Its been a while since I read a Kathy Reichs book and I don't know why because she is a great writer.I really liked her heroine Sunday Night, what a name yes she was a cliche the usual doesn't fit in has issues flawed character but to me that makes her more interesting I don't want to read about a perfect person leading a perfect life so the flaws make her more believable,the pace of the book was good, the story was good to read and I want to read more now I don't want to give the plot away or rehash the book and spoil it for other readers but it was a good book I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.

Reichs new series is of course, well written. But wonderful it isn't. Having read the previous book by this author it is always difficult not to compare. The new style and characters are good but a bit too much of a cliche for me. Think US TV cop series. The pace is fast, the twists and turns are still there, but something doesn't quite hit the mark.

Kathy Reichs has forged a successful writing career using one primary character Dr. Temperance Brennan and there is nothing wrong with that at all. However what does send a shiver up the publishing world's spine is when after some 18 plus books along comes a new character in a stand alone book. It is a bold move by Reichs as she could have continued to pump out Brennan novels until the cows came home and none of her fans would have minded. So the question is does Reich's new novel has what it takes?
In Two Nights we meet Sunday Night (yes that is her name) a former police and military officer who has become a semi recluse after a shooting incident. Living a quiet life is what Night might want but she is soon dragged into solving a crime, where a young girl has gone missing after the chaos of a bomb explosion. A year has past and no one knows if the young girl is alive or dead and the family wants answers.
Reich drags you in, holds you there and keeps the story moving at a frenetic pace. You are taken on a high octane ride that keeps the pages ticking over as you rush to discover the ending. The investigation is all about following the clues, trying to get one step ahead of the baddies and hoping that nothing disastrous happens.
Sunday Night is a wonderfully created character both physically and mentally flawed. I have no doubt there will be a bunch of female actors lining up to play this role. Night is carrying some serious baggage and it makes her appealing. She may be tough as nails on the outside, able to beat down bad guys with some well times punches but that is all facade for a vulnerable character. With all this bravado, Night is still able to admit when she needs help and reluctantly take advice from those around her. Also Night has working relationships with her male counterparts and is certainly no damsel in distress. Night’s main companion is Gus and his arrival into the story ratchets up the action. They have a deep and complex relationship that really adds into the development of the story.
This is a thrill a minute, highly engaging and a great reading escape into a complex world. Reichs will find a new legion of reading fans and current fans will not be disappointed. It is a big risk to break out of a successful routine and Reichs has certainly succeeded.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the opportunity to read an advance copy. I have already pre-ordered a copy for my Mum as I know she will love this book.

A really enjoyable read. Loved the characters and the story. A really gripping, fantastically written thriller.

I was looking forward to meeting a new character from Kathy Reichs but i'm sorry to say this one just did not work out for me. The new character, Sunday Night , Sunnie, is a complex character and i felt the character needed a bit more attention to flesh her out unless it is the intention to develop this into a new series and there be a gradual build up.. A complex female lead and the plot to and fro'd across the country making it a complex story. It was also interspersed with what transpired to be background information about Sunnie but this was not evident from the beginning..
It was an interesting storyline to find the whereabouts of a grandaughter who was assumed to have escaped death in a bombing. Sunnie takes on the case and ends up unearthing a revenge group avenging Muslim linked atrocities.

Not sure this is quite up there with Ms Reich's better known works. Without spoiling the plot there's perhaps too much focus on the troubled back story of the lead character. The basic plot is OK, if perhaps a little on the generic side, with rather more cliches than were really necessary. The lead character may, however, develop in future and could be interesting, especially if her back story wasn't such a significant part of the narrative. Some reasonably successful humorous dialogue was welcome and could be further explored, although the lead character perhaps needs to demonstrate a more consistent personality as a priority. There are plenty of authors out there who use humour naturally and to good effect - Harlan Coben particularly comes to mind in this genre. If humour is to be used it should really be well-used as well exemplified by Coben. Notwithstanding these few semi-critical comments it was a good entertaining read, with plenty to keep the reader involved.

A damaged and dangerous new crime fighting heroine from a master of the genre. Sunny Night ex cop, new PI is set for a long run of exciting cases going forward. Can't wait for the next one.

An interesting read but only for those who enjoy the authors work or this particular genre

I have read all of the Temperance Brennan series so I'm definitely a Kathy Reichs fan. So when I read that this was a stand alone book with a completely new main character I was wondering if I'd hate it! Not at all, I really enjoyed it. Sunday Night is an ex cop turned PI. She doesn't suffer fools and says exactly what she thinks. She's searching for a little girl whose mother and brother were killed in an apparently hate crime attack. Was the girl kidnapped and killed or still alive? Sunnie is on the case. This is a very clever book and the twists and turns will keep you hooked.

Kathy Reichs latest book introduces a whole new cast of characters, with a heroine, totally unlike Temperance Brennan, yet sharing certain characteristics.
This is a good fast-paced story, unhindered by any technical or scientific explanations. I can see it as the beginning of a new series featuring a private investigator called Sunnie Night, and her twin brother Gus.

