Product Description

Forgiveness is one thing, but who really forgets?

Ivy Griffith has been released from jail after serving time for covering up the strangulation death of a high school classmate ten years earlier. She’s paid her debt to society. Kicked her drug habit. She’s making a fresh start.

Problem is, everyone in her hometown of Jacob’s Ear, Colorado, knows what she did. And her seven-year-old son, Montana, won’t stop probing about the father he has never met–the man Ivy was too stoned to even remember.

Plagued by her own shame and her little boy’s cries for male affirmation, Ivy is thrilled when Rue Kessler takes an interest in Montana and her. Maybe, just maybe, he’s the answer to prayer she’s been waiting for.

But Rue has a shadow hanging over his past and is suspected in a rash of bizarre, brutal beatings. He denies any involvement, and Ivy believes him–until she discovers he and Montana have kept a secret from her.

At a loss for what to believe or where to turn, Ivy’s on the verge of despair and wonders if even God has given up on her. Or is something bigger at play here–something being orchestrated outside of her control that’s about to bring down the curtain on everything including her past?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #166167 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-16
• Released on: 2007-10-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781590529225
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
“Never Look Back picks up speed, racing around twists and turns, so you have to hang on tight until the end. Now I need to read the next book in the series.”
Lauraine Snelling, bestselling author of The Red River of the North and Dakota Treasures Series, as well as The Brushstroke Legacy.

“Once again, Kathy Herman creates a world full of intrigue and suspense, full of characters easy to love, with poignant emotional and spiritual threads that transcend story and touch hearts. I cheered for Ivy and Montana and their story of hope and second chances. Don’t miss Never Look Back!”
Susan May Warren, award-winning author of In Sheep’s Clothing

“Two lives tangled in past mistakes. A relationship no one approves of. A vicious attacker with an escalating agenda. Never Look Back is a powerful story–and an exciting read!–of how God can work for good even in the midst of evil.”
Lorena McCourtney, author of The Ivy Malone Mystery Series

“Kathy Herman creates real characters dealing with real problems. Her novels contain unexpected moments that leave the reader wanting more. Never Look Back is no exception.”
 Janet Benrey, co-author of Glory Be! and Gone to Glory
“In Never Look Back, Kathy Herman crafts an intriguing story about fresh starts and the depths of God’s forgiveness. With likeable characters and an unlikely villain, Never Look Back makes for a truly entertaining read.”
Marlo Schalesky, author of Veil of Fire

“Grab hold for the twists and turns of Kathy Herman’s compelling suspense filled with complex characters, vivid setting, and a red-herring plot in Never Look Back.”
Gail Gaymer Martin, author of Michigan and Finding Christmas, a Booksellers Best Award winner.

“Kathy Herman just keeps gettin...

Review
“Never Look Back picks up speed, racing around twists and turns, so you have to hang on tight until the end. Now I need to read the next book in the series.”
Lauraine Snelling, bestselling author of The Red River of the North and Dakota Treasures Series, as well as The Brushstroke Legacy.

“Once again, Kathy Herman creates a world full of intrigue and suspense, full of characters easy to love, with poignant emotional and spiritual threads that transcend story and touch hearts. I cheered for Ivy and Montana and their story of hope and second chances. Don’t miss Never Look Back!”
Susan May Warren, award-winning author of In Sheep’s Clothing

“Two lives tangled in past mistakes. A relationship no one approves of. A vicious attacker with an escalating agenda. Never Look Back is a powerful story–and an exciting read!–of how God can work for good even in the midst of evil.”
Lorena McCourtney, author of The Ivy Malone Mystery Series

“Kathy Herman creates real characters dealing with real problems. Her novels contain unexpected moments that leave the reader wanting more. Never Look Back is no exception.”
 Janet Benrey, co-author of Glory Be! and Gone to Glory
“In Never Look Back, Kathy Herman crafts an intriguing story about fresh starts and the depths of God’s forgiveness. With likeable characters and an unlikely villain, Never Look Back makes for a truly entertaining read.”
Marlo Schalesky, author of Veil of Fire

“Grab hold for the twists and turns of Kathy Herman’s compelling suspense filled with complex characters, vivid setting, and a red-herring plot in Never Look Back.”
Gail Gaymer Martin, author of Michigan and Finding Christmas, a Booksellers Best Award winner.

