Marley & Me by John Grogan

The memoir of a young couple and their golden lab, Marley. Marley was a horribly behaved dog, but the family loved him and worked hard to make him part of their family. The story begins before they adopted Marley and continues until after his death. Many of the parts are funny, and other parts very sentimental. The book brings back memories for all dog owners of pets they have loved and lost.

Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard

After a freezing blizzard, Sheriff Nathan Shellenberger and his sons Rex and Pat find the body of a young girl frozen to death in their pasture. It's a girl that Rex and Pat both know as well as their friend Mitch. They hide her identity and she becomes known as the Virgin of Small Plains, the name of the town in Kansas where they live. The town develops a legend about her - that she can cure illnesses and grant wishes. Years later, some of the members of the community decide they want to find out who the girl really was and what happened to her. When they start stirring up old memories, other deaths begin to occur. Who was the Virgin of Small Plains and what really happened to her. Good adult mystery by a Kansas author.