Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to review this book in advance in exchange for an honest review. Reichs has been well-known for her Bones series primarily, and this is outside that word. When Sunday Night leaves the police force under intense circumstances, she retreats to Goat Island where she lives her life in mainly solitude. When she is approached with an opportunity to get back into the field she had loved so much, she is eager to begin. The search is for answers in relation to a bomb that went off in a Chicago Jewish All Girls' School. This proves even more trying as she relates this to experiences in her own life, and will stop at nothing to get her answers.

Most people will compare this character to her more well-known Temperance Brennan. I enjoyed this book, especially since I have not read every single book in the Bones series, and can have more of an open mind. However, I have read enough to miss and compare to Tempe. This is going to be another hit, and I enjoyed it, but I felt like it was lacking a little something. I liked it, and am glad I read it, but it was not my favorite.

For a woman like Sunday Night who suffered through a traumatic past and has both the physical and psychological scars to prove it and is both ex-military and ex-cop to come out of her self imposed solitary existence to try to help find the perpetrators of a bombing at a day school is quite a feat in itself. She is hired by a very wealthy woman who lost both her daughter and her grandson in that bombing to try to find her granddaughter or at least find out if she survived as she remains unaccounted for-this rings very close to home for Sunday. From that premise I found it interesting although I think (somewhat on purpose) Reichs made it difficult for the reader to bond with Sunday. I found the intermittent short chapters somewhat confusing and perhaps a little misleading. You will find a number of characters and changes of venue to contend with as well as cult-like references reminiscent of several in the past. Interesting but not my cup of tea.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
Like Temperance Brennan before her, Sunday Night is an extraordinary and wonderfully unconventional new crime heroine. Ex-military, ex-police, Sunday lives in survivalist isolation with a squirrel for company. Her crime solving skills are stronger than her social skills and even as we meet her adoptive father and her twin brother, Sunday’s early years experiences are only revealed in flashbacks and reflections – and we are never too sure whether we are learning more about Sunday or about the victim she is tracking.

At the start of this story, Sunday is hired by a wealthy Southern matriarch to find her missing granddaughter. As Sunday pursues the group who abducted Stella, she traverses the United States, eliminating individual members of the hate group who killed Stella’s family as her investigation progresses. The action in this story is fast and the complicated threads of this story are carefully woven. The result is an exciting read that allows readers to make guesses and predictions alongside Sunday but never to fully guess the ending.

This is a violent story and Sunday is often a violent character. She isn’t constrained by military or police regulations and something about Stella’s disappearance affects Sunday in ways she can’t explain. We often see cowboy vigilante male leads in crime fiction and I love Sunday’s cold pragmatism – she doesn’t waste any time angsting over dead terrorists.

Female protagonists like Sunday Night are often reserved for Urban Fantasy writing where female writers create alternate realities with strong and unapologetic women. This time, Sunday Night exists in a chillingly real contemporary America and the feminist inside me was doing a happy dance from start to end of this story.

I love Sunday and I’m already waiting desperately for the rest of the series and the TV spinoff… This is such a great story and I recommend it highly to crime fiction fans everywhere.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆
I wanted to like this book more than I did. The two stories in one was confusing and the resolution of the story within the story did throw an unexpected twist in the story.

Sunday Night is a retired cop and former soldier who was put out to pasture for her quick temper and because she killed a suspect in the incident that almost left her blind in one eye. Her murky past plays a major role in how she is the way she is, and that only adds to her desire to be left alone.

When her foster father brings her the tale of a family killed in a terrorist attack a year ago and the grandmother's belief that her granddaughter may be alive, Sunday doesn't want any part of it at first. Reluctantly agreeing to investigate the case, Sunnie travels to Chicago on the trail of a killer or killers.

A lot happens in the course of the book which seems to take place in the span of less than a week. We are treated to insights to Sunnie's past, her few relationships, and her determination to bring a girl home to her family while dealing with her past trying to choke her from within.


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆
M/F Thriller
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

This was a hard book to really dig into. I thought that it had a great premise, but the delivery fell short for me.

Sunday is looking for something – what? Well, I never really guessed what she was looking for. When she's sent on a mission to bring home a young girl, we're to follow along among Sunday's story and the one of the young girl.