If you like Tempe Brennan, you’ll probably like Sunnie Night, too. They’re certainly different characters – Sunnie very much has her own tics, traits and set of issues – but Kathy Reichs can tell a story and although in places the plot of Two Nights slightly strains credulity, this is a fast-paced novel and an enjoyable read.

Really enjoyed this detective novel which,in many ways, harks back to the Raymond Chandler/ Ross Macdonald detective novels of my past. A troubled ex-army, ex-cop takes on a missing person's case from a wealthy Southern family. Incorporating a good deal of action (murder, bomb, torture, cult .. ), this novel moves along at a fair pace with lots of characterisation and description.

In fact my main gripes would be an over-abundance of description of places which are barely mentioned again and unnecessary street directions in cities - which demonstrate the author's wide research and knowledge but are of little interest to anybody who does not know Charleston, Chicago, LA, Washington etc...

Not having read any of Kathy Reich's previous work (although I shall), I enjoyed this immensely. Highly recommended

It’s been far too long since I read a book like this. I’m really hoping that contrary to the description the author changes her mind and turns this into a series as I definitely want more of Sunday Night & co.

Before I start I should probably say that I’ve never read a single book by Reichs and I should also probably say that I’ve never watched the TV show Bones either so if you’re wondering how this compares I’m afraid I can’t tell you. What I can tell you however is that this is a very enjoyable read. Fast paced and action packed but with a lot of detail and some great writing and dialogue, it’s difficult to put down.

It’s one of those American, cliche ridden stories about an ex cop with a bad attitude who’s convinced to investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl. Sunday Night (yes that is really her name) is definitely my kind of character. She has the troubled past which she’s burying deep, problems with authority, a need to be constantly armed and a great way with one liners. She’s a risk taker with absolutely no patience and a very short fuse. Basically she’s your usual fictional PI and is absolutely brilliant to read.

The story itself is pretty fast paced with a lot of action and a fairly high body count. There’s terrorism, murder, religious fanatics, child abuse (trigger warning) and a lot of violence and bad language so it’s not for the faint of heart (I’m not sure what it says about me that I love this type of read). Essentially though it follows Sunday as she follows the clues to find out what happened to a missing girl and resolves some of the demons from her past.

The methodical and logical way the author lays it all out is very well done and completely believable. There’s very little in the way of luck or chance, which is often the case in these types of stories, but rather a proper investigation where one clue leads to the next and the next and when Sunday runs out of clues she starts rattling some cages until one comes to her. She’s very tech savvy, open to a bit of breaking and entering and even sets the odd ambush to get what she wants. I did wonder how she could possibly know as much as she did but decided just to go with it.

The other characters in the story are also a little bit cliched (the ruthless rich client, her mentor Beau who keeps trying to help her, the disgruntled detective who doesn’t want her working his case) but they are all executed well and I just took them as part of the fun. Their interactions with Sunnie were probably the highlight of the story for me as there’s a lot of banter and her bad attitude and knack for a good one liner make for some real laugh out loud moments.

There were a few elements of the story that were a little unbelievable and it’s probably not the most unique plot but it is enjoyable. Perfect if you’re looking for something action packed, pretty violent and with a main character who could probably give Jack Reacher a run for his money.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. As always all thoughts are my own.

I was looking forward to adding this book, having read several of her books. However I am afraid that I could not connect with Sunday Night...silly name for a start. I found her to be an unbelievable character, that was able to do superhuman feats with little or not effort.
I am sad to say that I only read about a quarter of this book before abandoning it for other better, (probably English author's) books. Having read some excellent books lately I found that my life was too short for Kathy Reichs nowadays.

I have read a number of Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan books so was intrigued to find out what this stand alone book would be like. An exciting thrilling story it turns out.

Sunday Night is a mysterious and exciting character who we slowly get to know through the book. She has many secrets and we only get to find out a few of them in this book, so I am hoping that Kathy decides to turn this into a series.

As Sunday is no longer a cop, the story is not your typical detective novel. It is fast paced, with the action taking place in numerous states around the US.

I would highly recommend this book if you enjoy mystery thrillers and are looking for something a little different.

Ms Reichs is best known for her books about Temperance Brennan, the forensic pathologist. Two Nights, though, introduces a very different heroine, Sunday Night.

Back in the days of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, your detective story hero could just be introduced as a "consulting detective”. Nowadays they all come with a back-story and, in a crowded field, the back-stories become ever more extravagant. Sunnie Night’s past is revealed to us bit by bit in what is essentially a separate story interspersed with the main narrative. You know when you get to it, because it's all written in italics. There are literary agents who will reject on sight any book with italicised segments and I have considerable sympathy with this approach. I like my back-story to be just that. It should be the reason why our hero/heroine behaves in the way that they do and the reader should learn about it through the actions of the protagonist in the story, not as a separate author’s note. There must be exceptions, of course, (there always are) but this seems a good ground rule and Reichs less breaks it than hits it with a baseball bat, runs over it with a steamroller, and then feeds the pieces into a paper shredder.

[Caution: spoilers ahead.]

