Title: “Local Woman Missing” 

Author: Mary Kubica 

Shelby Tebow has been missing for a couple weeks when, just a few blocks away, Meredith and her daughter Delilah go missing, too.   

The community is stunned and fearfully wonders if the disappearances are connected. Meredith’s husband, Josh, is panicked and relies on the help of neighbors to search for them.   

Eleven years have gone by when Delilah shows up in the woods with a terrifying tale of her escape but no memory of what happened to her mother. Once she is returned back home to Josh and her brother, Leo, Delilah struggles to adjust.   Josh is happy to have Delilah home but is still determined to find out what happened to Meredith.   

This novel is told from different points of view and back-and-forth in time, but it’s easy to follow. It delivers more than a couple twists that kept me up late reading! 

Title: “The Guardians” 

Author: John Grisham 

Quincy Miller has been found guilty and sent to prison with a life sentence for murdering Keith Russo, a lawyer in a small Florida town. For 22 years he has been maintaining his innocence, but nobody believes him.   

He hears about a nonprofit called Guardian Ministries that specializes in overturning wrongful convictions.   

Cullen Post is an Episcopal minister as well as an attorney who finally listens to Quincy’s pleas. Post wholeheartedly believes Quincy is innocent and plans to free him ASAP – but the law doesn’t move that quickly, especially in small Southern towns that have things to hide.   

Post is juggling clients in different states, all waiting to be set free. He has his investigator, Frankie, working on the case from the shadows. Frankie was Post’s first client to be released from prison for a murder he did not commit.   

Post, Frankie and Mazy all work for Vicki Gourley, who founded the nonprofit.  Together, they are The Guardians.