While I did enjoy the back and forth of the story – trying to figure out the plot of the attacks – it was very hard to follow as it was less than coherent at times. This story takes you from East to West coasts in a matter of days and even though it doesn't really feel rushed, it is.

In the end, I guess I was just left with questions. I liked how the story resolved, but felt that something was missing.


Veronica – ☆☆☆
Our heroine, Sunday Night, keeps people at arm’s length and as I read it, I felt as though I was being kept there with them. There are two mysteries in this story, the primary being Sunday's investigation into the disappearance of Stella after a bombing at a Jewish school, which I quite enjoyed. The secondary story is shown as flashbacks to Sunday's childhood where she is in a cult. I found this a little frustrating because we only get snippets of that story and it seemed deliberately vague.

The author did an excellent job portraying the tedium involved in being an investigator because there were times I found the story overly descriptive. There is a good amount of suspense and the buildup and climax were well done.

I was excited to read my first Kathy Reichs’ novel but I'm not sure it lived up to my expectations. Two Nights is a good story and I did enjoy it, just not as much as I'd hoped.

This was a great book. It has been purchased for our library.

Sunday Night lived a rather reclusive life. That is, until her adopted father contacts her with a missing persons case. A mother and her two kids were visiting a Jewish synagogue when an explosion killed the mother and son. The teenage daughter disappeared and now her wealthy grandmother will spare no expense to find her. Will Sunday be able to find her? Why does she feel a connection to this young girl?  Will saving this teen help her save herself. 

This was a fantastic psychological mystery, Kathy Reich has written another brilliant novel. It was filled with nonstop action and the story draws you in and keeps you riveted right up to the very end.

Being a fan of the long-running TV series Bones, seeing that Kathy Reichs has a new book was such a big thrill for me. And, she did not disappoint. "Two Nights" is so different from "Bones" but it is as compelling and as endearing though in very different ways.

Meet Sunday Night or Sunnie for short. A cop by profession, she was in medical leave when a cold kidnapping case fell on her lap. Expecting it to be a circumstance of just tying up loose ends, Sunnie found herself in the middle of a very hot case when she started poking at old evidence.

Sunnie was in over her head but she could not stop. There was too much at stake and she was already in too deep. It was either do or die! But, to solve the case, Sunnie has to face her past, a past that she had buried so deep in her psyche that facing it might be the end of her anyway.

An adrenaline-pumping mystery thriller, "Two Nights" also tugs at your heartstrings as you begin to know Sunnie. Tough and talented, there is not a sweet bone in her body. But, that is the reason why you fall in love with her!

A must-read! If you are only going to read one book this summer, it should be "Two Nights."

A solid 5 stars rating. "Two Nights" is Rated T for Teens due to violence. There are no sex scenes in this book.

Two Nights is a fast, furious and engaging read with some dark and currently relevant themes running through the narrative – I blasted my way through it in a few hours, totally gripping.

Very different from the norm for Ms Reichs, whose authentic forensic detail in her Temperance Brennan novels has held me in thrall for years – but the trademark quality writing is here, alongside her sharp and intelligent eye for building characters and making you care about them. Sunnie Night is divisive, intelligent and driven – as a reader you get on board with her incredibly fast, her background is highly intriguing and one can only hope that we’ll meet her again in future novels.

In this one however she’s on the trail of a missing girl, lost during the chaos of a bomb attack, the plot is taut and clever, with some crackling dialogue and a strong sense of reality. As a lover of thrillers this one hit the mark for me, its also true that I’m a fan of authors changing direction every now and again and giving us a peek into another area of their creativity, that has certainly been achieved here, with some beautifully unexpected forks in the road from A – B keeping things entertaining.

Whilst the plot was excellent it was the character that kept me reading and randomly growling at people who tried to get my attention – Sunday “Sunnie” Night is one to watch. Put expectations aside and dive right in. You’ll have a very good reading time.

Recommended.

A gripping story I could not put down. A skill fully write novel by an excellent author. This is the first book I have read by this author but will not be the last. Ideal book to start with I think as it is a stand alone. Would definitely recommend both the book and author.

Great standalone by Kathy Reichs. Sunday Night is a compelling character and Two Nights is a great mystery.