“Kathy Herman just keeps getting better. The deep characters, heartfelt storyline, and escalating drama in Never Look Back left me wanting more. Congratulations, Kathy!”
 Creston Mapes, author of Nobody

“Kathy Herman has created a vivid sense of place in Never Look Back, an absorbing tale of suspense and intrigue filled with characters to root for–and remember.”
Mindy Starns Clark, author of the Smart Chick Mysteries and the Million Dollar Mysteries

“Never Look Back is another page-turning mystery that will make you wish you lived in Jacob’s Ear. These characters are sure to welcome you in, offer you a cup of coffee, and ask you who you think is the villain. And if you think you know, think again. This one can fool even the most brilliant amateur sleuths among us.” 
 Wanda Dyson, author of The Shefford/Johnson Case Files Suspense Series

About the Author
Kathy Herman is the bestselling author of twelve novels, including The Baxter series, Poor Mrs. Rigsby, and the Seaport Suspense novels. Her thought-provoking stories are ordinary enough to be believable, and extraordinary enough to stick with the reader long after the cover is closed. Kathy and her husband, Paul, live in Texas and have three grown children and five grandchildren. They enjoy world travel, deep sea fishing, and bird watching–sometimes incorporating all three into one big adventure!

Customer Reviews

Herman sends us on a mystery that keeps us reading until the very end.
Never Look Back is the second book in Kathy Herman's Phantom Hollow Series where we once again reconnect with all the characters of Jacob's Ear, Colorado from book one. We rejoin Ivy Griffith as she is released from prison and ready to finally begin the drug-free life she has spent her prison term thinking about. She accepts a job working at her father's Christian camp, Three Peaks, moves into a cabin with her son Montana, and sets out to be the mother she had never been when using drugs.

Her father, impressed with Ivy's rehab and wanting to give others in the same situation a break, invites two recovering addicts in a sponsored work program to repair cabins at Three Peaks. Not only does Ivy bond with one of the men, Rue Kessler, but a romance soon takes off and leads to a very surprising outcome that you HAVE TO READ to believe.

While Ivy and Rue only want to get on with their lives, get to know each other and see if a relationship is in God's plans for them, local residents are terrorized by a serial maniac who brutally beats the elderly in their homes. Of course, Rue due to his past becomes a major suspect in the crimes, especially since he cannot prove his whereabouts on the nights of the crimes. Starting with the first beating, Herman sends us on a mystery that keeps us reading until the very end.

In my opinion, Kathy Herman always does a fantastic job of bringing forth a strong spiritual message though her characters struggles and growth, and Never Look Back is no exception. Throughout the book, Ivy Griffith struggles with letting go of her past actions--actions and sins she's repented of, received forgiveness for, and yet continues to drag with her like a worn old security blanket. Through those who care for Ivy and help her to work toward unloading this baggage, we see how we can let go of these very things in our own lives.

Though Never Look Back is a stand alone book and doesn't require you to read book one, Ever Present Danger, I recommend you read book one first. As much as I would have understood and cared for Ivy Griffith in Never Look Back if I hadn't read book one, by having read the first book I can really feel how her pain and angst from her past made her the person she is. And I could far more readily appreciate how difficult it is for Ivy to give up her spiritual baggage.

But, no matter what you chose, to read book one or not to read book one, you are sure to enjoy another find Kathy Herman suspense novel that is sure to satisfy you from page one to the end.

Gripping
I had never heard of Kathy Herman, but am I ever glad I decided to read her books! Never Look Back grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. Hang on for a thrillng ride.

A good second installment
In the second installment of the Phantom Hollow series, Kathy Herman brings back Ivy Griffin as her main character. Ivy has just gotten out of jail after serving time for covering up the murder of a high school classmate and is eager to get her life back together. Ivy and her son, Montana, move into a house, Ivy gets a great job, and she continues to reestablish relationships with her family.

When Rue Kessler comes to town and takes a romantic interest in Ivy, she is happy to finally have found a male role model for Montana. Unfortunately, just when life is beginning to be good again, it is discovered that Rue is keeping a secret from Ivy, a secret that ultimately involves Montana. Ivy isn't sure who or what to believe anymore and simply wants to know the truth. She begins to think that maybe her faith in God has all been for nothing and that He is abandoning her once and for all. In order to get her faith back in check, Ivy must search for more answers about Rue, God, and herself.