Kindle Price:	$9.99
Sold by:	Penguin Group (USA) LLC Price set by seller.

Promotions apply when you purchase

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Jayne Ann Krentz

+ Follow

More books from this author

Sleep No More (The Lost Night Files Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Jayne Ann Krentz (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 4,011 ratings

Book 1 of 3: The Lost Night Files

Editors' pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

See all formats and editions

New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz returns with the first novel of the Lost Night Files, an exciting new romantic suspense trilogy about a night that changed three women forever—but that none of them can remember.

Seven months ago, Pallas Llewellyn, Talia March, and Amelia Rivers were strangers, until their fateful stay at the Lucent Springs Hotel. An earthquake and a fire partially destroyed the hotel, but the women have no memory of their time there. Now close friends, the three women co-host a podcast called the Lost Night Files, where they investigate cold cases and hope to connect with others who may have had a similar experience to theirs—an experience that has somehow enhanced the psychic abilities already present in each woman.

After receiving a tip for their podcast, Pallas travels to the small college town of Carnelian, California, to explore an abandoned asylum. Shaken by the dark energy she feels in the building, she is rushing out when she’s stopped by a dark figure—who turns out to be the women's mysterious tipster.

Ambrose Drake is certain he’s a witness to a murder, but without a body, everyone thinks he’s having delusions caused by extreme sleep deprivation. But Ambrose is positive something terrible happened at the Carnelian Sleep Institute the night he was there. Unable to find proof on his own, he approaches Pallas for help, only for her to realize that Ambrose, too, has a lost night that he can’t remember—one that may be connected to Pallas. Pallas and Ambrose conduct their investigation using the podcast as a cover, and while the townsfolk are eager to share what they know, it turns out there are others who are not so happy about their questions—and someone is willing to kill to keep the truth from coming out.

Editorial Reviews

Review

One of AARP's Winter's Best New Books!

"This book is the first in a new series, and the interesting paranormal world and unsolved plotlines will keep readers clamoring for future titles. A richly layered mystery full of pleasing paranormal elements from a master of the genre."—Kirkus Reviews

"Krentz’s plot is characteristically twisty and her characters are well-shaded…Readers will be on the edges of their seats.”—Publishers Weekly

“With her usual impeccable sense of aplomb, Krentz deftly begins her new Lost Night trilogy with a flawlessly paced plot that is both timely and timeless. Skillfully tapping into the current vogue for true-crime podcasts with her heroine’s side hustle while at the same giving a clever nod to the eternal appeal of the Gothic with the book’s creepy old sanitorium setting and rumors of a murderous ghost, Krentz’s brand of smart, sexy romantic suspense remains perfectly on point.”—Booklist, starred review

"Krentz (Lightning in a Mirror) infuses gripping romantic suspense with the metaphysical in this novel that will delight long-time fans and new readers alike. A few unanswered questions create an intriguing set-up for the next book in this new series."—Library Journal

About the Author

Jayne Ann Krentz is the acclaimed author of numerous New York Times bestselling novels. She writes contemporary romantic suspense novels under her own name, futuristic novels as Jayne Castle, and historical romance novels under the pseudonym Amanda Quick. There are over thirty-five million copies of her books in print. She holds a degree in library science from San Jose State University and previously worked as a librarian at Duke University.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER ONE

Carnelian, California . . .

Blood dripped from the bottom of the laundry cart.

Ambrose Drake flattened one hand against the wall to keep himself on his feet. He was back in the underwater world. That meant he was dreaming again. He struggled to focus on the glary aura of the figure pushing the cart toward the swinging doors at the far end of the corridor. Was that what a ghost looked like?

"What's going on?" he said.

The words came out in a slurred, raspy jumble that he knew probably made no sense, assuming he had managed to say them aloud. It was hard to talk underwater. He thought he had been getting better at navigating the strange atmosphere down here below the surface, but either he had been fooling himself or he had regressed, because tonight he was having trouble just staying upright.

And what the hell was he doing on his feet? He was supposed to be in bed.

Shit. Was he sleepwalking again? That was not good. It meant the nightmares and hallucinations were getting worse. But did you know if you were sleepwalking? That didn't sound logical. If you were aware that you were walking in your sleep it meant you were awake. Didn't it?

Or did it mean you had slipped over the edge of sanity and fallen into the abyss? Maybe his worst nightmare had finally become his new reality.

The rattle of rubber wheels on the tiled floor distracted him. The glowing figure propelling the cart was leaning into the task now, picking up speed. Seconds later cart and ghost vanished through the swinging doors.

