Sierra

When I ran out of Poca eleven years ago, I never planned on seeing the confines of this small town again. Now, it’s mocking me. The very thing that drove me to run away at seventeen is what’s pulling me right back into Poca’s prickly embrace: my abusive, alcoholic mother.

Mom doesn’t want me here any more than I want to be here, but her failing health has me trapped. Making matters worse is the rage my high school boyfriend, the love of my life, has built up over the years since I fled Poca. I couldn’t handle telling Conner goodbye or letting him know where I’d gone. Now he thinks that after I returned, I murdered the local bar owner, Mom’s unyielding alcohol dealer, by burning Rusty alive inside his own home.

Luke is the only other true friend I ever had in Poca and he’s followed in his stepdad’s footprints, becoming a member of the police force. A position he can use to help me. Or frame me. Conner took Luke’s wife and now Luke might be using me to get even.

The only clue I have to go on to find Rusty’s murderer and clear my name is the mysterious diary I found hidden away. But the unknown author is a twisted self-professed arsonist with ties to Rusty, my mother…and me.

My head and heart are aching, and long-buried secrets are coming to light. Poca has a murderer in its midst. One hiding just below the surface.

You know what they say—if you want the truth, dig for it. That’s exactly what I plan to do.