Joe Talbert is a typical college student, procrastinating assignments until the last minute. And this assignment is a big one. He has to interview an elderly person and write a biography about that person for a class. Having no family nearby, he finds himself driving to a nearby nursing home. After talking with the director, he is introduced to a resident, Carl Iverson. Carl had spent the last 30 years in prison after being convicted of murder and rape of his fourteen year old neighbor. The only reason for his release? He is dying from pancreatic cancer.
In Joe’s research in talking with Carl, and a lawyer involved in his trial, he’s torn between whether he’s guilty or innocent. he begins to look into the evidence with the help of his neighbor and sees things the lawyers never looked into, not that they didn’t try, but because they didn’t have the time they needed, you see, Carl asked for a speedy trial. Why would an innocent man not want all the time he could get to prepare his defense? In talking with Carl, Joe learns the reasons behind Carl’s decisions and what happened on the night that the fourteen year old girl was killed.
Throughout the story we also see Joe dealing with his family, his bipolar mother and his autistic brother. We also learn a secret that Joe’s been keeping. This book drew me in. As soon as I got into the story, I couldn’t put it down.
I’ve picked this up and put it down a million times… your review puts it back on the TBR list.