Unintended Consequences

Unintended Consequences by Marti Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent legal thriller.

It’s been nineteen years since George Calhoun was arrested and sentenced to death for the murder of his daughter after her body was found burned beyond recognition in the woods. Only he insists that he’s innocent, and the body isn’t his daughter’s at all. In a final, desperate attempt to clear his name, he contacts the organization HIPP (Help Innocent Prisoners Project) help him. After taking on his case, though reluctantly at first, HIPP attorney Dani comes to believe his story after hearing what really happened so long ago. Nineteen years is a long time, however, and the courts aren’t willing to let a convict go so easily.

Though I had my suspicions on whom the real culprit was, it was still a race against the clock to see if the rest of the characters were able to uncover the truth in time. Tommy and Dani’s characters were probably my favorites, though all of them had likable and believable qualities. The plot built quickly, especially once the truth was revealed. I flew through the last half of book. Wonderful suspense, an intriguing plot – I definitely look forward to more from this author.

The Night She Disappeared

The Night She Disappeared by April Henry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. I will say that it’s geared for older teen readers, as it definitely deals with some dark subject matter and mature themes, but it was quite the journey. I walked into this story thinking that it would be centered around the mystery of who had taken Kayla, but instead I was captivated by the intertwining stories and characters. It was told from multiple points of view, which I’m usually not a fan of reading, but this author delivered it perfectly, in my opinion.

I enjoyed watching the sweet relationship grow between Gabie and Drew as they discovered what it’s like to start falling in love. The awkwardness of being the age that they are, the thoughts and insecurities that they felt, all wrapped around the fact that their friend is missing and could be dead. I flew through the last few chapters. I simply had to know what happened and how it was going to end up.

I also appreciated that everything took place in Portland, Oregon, as I’m a native Oregonian and enjoyed reading about the familiar landscapes. (Though it was creepy to think of a kidnapper walking the streets that I’ve walked before.)

Excellent all around and beautifully done. One of my favorite books this year.

In Which My Dog Thinks I’m Superwoman

When we bought our house, it had been vacant for nearly a year. Consequently, the yards are still basically weeds and dirt because we’ve been focusing our time and money (what little we have) on the inside of the house. (It’s older, so there’s a lot to be done. A lot. I get a headache just thinking about it.)

Well, it was just me and Samus this last weekend, so on Saturday I made sure that she was let out of the kennel enough to run around and get some energy out. Because there’s no actual grass and lots of interesting little things that dogs might want to consume that they really shouldn’t, we always have to keep an eye on both dogs while they’re outside. As I glanced out the window, I saw Samus slowly limping right in front of the dining room window.

I knew something had to be wrong, because this is how she normally is. Doggie smiles everywhere.

“Great,” I thought. “Now what did she do to herself?” My dog fits well with me because she’s just as klutzy as her owner. I thought maybe she had fallen off the little brick wall we have in the back yard or something like that. I could see she was making her way to the sliding glass door, so I walked over and met her there. She slowly continued to limp up to the back door, giving me those big puppy eyes. It was kind of like a little kid who gets hurt and needs mom to kiss it better. I could see it was her back left leg that was bothering her, because once she had crawled inside the house, she stuck it up in my direction, like, “Ow. Make better, please.”

In case you’re wondering what I’m talking about, it’s this little pack of evil. I don’t know what they’re called in other parts of the country, but we refer to them as goat heads here. This isn’t the same one that was stuck in Samus. I actually took a picture of this quite a while ago because I thought it looked like the helmet of an evil dark lord. Because I’m an author, that’s why.

I took hold of her leg and, sure enough, there was a goat head jammed up in the pad of her paw. (This is one of the many hazards of having no grass and only weeds. My own feet pay the consequences because the little buggers stick to the bottom of people’s shoes only to fall off in my carpet. My poor bare, unsuspecting tootsies are then assaulted with the pain of tiny barbs first thing in the morning when I’m not quite awake. THAT makes me happy, let me tell you. *snark*)

Anyway. Where was I? Oh yeah, the dog. So I grabbed her paw and yanked it out in one fluid motion. She promptly covered me with doggy kisses, and I could almost hear her saying, “OMG YOU’RE MAGIC!” Tail wagging and full body wiggling commenced after that.

If she loved me before, she REALLY loves me now. *hero pose*