Finished: Ryan Howard's '56 Days'

 At first glance I thought this book was written by former Phillies player Ryan Howard but I guess not. It was good anyway. Nice job, Catherine Ryan Howard.

It does the flashbacky thing quite a bit, which I don't usually like, but the author made it work; and cleverly so in some instances where she replayed the same scene but from the viewpoint of the other main character. I hadn't run into that before. Kudos for making Haugen jealous he didn't come up with that idea.

No one even knew they were together. Now one of them is dead.

56 DAYS AGO

Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin and start dating the same week COVID-19 reaches Irish shores.

35 DAYS AGO

When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests they move in together. Ciara sees a unique opportunity for a relationship to flourish without the scrutiny of family and friends. Oliver sees a chance to hide who -- and what -- he really is.

TODAY

Detectives arrive at Oliver's apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.

Can they determine what really happened, or has lockdown created an opportunity for someone to commit the perfect crime?

The book starts just before the COVID pandemic hit in Ireland and then continues as they went into lockdown. I was skeptical I was going to like that too, but Ryan Howard did a good job. She was on point with how the pandemic was handled early on, the confusion, the fear, and wasn't preachy about face masks and didn't get into the vaccine argument. Again, kudos for deftly handling that.

The best were the twists. Not just one, but two or three. They whapped me alongside the head like those tortilla challenges on Tik Tok. Impressive.

I'm feeling generous today and going to give it an 8- on the 10-point Haugenometer. That's pretty much in line with the 4.1 of 5 by the Amazonians. And I didn't bother to check those goofy Goodreaders.

Speaking of the ol' ball and chain ...

 My celebrity crush has alway been Jennifer Love Hewitt. Her smile, her curves, her personality. If I had a hall pass it would be with her. (If my wife had one it would be Herb Dean, go figure.)

Anyway, it dawned on me a while back that I'm already married to JLH.

Tell me I'm wrong:

35 years, uff da

 Today is my 35th wedding anniversary. Kind of a big deal, mostly due to the fact that somebody has been married to ME for 35 years. I wrote kind of a long, sappy deal but wasn't happy with it so deleted it. In short:

Anyone who knows my wife knows she's special. Ya, every husband is supposed to say that, but everyone else agrees so I must be right, "as usual" (she'd say sarcastically). She cares more than the average person, laughs more, talks more, hugs more. As the doctor she works for says: "85 percent of the patients come to see me; 15 percent come just to see Nancy.)

Before I turn this into another long, sappy deal, just watch the video or read the lyrics below. Pretty much sums up my situation word for word. FYI, Climax Blues Band is a sorely underappreciated group, as was their lead singer Colin Cooper.

When I was younger, man, I hadn't a care

Fooling around, hitting the town, growing my hair

You came along, and stole my heart when you entered my life

Ooh, babe, you got what it takes, so I made you my wife

Since then, I never looked back

It's almost like living a dream

And, ooh, I love you

You came along from far away, and found me here

I was playing around, feeling down, and hitting the beer

You picked me up from off the floor, and gave me a smile

You said, "You're much too young, your life ain't begun, let's walk for a while"

And as my head was spinning around

I gazed into your eyes

And thought, ooh, I want you

Thank you, babe, for being a friend, and shining your light in my life

'Cause, ooh, I need you

As my head was coming round, I gazed into your eyes

And thought, ooh, I want you

Thanks again for being my friend, and straightening out my life

'Cause, ooh, I need you

Since then, I never looked back, it's almost like living a dream

Ooh, I got you

If ever a man had it all, it would have to be me

And, ooh, I love you