That seemed to indicate the figure had heard the question and had reacted by leaving the scene as quickly as possible-which led to another disturbing conclusion. Maybe the ghost with the laundry cart leaving a trail of blood drops on the floor was real. You could never be sure when you were in this deep.

"Am I awake or asleep?" he mumbled. "Only one way to find out."

He took his hand off the wall, pushed aside the hallucinations, and managed another couple of steps forward. His progress was complicated by the fact that the corridor was drenched in underwater shadows. He finally realized what was wrong. The window in his mind was open. That explained why he had seen a glowing ghost pushing a laundry cart.

"I really do not need this."

It took some doing, but he succeeded in shutting down his aura-reading vision. He was back in his normal senses now. The eerie, murky shadows disappeared. The hallway was abruptly illuminated in the light of the overhead fixtures.

Okay, he was not dreaming and the window was closed, but something was very wrong. He did not have overhead fixtures in his bedroom.

A whisper of horror sent a jolt of panic across his senses. He had walked out the front door of his house and into an unknown building. The damned sleepwalking was going to get him killed. Another terrible thought struck-was he in his underwear? Please don't let me be strolling through some strange place in my underwear.

He made himself look down and was overwhelmingly relieved to discover he had on a pair of pajama bottoms. Or was he still dreaming?

"Shit. Wake up. Wake up."

This time he was sure he had spoken aloud. The sound of his own voice was reassuring. It drew him back toward the surface. He rubbed his eyes and tried to make sense of the white walls of the hallway and the cold white tiles underfoot.

Sleep clinic.

A murky memory swept back, bringing in the tide of semi-reassuring reality. He was spending the night in the Carnelian Sleep Institute in an effort to get control of the nightmares. He should be in a bed. There ought to be a lot of wires attached to him. What the hell was he doing out here in the hallway?

The scream.

He had heard a woman scream. That's why he was standing barefoot in the hall. The answer to the mystery was in the laundry cart. He had to find it and look inside.

He lurched forward a few more steps and nearly lost his balance. The problem with staying upright was a new one. He had always taken his fast reflexes and excellent coordination for granted. After the spell of amnesia eight months ago, both had actually improved. His sleeping habits had gone to hell, but he was faster and quicker than he had ever been. Tonight, though, it was all he could do to keep his feet under him.

He steadied himself, but the sudden change of position caused him to look down again. This time he saw a crimson rivulet trickling under the closed door of a patient room. Maybe he was still dreaming. Still sleepwalking.

To test the theory, he leaned down to take a closer look at the blood.

"Mr. Drake, what are you doing out of bed?"

The stern masculine voice was familiar. Dr. Conrad Fenner, the director of the Institute. He sounded seriously agitated. Alarmed. Furious.

Startled, Ambrose lost his balance altogether and pitched forward. He would have fallen flat on his face if his reflexes hadn't finally kicked in. About time.

He landed on one palm and a knee and instinctively started to get back on his feet. His fingers skidded through the little river of blood.

"Get up, Mr. Drake," Fenner ordered. "You should not be out here. We must get you back to your room."

"Something's wrong," Ambrose said, his voice little more than a hoarse whisper. "I heard a woman scream."

"No, you did not," Fenner said. "You are dreaming. Sleepwalking. Here, let me assist you."

Ambrose started to tell him about the blood on the floor but was interrupted by a sharp stinging sensation in the curve of his shoulder.

"What?" he mumbled.

He wanted to ask another question, but he was going back down into the depths, and this time there were no shadows. No light at all. A great weakness was overtaking his senses. He was vaguely aware of Fenner urging him to his feet and steering him back to his own room.

"Hurry," Fenner snapped. "I can't carry you."

The next thing Ambrose knew he was slumped in a chair. Fenner was leaning over him, working swiftly to clean his hand, the one that had slipped into the crimson stream.

"Blood on the floor," Ambrose said. He stared at his fingers but he could no longer see the red stain.

"There was no blood," Fenner said. His authoritative tone was infused with anger and anxiety. "It was just a dream, Mr. Drake. Trust me, you won't remember it in the morning."

When he was finished, he helped Ambrose get out of the chair and stumble onto the bed.

The darkness was closing in fast, but Ambrose managed to open the window in his mind one more time. Fenner's aura pulsed in a way that indicated he was telling the truth. He was certain that Ambrose would not remember what had happened tonight.

"A woman screamed," Ambrose said, not because he believed he could convince Fenner of that fact but because he hoped repetition would anchor the memory in his brain. "A woman screamed. A woman screamed."

