Unintended Consequences by Marti Green

Title: Unintended Consequences
Author: Marti Green
Available from: Amazon

I was asked by the author to review this book and received a free copy in exchange.

This is a gripping story that combines several elements. It’s not just a murder mystery. In fact, the who/why/where surrounding the burned body of a little girl takes a second seat to the death sentence and the legal maneuvering to try and save George Calhoun.

The execution of George Calhoun, convicted of murdering his daughter, will take place in 6 weeks. Dani Trumball, an attorney at the Help Innocent Prisoners Project (HIPP) believes he’s innocent and she has to race against the clock to find a way to prove it before all his chances are gone. George’s conviction rests on the discovery of the burned body of a little girl, believed to be the Calhoun’s daughter, who has disappeared, and his wife’s insistence that George killed their daughter. George insists the remains are not those of his daughter, but he refuses to say what actually happened to her.

This race against time is an obstacle course; or rather, a minefield. For one thing, the case is 17 years old. Even without red tape and people who don’t have the same sense of urgency as the HIPP team, it’s difficult to investigate a case that old. People have died or moved away, memories aren’t as sharp as they used to be. I had a difficult time putting it down.

My only criticism is the amount of time spent on things the reader doesn’t really need to know and that didn’t move the story forward. There’s a fair number of words spent of travel and food details I felt were unnecessary. I think the story would have moved faster without them, but overall it didn’t detract that much from my enjoyment. I was still eager to find out how the story ended and I just blew over those parts.

This book will keep you reading and make you think. It’s a great deal for the price.