The back story is traumatic and appalling (mad cults and mass suicide feature) but it doesn't seem to be all the baggage that Sunnie Night is toting with her. We will presumably learn in later volumes just why she was thrown out of the Army and perhaps even more about the police career that was ended when she was partially blinded in one eye. Reichs seems to have laden Sunnie down with every psychological trauma she could offer, ensuring that she will stand out from all those other private eyes in books like this. She certainly needs to, because the story, slickly plotted and entertainingly written as it is, is just another bog-standard thriller.

Night is hired by a rich woman to hunt down the terrorists who killed her daughter and kidnapped her grand-daughter. The terrorists do that convenient thing that villains in this sort of book do and try to kill the investigator. One day they’ll learn that if they just lie low and do nothing the PI, in the absence of any clues, will have to give up and go home. But no, they always have to try to off our heroine who, being a crack shot and brilliant at hand-to-hand combat (naturally) offs them in an almost irritatingly casual way. At least the cops are irritated, allowing the by-play between sassy private eye and world-weary cop that comes with this territory.
Eventually one of the villains leaves an email where Night can find it and, with an unlikely burst of insight, she realises that the terrorists plan to blow up the Kentucky Derby. This leads to the compulsory climax in which our heroine searches through the crowds at the Derby until she sees the evil villains and takes them down. It’s going to look great when it’s filmed, as it pretty well inevitably will be.

So, rubbish then? Not quite. Because writing a thriller that keeps you bowling along looks easy but is a skill that not many writers have. Kathy Reich has honed her craft to the point where even such an unpromising plot outline can turn into a more than decent read. It would be better without the italicised back-story and I’d be happier if I could feel more sympathy for Sunday Night who goes through life picking fights with everyone and seriously annoying most of the people she comes in contact with, including her readers. But if this is the sort of book you like, then you’ll like this one. I doubt anyone will love it, but I’m sure Sunday Night would agree that she wasn’t put into the world to be loved.

I know all the blurb and promo stuff say that this is a stand alone thriller but I can't help feeling that this may potentially be the start of a new series and the author is just testing the water with this opener. This may just be my feeling though and more than likely based on the fact that as I started this book, I was reminded, quite strongly initially, of the wonderful Robert B Parker's Sunny Randall - another cop turned PI. Also I think there is a lot of background given about Sunnie's past, possibly more than just required for a stand alone. Oh, that and I kinda like Sunnie and hope that I'm right!
Sunnie has a bit of a chequered past. Ex-military, ex-cop who quit due to her reluctance to ride a desk after an injury. She also had a troubled childhood which is hinted at throughout but not explained until the end. She lives on a small island off the coast of South Carolina with a rather cute squirrel for company, and and a neighbour with goats, who brings her cheese, alot!
One day foster father (and saviour) Beau offers her a PI case. Stella, the grand daughter of a rich widow is still missing, one year after her mother and brother perished in a Jewish school bombing. Reluctantly, Sunnie takes the case. A case that will have he chasing over several cities, following spurious leads and avoiding certain danger. Aided by brother Gus, his chalk to her cheese, can the two of them find Stella and, if so, at what cost?
As already mentioned, I was reminded of Parker's Randall. Ex cop turned PI with a father figure mentor (here Beau substitutes for Randall's Stone) especially as Randall's first case in her series opener was tracking a missing girl! Obviously the two books turn out to be completely different but my initial connection, and indeed memory link as I love Randall, was probably what made me connect to Sunnie right from the off.
The pace is quite fast, this being reflected in the short punchy chapters. Occasionally however, it does not flow as well as perhaps it could but I think that maybe this has more to do with some of it being very "American" and I, as a Brit got a wee bit lost in translation. I did however manage to keep on top of all the sporting venues mentioned every so often and for that, I am a little proud of myself.
One of the best things about this book was when Gus was introduced. He is another brilliant character that I warmed to immediately. I especially loved the banter between him and Sunnie, oh and their good cop/bad cop routine!
All in all, a good solid read that I still think has potential to become a series. If it does, I'll be there for book two.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

As a long standing Tempe Brennan fan I was excited to read this new standalone from a favoured author. I'm on the fence though on whether I liked it or not. I enjoyed Sunday Night as a character simply because I disliked her, which is an unusual main character trait. I enjoyed the overall kidnapping plot but I did not like the ending with the Derby and the bombs. It didn't work as an ending for me. Also I want to know where Sunnie goes from here, what happens to her and to Gus. Overall, I enjoyed it for what is was but it was definitely missing a decent ending for me.

It is a while since I have read a Kathy Reichs book and I was not disappointed with it. The character of Sunday Night (the name sounds like a James Bond mistress!) could almost have been written as if it were a male character, however I did not really take to her. The image of her in my minds eye just did not ring true. A steady plot line, albeit a bit slow in places, reached a satisfying end, with a view to another in the series.

I have read a lot of Kathy Reichs books and I have really enjoyed all of them. I really enjoyed this book. I like the fast pace and the fact that there is plenty of action. It is really refreshing to have a book about a new character. Sunday Night is a great character. I really like the writing style and the humour in this book. I read it one sitting and did not notice the time disappearing. I hope there are more books about Sunday Night and I look forward to reading them.