"It was just a dream," Fenner insisted. "You experienced a brief sleepwalking episode. Nothing more. You won't remember a woman screaming."

The last thing Ambrose saw before he fell into the oceanic trench was the small indicator light on the camera that was aimed at the bed. It glowed bloodred. That was good, he thought. In the morning the video recording would tell him the truth.

If he woke up.

CHAPTER TWO

Carnelian, California. Six weeks later . . .

The snakes spilled down the old staircase, coiling, unfurling, seeking prey. Pallas Llewellyn's fingers flew across the page of her sketchbook. She had to work quickly. She could not risk remaining in the trance too long. It was like dropping into a dream-in this case, a nightmare-an interesting place to visit, but you would not want to live there. Her greatest fear these days was that she would slip into her other vision and get trapped.

And yet there were too many times now when she could not resist the temptation to slide into her enhanced vision. She needed to see the images concealed in the small storms of energy that she frequently stumbled into.

She had gotten much better at controlling the automatic drawing trances; at least, she told herself she had more control. She saw things when she was in this other vision, sometimes terrifying things-snakes falling down a staircase, for example. But there were answers to be found here, too. It was the promise of discovering the secrets concealed in the visions that was irresistible.

The snakes were closer now, reaching for her. If she had any sense she would get out while the getting was good. Her intuition was shrieking at her.

As if detecting her presence, two of the snakes stretched out to grasp her and draw her deeper into the trance. She could have sworn she heard them hissing. That was new. In the past the visions had never had an audio component.

"Okay, okay, I'm gone," she gasped.

With an effort of will she came out of the trance, riding a senses-disorienting wave of panic charged with a giddy thrill. She had done it. She had once again leaped into the abyss and made it safely back to the surface.

The triumphant elation receded swiftly but the panic did not. It was growing stronger. She realized she was too close to the scene. She needed to put some distance between herself and the now-invisible snakes spilling down the staircase.

She snapped the sketchbook shut and tossed it and the pencil into the well-worn messenger bag. Later there would be time to try to interpret whatever the episode of automatic drawing had revealed. The answers might elude her, though. They often did. Her intuition told her there were truths to be found in the pictures she created while she was in her other vision, but she was still learning how to see those truths. She had discovered she needed context in order to figure out what she was looking at.

Her pulse was still beating too rapidly. She cradled the messenger bag in both hands, holding it as if it were a shield, and headed for the front door of the abandoned asylum. Her instinct was to run, not walk, to the nearest exit, but running was not a good idea. There were too many obstacles in her path, and she had never been the most coordinated person on the planet.

She had always been easily startled. For as long as she could remember, the tiniest flicker of light or the slightest sense of movement at the edge of her vision had been enough to make her flinch and send her veering off-balance. The unfortunate tendency to overreact to the slightest surprise had gotten markedly worse after the amnesia episode seven months ago. She had learned to compensate by moving slowly and deliberately whenever she was in unfamiliar surroundings. The ruins of the old asylum definitely qualified as unfamiliar. The hidden storms of bad energy were scattered everywhere.

The bones of the Carnelian Psychiatric Hospital for the Insane still stood, surrounding her on all sides. The four-story structure had been constructed of stone and stout timber, but the interior, now sunk in an eternal gloom, had been slowly crumbling for decades. She was forced to scramble through a minefield of broken chairs, rusted bedsprings, sagging doors, shards of broken glass, and the discarded medical equipment of another era.

The scene came straight out of her nightmares. At least this time the place wasn't on fire. She probably ought to see another therapist about her little obsession with scary old buildings, but she craved answers, and she had concluded no therapist could provide them. She also knew she would not be able to let go of her morbid fascination until she got the answers she needed.

She was halfway through the rubble of the hospital lobby when a figure detached itself from the shadows and came toward her, blocking the path to the door.

Focused on escape, her senses still in an adrenaline overload, she yelped in alarm, swerved to the side, and tried to change course. Her intention was to steer a path around the stranger, but the sudden move caused her to stumble into a three-legged table. It toppled under her weight. Of course it did. Sometimes she wondered if every stick of furniture in the world was out to get her.

She knew she was going down. She thought about the jagged chunks of glass that littered the floor. This was going to be a bad fall. She could only hope the messenger bag would protect her from the worst-case scenario.

The man who had been in her path was suddenly at her side. A strong hand gripped her forearm, steadying her.

She was shocked by the speed with which he had moved. It was as if he had known she was going to change course and run into the table.

