NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A standalone thriller featuring a “tough-talking, scarred heroine”* from the author of the Temperance Brennan series, the basis for the hit TV show Bones. Meet Sunday Night, a woman with physical and psychological scars, and a killer instinct. . . .Sunnie has spent years running from her past, burying secrets and building a life in which she needs no one and feels … in which she needs no one and feels nothing. But a girl has gone missing, lost in the chaos of a bomb explosion, and the family needs Sunnie’s help. Is the girl dead? Did someone take her? If she is out there, why doesn’t she want to be found?
It’s time for Sunnie to face her own demons—because they just might lead her to the truth about what really happened all those years ago.
*Publishers Weekly
Praise for Two Nights
“Reichs’ newest heroine, the polar opposite of cerebral Temperance Brennan, is fueled by a well-nigh uncontrollable rage in her thrilling, violent search for a missing girl so much like herself.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Brennan fans should appreciate Sunday [Night] . . . the star of this fast-paced series launch from bestseller Reichs. [The finale] seems designed for the big screen.”—Publishers Weekly
“The writing is crisp and vivid. . . . The story is cleverly plotted. . . . Reichs’ legion of fans should be encouraged to check out this one.”—Booklist
Praise for Kathy Reichs
“I love Kathy Reichs—always scary, always suspenseful, and I always learn something.”—Lee Child
“Kathy Reichs continues to be one of the most distinctive and talented writers in the genre. Her legion of readers worldwide will agree with me when I declare that the more books she writes, the more enthusiastic fans she’ll garner.”—Sandra Brown
“Nobody does forensics thrillers like Kathy Reichs. She’s the real deal.”—David Baldacci
“Kathy Reichs writes smart—no, make that brilliant—mysteries.”—James Patterson
“Reichs, a forensic anthropologist, makes her crime novels intriguingly realistic.”—Entertainment Weekly
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I’ve loved all her books but I couldn’t get into this one, and didn’t associate with the characters. Boo.
This will surely be another best seller for Kathy Reichs! I was not sure I liked Sunnie Night at the beginning, but I grew to love her as I learned more about her and her past. Sunnie has a tragic past, physically as well as mentally and emotionally. She was a cop and an incident left her with a scarred face and only one eye. She refused to do desk work, so left the police force and moved to Goat Island, where she lives virtually as a hermit. Initially she comes off as a brash character who uses as few words as possible, that is, when she decides to speak. You learn more about her childhood and background through alternating chapters that go back in time. Her brashness and terseness is a defense mechanism, enabling her to cope with her trauma. But then she is asked to take on a case by her foster father, Beau, who is well aware of her background. The case opens up old wounds for Sunnie. I felt that deep down she really cared about people, especially those she felt were like family. I would just love a series based on Sunnie and her twin, Gus.
A Great Start In A New Direction, A Great Read
Here is my quick take on this novel to the Temperance Brennan series:
Story: Excellent, on par with the Temperance Brennan series.
Writing Style: The same fast-paced, attention-holding style.
Plot: A rollercoaster of plot twists and turns.
Humor: The same quick cutting humor in the repartee between main characters and in describing other characters, places and situations.
Eye Rolls: Not as many.
Heroine’s Character: Both experts in their respective fields, vulnerable in their inner character, and willing to fly off and take action solo. Ms. Night, the heroine in Two Nights can handle herself in confrontations.
Now, Kathy Reichs has changed direction with this new novel from a forensic anthropologist working in a medical examiner’s office to a private investigator who is an ex-army and a medically retired police officer. So, while the storyline has changed, you will find much in common with the Temperance Brennan series as detailed above. I felt right at home reading this novel.
The novel starts with learning just how much the heroine, Ms. Sunday Night, really likes, enjoys and protects her privacy. A neighbor, only identified as Beau, who as a police officer took Ms. Night in as a troubled youth, tells her that he was contacted by a rich elderly Charleston woman. A year earlier, the woman’s daughter and grandson were killed by a bombing of a Jewish school in Chicago and a granddaughter was kidnapped by the bombers. The Chicago police have not made any progress, and the case is stone cold. She would like to employ Ms. Night to find her granddaughter. After some reluctance, she takes the job. She flies to Chicago to meet with the detectives on the case and rendezvous with her twin brother, Gus. The storyline proceeds rapidly from this point and goes from coast to coast, and north and to south.
