Unintended Witness by D.L. Wood

Unintended Witness by D.L. Wood
Series: The Unintended Series
Publisher: Silverglass Press on October 11, 2018

REVIEW BY STACI TROILO

Unintended Witness is the second installment in D.L. Wood’s Unintended series. This Christian thriller picks up not long after the first book (Unintended Target) ended, and while the richness of the story world benefits from the books being read in order, each novel is complete in its own right and can be read as a standalone. 

Chloe, the protagonist, has recently embraced Christ and as such, she’s trying to mend fences with estranged family. Forgiveness is never easy, and mountains of secrets heaped upon each other add to her difficulties. 

God forgave her. Every time. Even when it was obvious that she wasn’t perfect and might fail again. And he was pretty clear that he wanted her to do the same. 

D.L. Wood, Unintended Witness

Just when she’s at the end of her rope and considering… not giving up, exactly, but going back home for a lengthy and much needed break, she finds herself caught up in the middle of a mystery. It would be easy to flee and put distance between her and her family’s problems, but running doesn’t feel right. So she stays to help. And the situation only grows more perilous. 

The mystery is full of complex clues, myriad suspects, and increasing stakes. The side characters add to the interest and intrigue. I recognized a vital clue early and was waiting for all the pieces to fall into place around it, but that didn’t detract from the plot unfolding. 

I really enjoyed the expansion of the world, particularly Chloe’s family. I wasn’t crazy about the author trying to force a love triangle. Chloe is too loyal for that. Furthermore, the challenges her boyfriend is facing present a poignant situation that would have been more powerful if they’d been together while he worked through his issues rather than separated by hundreds of miles and some emotional misunderstandings. For that, I’m subtracting a full fish and dropping this to four. But the people and plot kept me glued to the page, and the place? The book is clearly a love letter to the town. I feel like I’ve walked the streets and shopped the stores. It was beautifully done. I hope we return in this series but suspect the next one will take place elsewhere.

_{I read Unintended Witness through Kindle Unlimited.}