"It's all right," he said. "I've got you."

The physical contact sent an electrifying jolt of intense, intimate awareness across her senses. Maybe she was still in the automatic drawing trance. Maybe this time she really had stayed under too long.

"Let me go," she screamed.

She was amazed and reassured when the earsplitting cry escaped her throat and echoed through the ruins. In her dreams she was always voiceless.

"Shit." The stranger released her, clamped his hands over his ears, and took several steps back. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk."

Freed, she headed for the front door again. She reached into the messenger bag, groping for the Taser she had carried religiously since Lucent Springs.

She managed to grab the electroshock weapon, but in her frenzy she dropped it. The stranger scooped up the device. Simultaneously he used his free hand to keep her from tripping over a door that had come off its hinges and was now on the floor.

Another flash of breathtaking intimacy rattled her nerves. She had never experienced anything like it. She froze, frantically trying to figure out what was happening. Before she could recover from the shock, the stranger released her and stepped back.

"We're getting off on the wrong foot here," he said. He held the Taser just out of reach. "If you'll give me a minute, I can explain."

He was still between her and the door. She launched herself at him, hoping the head-on attack would catch him by surprise.

He didn't appear surprised, but he moved out of the way.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09X51B6R3
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (January 3, 2023)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 3, 2023
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3561 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 332 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #27,754 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,737 in Suspense (Kindle Store)
- #2,043 in Romantic Suspense (Books)
- #2,539 in Suspense Thrillers

Customer Reviews:
4.4 4,011 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Jayne Ann Krentz

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

The author of over 50 New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense in three different worlds: Contemporary (as Jayne Ann Krentz), historical (as Amanda Quick) and futuristic (as Jayne Castle). There are over 35 million copies of her books in print.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

4,011 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all photos

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Sheila M

Twisty Story but Wanted More Romance

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2023

Verified Purchase

FINAL DECISION: The story is much more suspense than romance, although I really enjoyed that Pallas and Ambrose spent most of the book together doing their investigation. I wish there were more relationship development, but I don't expect as much of that in Krentz's books now as I used to enjoy. The story was really good and kept me engaged until the end. Warning that this book leaves the big overarching story open for the rest of the series (what happened to the characters during the Lost Night), but the primary plot of the book is resolved.

THE STORY: Pallas Llewellyn's life was turned upside down when she awoke at a hotel with no memory of what happened. Two other women had the same experience. The three have bonded in trying to determine what happened to them. The three have the "Lost Night Files" podcast where they investigate unusual happenings in hopes of discovering what happened to them. Ambrose Drake has had a similar experience as the three women at the Carnelian Sleep Clinic. His experience was magnified because he believes that he saw a murder during his "lost night". Ambrose connects with Pallas t get her help in discovering what happened. The two join forces to investigate what happened to them -- especially because each had a significant paranormal talent arise after the missing night.

OPINION: This book has a similar theme to Krentz's last series, Fogg Lake, but I feel that she has improved just about everything in the series. This book has more tension and drama, and suspense. My only complaint is that there really isn't any drama between Ambrose and Pallas, so their relationship is not compelling at all. Instead, it seems obvious from their first meeting that a relationship is inevitable.

The suspense story here is well crafted as there were plenty of twists, but the twists make sense, and the foundation for them is developed throughout the story.

My favorite part of this book, however, is that Ambrose and Pallas spend almost the entire book together. It feels like a buddy book (with sex and romance, certainly). That might be what bothered me about their relationship. It feels like a book that is part of the series where the main characters already have an ongoing relationship that turns romantic. (Because I am primarily a romance reader, I prefer romance to suspense, but this book definitely leans on the suspense part). There definitely is equality between the characters and their importance in solving the mystery of the book.

Both Pallas and Ambrose are suffering from the events of their lost night and dealing with their enhanced paranormal abilities. Some of my favorite Krentz books are her paranormal ones because they have a different energy, and the book feels more engaging. The paranormal abilities give the characters quirks that they have to deal with so the characters are changing as the story develops. Pallas and Ambrose find acceptance in one another which helps their relationship during the book.

We don't get much about the other characters who will be the focus of the other books in the series, so I'm looking forward to their stories.

WORTH MENTIONING: I loved the Easter Eggs for fans of Krentz's universe, including Arcane and Burning Cove.

