Review: Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

First, thanks to Disney Hyperion Teens for allowing me to read an ARC of this title.  This was my first book by this author that I see everyone else seems to love.  And let me say, I can finally say I see what all the fuss is about.  I LOVED this book!  And I am not normally the biggest mystery or contemporary fan.  But the suspense in this book kept me hating every minute that I had to put the book down in order to do things like go to work, sleep, even sitting at the awesome Captain America 2 movie last night, I kind of wanted to be able to finish my book.

The main character is Samantha.  She wakes up at the beginning, not remembering who she is, or what has happened to her.  She and her friend Cassie disappeared.  Cassie has yet to turn up, and Sam can't remember anything from that night.  But as far as everyone knows, Sam was the last to see Cassie alive.  Cassie comes back to a life that she doesn't know how she ever was a part of it.  You see, Sam, and her best friend Cassie, were the mean girls.  Samantha's family was rich, and while Cassie was not, she was pretty like Sam, and they just seemed to be a perfect pair. This "new" Sam hates how she treated people, and soon isn't sure if she wants to keep her old friends.  Her boyfriend Del, who she can't remember, doesn't really seem to be the kind of guy she now can see herself with.  But Carson, the gardener's son, is extremely attractive to her, like there is a connection between them.  While Sam has amnesia, she occasionally will have a vision, or hallucination that seem to be flashbacks either to that last night with Cassie, or else things from her past that help her to slowly put the pieces together.

Then, Cassie turns up dead, and with no memories, she is of course the most likely suspect to the police, and maybe the kids at her school.  And, Sam keeps getting these notes warning her that she doesn't want to remember, not to let "him" know what she remembers.  And soon Sam is trying to figure out if there was someone else there that night.  She seems to see someone in these hallucinations, but there are even things pointing to maybe Sam could actually be the killer.

This story had me guessing at who really killed Cassie, or was it an accident.  While I did have hints at who it turned out to be, I must say I can't believe I didn't figure out the little twist, or reason why it was that person.  But it all wrapped up so well.  So many people that I suspected as I read, but then doubts, so, so good!!  Let's just say Jennifer L. Armentrout will now be moving to the top of my TBR list, and I can't wait to meet her at BEA this summer!