Sunday Night, a woman who used to be a cop before an accident, is contacted to help an elderly woman find a missing loved one. The young girl went missing after a bomb went off. It is up to Sunday to find out if the girl died in the explosion or if someone kidnapped her with malicious intent.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved he characters and it kept me guessing page after page. Knowing that Sunday had her own demons to face while looking for the young girl gave the character motivation.

In the beginning of this book, Sunnie's constant smart-alec quips struck me as too cutesie. It was just getting to the point of being irritating when the character seemed to pull back on the wisecracks and the story really took hold. Or maybe I just got used to it. The characters were interesting, the plot fast-paced and action-packed. I'm sure we'll be seeing these characters again in future Reichs' books

A troubled soul tries unsuccessfully to escape from the world and her past, but is dragged right to the heart of it all when called upon to rescue a missing child. The background story is essential in establishing the character and it is done in bits in pieces as the story unfolds. Without making clear what is past and what is present until well into the story, the reader is able to see the close connection the case has to her former life. The second half of the story moves more swiftly and clearly as her brother enters the picture. Though not necessarily for the Bones fans, this book has its own merits.

Life is not fair! Someone as brilliant a scientist as Kathy Reichs should not be able to write this well! And how does she find time to write all those books anyway, with her prestigious positions as a forensic anthropologist in both North Carolina and Quebec? Oh yes, and she also teaches university courses and testifies as an expert witness at trials. Has she made some kind of pact with the dark side?
I'm not exaggerating. Her writing is superb. I loved every minute of this. Her quirky, yet intriguing characters had me rooting for them as they took on their dangerous mission. I laughed out loud a number of times at the understated tongue-in-cheek humor, and was wide-eyed reading about the horrors experienced by one of the main characters. I'm mystified as to how a scientist is able to portray so well people who are so different from herself or those she works with. The evil pact? Or maybe these scientists are undercover agents of a murky black ops outfit in their spare time?

Sunday Night, the protagonist, is a fascinating, multifaceted character, one that I hope Reichs will write about many times in the future. She and her sidekick/brother, Gus, take on a group of extremists who are determined to kill as many people as possible in furtherance of their misguided cause. These lunatics have kidnapped a young girl who Sunday and her brother have been commissioned to rescue. It's during their search for the girl that they learn about the extremists and try to stop the catastrophe the terrorists have planned. As they track these fanatics down, they find themselves in many a tight spot, but continue with fierce determination. On the way, we learn more about the upbringing of Sunday and Gus, and begin to understand more clearly who they are, and why they behave as they do. I can't tell you what happens in the end, but let's just say this would make a thrilling action movie. The ending is edge-of-your-seat suspenseful.
Highly recommended for a fun, engrossing read.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Sunday Night is ex-military and an ex-cop, with that she is experienced and damaged inside and out. She finds herself living on an island with her pet squirrel. When an older wealthy woman requests her to look into the case of her missing granddaughter she is intrigued.

While investigating she finds herself hunted by those who were involved. This is the part that gets a little tricky. Some of the plot was a little confusing and there is supposedly an element of a cult. One of the women she is hunting eventually becomes a informant.

I feel the main character Sunday was not developed enough and some of her "demons" were just hinted at but since this seems to be a series I guess that makes sense. I just wanted a little more development. I didn't get a sense of what she looked like but they talked about her twin that showed up to help her, looking quite the opposite from her and it made me more confused.

Good action, ok characters made it just an ok book for me.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest opinion.

I love Kathy Reichs, I have read almost all of her books. I have loved almost all of them, this is not one of them. Although I did find the character Sunday Night interesting, I don't really feel that I enjoyed the book. I was hoping for more of surprising twist,I easily guessed the plot twist and I feel this book was just not up to her usual calibre of writing.

That being said I will totally read the next book that she writes and every one after that..