The B-storyline is primarily centered on Sunday and Gus and a little with Beau and one of the Chicago detective. It is rich and well woven into the main story. It enrichens the enjoyment of reading this novel and provides much insight as to where the storyline is going. As this novel is at best the first in a series, it is not as rich as the Temperance Brennan series, but the first novel, Déjà Dead, also had a limited number of characters involved in the B-storyline.
Overall for me, I enjoyed this new novel as well as any of the Temperance Brennan novels. Hopefully, you will find this novel in the same light. I have rated this novel with a well-earned five stars.
I have received a free kindle version of this novel through NetGalley from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine with a request for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for the opportunity to read this novel early.
New characters for Kathy Reichs. Key players are tragic in their own right, but determined to have a positive impact on those they become involved with.
They are complicated, bold, rough around the edges and smart. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them and look forward to delving more into their psyche.
This was a different book from her normal books and I didn’t care for it.
I love Kathy Reichs, and this was a nice diversion from the Bones series, (love Tempe) and it was over too quickly!
It is Very different from “Bones” books. Really a little too violant and not at all realistic to me. Characters could have been a little less damaged and more likable.
Great reading and a lot of fun. I loved “Bones” so most anything by this author is fun.
Just like all of Kathy Reichs’s book, this one is just as good. Well written and keeps you coming back for more of her books.
This is a book which will have you cheering for protagonist Sunday Night from the beginning. Sunday is a hard nosed ex-military, ex-cop and all around fighter with physical scars and emotional demons. Sunday, a recluse living on a small almost uninhabited island is offered a job to track down an affluent woman’s granddaughter and thus begins a string of investigations, murder, and meeting the few characters who Sunday really cares about. Reichs did a great job in developing Sunday and bringing into the story those that make up her life and are important to her. This is a good thriller with lots of strange twists and surprises. I wish this was not a stand alone as I really would love to read more stories with Sunday Night.
I received an ARC through Netgalley for this novel, in change for an honest review.
Where to start on this one? I was thrilled to see Kathy Reichs was starting a new series, and excited to read the first book. I was not so excited anymore after the first few chapters…
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad, per se, but I had higher expectations of this author.
Two Nights, although entertaining, is a pulp detective novel, with a rather unoriginal story.
Apart from the content of the story, there were a few things that bothered me in the writing. One being the seemingly endless product placement (I don’t mind brand names being used in stories, often it’s shorter than a full description and implies a lot of other information about a character, but in this novel the use of brands felt excessive.)
And the way the author threw in explanations for (standard) acronyms (like the ViCAP one), felt condescending and it broke the reading flow. It would have been nicer if it was explained in a foot note.
I loved Sunday Night! What a beautiful crafted character. Damaged, both body and soul, yet feisty enough to face her demons. Two Nights was a delightful departure from Temperance Brennan (whom I love.) I hope Ms. Reichs continues to delight us with more of Sunny’s adventures.
This is a standalone book. It could possibly be the start to a new series, but we will have to see. The main character, Sunday Night, is not fully fleshed out, and more could be written about her.
Sunday is a very damaged person. As the book progresses, we learn that Sunday and her twin brother, Gus, were raised in a cult as children. It was not pleasant for either of them, but Sunday had it especially hard. Upon leaving the cult, they lived with Beau, a police man who agreed to foster them. Beau gave them the only stability they had ever know.
As an adult, Sunday first goes into the military, and then the police force. An incident causes Sunday to lose her job and now she is living as a recluse on a remote island. Beau, worried for her, convinces her to look into a year old case of a kidnapped teen. Sunday reluctantly agrees and soon finds herself investigating a strange cult that may be responsible for the kidnapping and more.
The book moves along at a fast pace and is interesting. I liked Sunday, even though she had many personality flaws. Her brother Gus is a charming counterpoint to her antisocial nature. The exploration into the dark side of cults was fascinating. I enjoyed reading this.
I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.