The missing are never just gone in Rush; they’re silenced by something more sinister. Former military police officer Sam Salazar thought she left chaos behind when she settled in Rush, California. Peace was what she wanted, chaos was what she found. When an outsider comes to town desperate to find answers to her daughter’s disappearance, Sam’s conscience won’t let her look away – even though she knows she should. Sam dives into the investigation. But as she digs into the mystery, the case spirals, and connections surface between the girl’s disappearance and the haunted legends of the town’s exclusive Kalamack Club. Rush’s powerful elite have their own rules, and those who dare defy them pay a steep price. If Sam’s not careful, her quest for justice will turn her into the next ghost haunting Rush. The Girl Who Couldn’t Get Out is the second novel in Lauren Street’s The Salazar Redwood Forest Thrillers series, where the deeper Sam digs, the darker the secrets get.

In the heart of the forest, a killer lurks… After the pipes burst and Redwood Rings floods, ex-Military Police Sam Salazar finds herself out of a job. That’s bad news for a recovering addict. It gets worse – a stranger from out of town is asking about her. He’s showing up at her work, her NA meetings, and her trailer park. Turns out he’s Sam’s old Army buddy, and he has a his daughter is missing. Desperate to help, Sam investigates the girl’s disappearance and finds something sinister – rumors of a serial killer who’s been preying on women for decades. The local journalist believes the killer is holed up in the surrounding mountains, lurking just beyond the town limits. If the rumors are true, the missing girl doesn’t have much time. Sam must face her own demons and outwit a dangerous serial killer before he claims another victim.