revealing pale
flesh covered in bruises and gashes. My legs started to
shake as I swayed forward. I tried to
remember how this had happened, but my head was empty—a
black void where nothing existed.
A car drove by, coasting to a stop a few feet in front of
me. Somewhere in the trenches of
my subconscious, I recognized the flashing red and blue
lights as a source of safety. Elegantly
scrawled along the black-and-gray side of the cruiser were
the words ADAMS COUNTY SHERIFF’S
DEPARTMENT.
Adams County? A flash of familiarity came and went.
The driver’s door opened, and a deputy stepped out. He said
something into the radio on
his shoulder before he looked at me.
“Miss?” He started around the cruiser, taking tentative
steps. He looked young for a
deputy. Barely out of high school and able to carry a gun
seemed wrong somehow. Was I in high
school? I didn’t know. “We’ve received some calls into
dispatch concerning you,” he said
gently. “Are you okay?”
I tried to respond, but only a hoarse squeak came out.
Clearing my throat, I winced as the
motion scratched and pulled. “I…I don’t know.”
“Okay.” The deputy held up his hands as he approached me, as
if I were a skittish deer
about to bolt. “My name is Deputy Rhode. I’m here to help
you. Do you know what you’re doing
out here?”
“No.” Knots formed in my belly. I didn’t even know
where here was.
His smile strained. “What’s your name?”
My name? Everyone knew their name, but as I stared at the
deputy, I couldn’t answer his
question. The knots started twisting more. “I don’t…I don’t
know what my name is.”
He blinked, and the smile was completely gone. “You don’t
remember anything?”
I tried again, concentrating on the empty space between my
ears. That was how it felt.
And I knew that wasn’t good. My eyes started to tear up.
“Miss, it’s okay. We’ll get you taken care of.” He reached
out, lightly taking hold of my
arm. “We’ll get this sorted.”
Deputy Rhode led me around the back of his cruiser. I didn’t
want to sit behind the
Plexiglas, because I knew that wasn’t good. Only bad people
sat behind the glass in police
cruisers. I wanted to object, but before I could say
anything, he settled me into the seat and
wrapped a coarse blanket around my shoulders.
Before he locked me in the bad part of the car, he knelt and
smiled reassuringly.
“Everything’s going to be okay.”
But I knew he was lying, trying to make me feel better. It
didn’t work. How could
everything be okay when I didn’t know my own name?
ABOUT DON’T LOOK BACK:
Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she
disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it
all—popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend.
Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she
was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life
from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam
took "mean girl" to a whole new level, and it's clear she and Cassie
were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is
like winning the lottery. She's getting a second chance at being a better
daughter, sister, and friend, and she's falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy
who has always looked out for her—even if the old Sam treated him like trash.
But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what
happened to her that night isn't just buried deep inside of Sam's
memory—someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All
Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that
fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only
thing keeping Sam alive?
“This engrossing thriller packs a heady atmospheric
punch with plenty of theatrical scares,” Kirkus
Reviews
“Armentrout has written another winner. From the first
page to the last, she builds both terror and confusion to the point where
readers will be hooked and on the edge of their seat. This standalone contains
all of Armentrout’s usual trademarks– a strong and determined heroine, witty
comments and hot guys–but she adds in an extra layer by ratcheting up the
suspense to the highest degree and follows it up with an ending no one will see
coming.” RT BOOK REVIEWS 4 1/2 Stars TOP PICK
About Jennifer L.
Armentrout:
# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer
lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her
state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time
reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write,
and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class,
where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her
dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction,
fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press,
Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book
Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series
has been optioned for TV.
She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name
J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.
Links:
