Two Days Gone

When our well-read neighbor and friend raved about this book, we told her we’d love to read it. Since it was due back at our local library, she went ahead and put my husband’s name on the wait list. When the call came several weeks later indicating that “his book was in,” my husband was in the midst of another read, so he asked if I wanted to read it first. I’d never read anything by Randall Silvis before, and I had no idea what the book was about. Time was also ticking on the several library books already on my nightstand TBR pile. Notwithstanding, I read the first two paragraphs and immediately closed the book and set it down. I knew right then and there that if I didn’t, my entire day would be lost to this book. I challenge you to read those first two paragraphs and decide differently.

Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis is the best of genre and literary fiction in one compelling book. His is the kind of prose that inspires both doubt and determination in this writer. Doubt about whether I will ever be as good a writer as he, yet determined to absorb and learn from his masterful touch.

As a lifelong night owl, it is rare that I crawl into bed before the early a.m. hours, but that very night I settled in around nine and began the adventure. Alternating between two protagonists, the chapters fly by until eventually you must concede that sleep is a biological function that can be denied no longer. You will give in only with the utmost reluctance, and certainly not voluntarily.

These are complex and deeply damaged characters who refuse to be the cardboard cutouts they could so easily become. Instead, they sweep you up into their lives, indeed into their minds, so thoroughly ensconcing you in their deepest and darkest places that the line between book and reader is smudged.

And, finally, when you think you’ve reached the conclusion, you realize there are still several chapters left to go…not just a satisfying denouement, but Several. Chapters. Left. I’ll leave it there, except to say: I’ll be seeking out other Silvis titles…but not until I finish that TBR pile. For if I bring home another Silvis (or two or five), those other books will still be sitting there as the library fines pile up.

This novel gripped my mind and squeezed my heart, at times making me want to scream at the languid pacing. But the writing and deep dive into the heads of the two main characters require pacing that forces the reader to read carefully. Skimming ensures missing something that makes sense of the link between a highly respected college professor and a strip club dancer as well as the club’s owner. Detective Ryan DeMarco is a sad, lonely–and surprisingly well-read cop who becomes obsessed with proving that Professor Thomas Huston never killed anyone. Huston, who has a loving family, admiring fans, adoring students, and some insight into dealing well with the crap life can deal us–everything Ryan will never have–will never be a killer for DeMarco. The conclusion offers a scintilla of hope in this grim, sorrowful tale marked by hubris and conceit. Take the time to savor.

Nice surprise. My first book by Randall Silvis but not the last. His writing style is so good. Ryan DeMarco is engaging, intelligent and has a mouth on him. Great story line.

Strong writing and a haunted professor on the run make for a smart, exciting read in this nuanced thriller by Randy Silvis.

It’s always a pleasure to find a new hero worth reading about, and it’s doubly nice if said hero marches – just slightly – to the beat of a different drummer. That is the case with Ryan DeMarco, who is one part gifted detective, one part deep thinker, and one tiny part romantic poet. While the action here is plentiful, and the villainy is so heinous it is difficult to read at certain points, there is also quite a bit of musing on the part of the hero – a combination of defining motives and the processes of the evil-doers, and examining the heart and soul of the primary victim. Anyone who has ever lost a child, or even contemplated such a tragedy, is sure to be moved by this story. While there is appropriate Karma-type satisfaction from justice suitably dispensed, there is also the acknowledgement that some things can never be put right, and some tragedies are simply too heavy to bear. This is my first time reading Silvis, but I don’t think it will be my last. While there is just a tiny tendency to maudlin musing, the pace of the story and the brilliant depiction of the characters more than compensates for it. Rate 4 very bright stars.

This is a tough book to review. It starts off with a bang when a college orofessor/author is accused of brutally murdering his family. Officer Ryan DeMarco knows the accused personally and refuses to believe his friend could be capable of such an atrocious crime. His mission is to find the accused (who is on the run) and discover who really killed the family.
I liked the overall plot but at times the story seemed to lose momentum. I liked the literature references and tie-ins to the story as well. What I didn’t like was that the characters seemed to be portrayed a certain way but then would act in ways entirely different to their portrayal.
All in all, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others.

This book is a Ryan DeMarco mystery which could mean a continuing series. I felt that though it is a mystery in terms of murder and finding the killer to me it was more psychological fiction. The story started out slow and the pace continued slow though I did read finish the book because I just wanted to find out who murdered the family and I am one of those that once committed to finish a book will not peek at the end. Thomas Huston the husband and father of the deceased was not interesting to me neither as the suspected murderer or a character. I felt too much time was spent with Demarco’s personal issues. The other characters in Two Days Gone seemed flat with little to no personality. The storyline was good with a few twists. For those who like a slower less suspenseful mystery this one is for you.

This was the first book I have read by this author and I loved it. It was suspenseful and full of rich, complicated characters. I will read another book by this author.

Recommend