CONNECTED BOOKS: SLEEP NO MORE is the first book in the Lost Night Files.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

NOTE: I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley to permit me to prepare this review. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

18 people found this helpful

Helpful

KA Wright

Sleep No More - Review

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2024

Verified Purchase

This is the first book in the Lost Night Files series. Three women, strangers to each other, were sent to the abandoned Lucent Springs Hotel on the premise of renovating the building. Awakened by an earthquake, they find themselves strapped down to a gurney, and the building on fire with no memories as to what happened in the night. They found the minor psychic vibe they had was enhanced. The banded together to form the podcast "The Lost Night Files", dedicated to cold cases that have a paranormal vibe.

Pallas has always had the ability to see dark spots, or dark energy, in homes and buildings. Using interior design to combat those dark spots served her well, until her Lost Night. Now her ability is magnified; she can go into a trance and is compelled to draw what she sees. She calls it Automatic Drawing. Her ability had led her to the ruins and to the mystery that has followed Ambrose.

Ambrose has always been able to see human auras. After a night of amnesia, he has seen them in disturbing clarity. A fan of the Lost Night Files podcast, he sends an email hoping to has help in solving a possible murder, maybe two.

The start of this book confused me. I had a hard time getting into it, as the paranormal senses seemed to be different here than in the Arcane Society books Ms. Krentz also wrote. Once I got into the book, I enjoyed the story. I liked the nod to the Arcance Society with the Jones character that was early in the book; also the nod to Burning Cove.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Madison W Fairbanks

Sleep No More

Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2024

Verified Purchase

Sleep No More by Jayne Ann Krentz
The Lost Night Files series #1 of a trilogy. Paranormal psychic romantic suspense.
Seven months ago, Pallas Llewellyn, Talia March, and Amelia Rovers travel to Lucent Springs Hotel where they thought they were interviewing for different jobs. They walked into the hotel and that’s the last they remember before waking up on gurneys after an earthquake with the hotel on fire. The women are friends now as they each deal with different psychic gifts from the event and investigate what happened to them. Pallas travels back to the small town in California and runs into Ambrose Drake who believes he was a witness to a murder. But because he has had the same experience as the women, entering the hotel and waking up later missing time and memories. They work together trying to pin down events but there are others that don’t want the truth to come out.

A suspenseful story as usual by this author. A little psychic paranormal, a slow burn romance, and an adventure with unexpected turns as they find and expose the villain.
I liked the positive the women took away by starting a pod-cast to take back control. The various psychic gifts are where my first paranormal books fell and it’s still a favorite troupe.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Kindle Customer

Absolutely Wonderful Story

Reviewed in Canada on January 7, 2023

Verified Purchase

I am an avid reader of this author and her pseudonyms. Have been for a very long time. The only hiccup to me was too much secrecy and characters. Otherwise loved the characters and their flaws! Cannot wait for next chapter and the solution the fab 4 come up with!!

Kindle Customer

Good as ever

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2024

Verified Purchase

I do like Jayne Ann Krentz. So what if all the stories have the same plot, she manages to have enough twists to make each one draw you in and enjoy them enough to read the next one and really that's all you need in a book.

Amazon Customer

Different vibe to her usual

Reviewed in India on January 13, 2023

Verified Purchase

I’ve been reading JAK’s books for years now, and across all her pseudonyms. There is a pattern for the most part but she still manages to surprise across books. This books felt a bit different in the energy between the main characters and the fleshing out of the side characters. Usually there is a lot more mutual respect which starts off up front between the leads, but this time there was a lot of sniping and what seemed like somewhat pointless jabs at each other. There was a disconnect between the internal monologue of the characters (affection, attraction) and the external behaviour (pithy comments right till the end). Also this had a lot of exposition which is usually not her style. I wonder what triggered the change. It felt a bit off from her usual rhythm.
Having said that, this was more suspenseful than usual, I liked the story set up and it was complex enough to feel like a slightly different set up than her usual. Still enjoyable and I will be reading the rest of the series. Just hope she makes the remaining characters be nicer to each other!

Carol Montgomery

part of series

Reviewed in Canada on February 2, 2024

Verified Purchase

This book of part of a series - found the story line much the same as books before - I don't plan to purchase any more

Kindle Customer

Gripping suspense

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 15, 2023

Verified Purchase

I like the story with the 3 women and the way the story ,then was start with the man was coming and start with how he wants help and it went and end .Looking forward to the next book l look forward to the next 2 books hope you will be writing, l enjoyed reading this good 👍

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Follow the author

Image Unavailable

Sleep No More (The Lost Night Files Book 1) Kindle Edition

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Product details

Videos

About the author

Jayne Ann Krentz

Customer reviews

Reviews with images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Report an issue