Sundey/.Sunnie was once a highly decorated cop but was now a recluse. Sunnie had retired after an altercation with a suspect and she had shot the suspect and he died and Sunnie also ended up with a permanent disability as she had lost an eye and there was scarring. Sunnie is haunted by what had happened and now has low self esteem. Sunnie was ex military after serving in Afghanistan. Sunnie didn’t want to sit behind a desk and retired instead. Opaline Drucker had lost a daughter and grandson during a terrorist attack. Her granddaughter Stella is missing. Sunnie had a very bad childhood. Sunnie’s only friends are Beau and a squirrel. Sunnie’s foster father Beau to look into Opaline’s family’s year old cold case. The attack had been a bombing on a Jewish school. Stella was assumed to be kidnapped or dead. Sunnie decides to take the case and is hired to find the girl and the people responsible for the attack. Sunnie was being helped by her twin brother Gus.
I had a lot of mixed feelings concerning this book. It was a quick reads with a fast pace. But I couldn’t seem to connect with Sunnie. I found this frustrated me at times aaso. The bad guys seemed like amateurs to me and yet the cops couldn’t solve the case. I would have liked more background on Sunnie But I did enjoy the book somewhat and really liked the twists.

Two Nights is the newest novel by author Kathy Reichs. For the past six years, Sunday “Sunnie” Night has been living on remote Goat’s Island (off Charleston, South Carolina). Sunday receives an unexpected visit from her former foster father, Beau Beaumonde. Beau has a case that needs someone with Sunday’s skill set. One year and a week ago, Opaline Drucker lost her daughter and grandson to a bombing at a Hebrew girls’ school in Chicago. Her granddaughter, Stella was not found. Opaline wants Sunday to get answers and she is willing to pay handsomely for Sunday’s services. It will be a challenging task and it brings long buried memories to the surface. What happened to Stella? Can Sunday get answers for Opaline? What will happen to Sunday along the way?

Two Nights was a hard book for me to read. I was hoping for a fast-paced suspense novel. Two Nights is a slow starter. I was never able to get into the story. I ended up skimming through some of it (i.e. speed reading). I was not a fan of Sunday Night. She is intelligent, tough, stubborn, inventive, sarcastic, distant, does not trust easily, and does not let people get close to her. I think it was hard to connect with Sunday because readers are given few details on her past. We get little bits during the story with the main details revealed at the end of the book (too late). The one thing I liked about Sunday was her pet squirrel, Bob. My rating for Two Nights is 3 out of 5 stars. Two Nights is supposed to be a suspense novel, but I did not feel it. I particularly disliked the alternating chapters (which do not make sense until the end). Add to that every single detail of Sunday’s day (what she did, where she went, what she ate, flopping on the bed, etc.). The story needed something more. I think it would have helped if the book had been written in the third person (instead of first person). The mystery seemed complicated, but I accurately guessed the outcome early in the story. There are some parts that are a little implausible. The case has gone cold (despite the Chicago PD’s best efforts), but Sunday can get a lead right away and solve it within a short period of time. Two Nights does not have the same appeal as Ms. Reichs other creations. Two Nights does contain violence (quite a bit) and foul language.

Sunday Night (yep, that's her name) grew up in a cult with her twin brother August (yep, August and Sunday Night) but escaped before they all committed suicide. Her and the chip on her shoulder flunked out of high school, got her GED, got kicked out of the military, and kicked off the police force. Because of her inability to let the past go in combination with her casual regard for the law and authority figures, she's hired to find another young woman, suspected to have been kidnapped and in a different cult.

This book was a welcome relief to Kathy Reichs' typical, Temperance Brennan novels that she is known for(the TV show, Bones, was based on this series) I can EASILY see this book becoming a new series and would follow it eagerly. I. Just. Don't. Like, Sunday. I get that she's got a tortured past, I get that she's a one woman show and hates relying on others, I get that she hates being even kind of sort of close to anyone. But it makes for a hard character to be drawn to. Many of her responses to questions are one word and short and staccato in their delivery; a quarter of the way into the book, I was over it. I adored Gus and the other staple in her life, Beau. I even enjoyed her little pet squirrel.

A book worthy of picking up - and worthy of a second installment
Sunday Night (yep, that's her name) grew up in a cult with her twin brother August (yep, August and Sunday Night) but escaped before they all committed suicide. Her and the chip on her shoulder flunked out of high school, got her GED, got kicked out of the military, and kicked off the police force. Because of her inability to let the past go in combination with her casual regard for the law and authority figures, she's hired to find another young woman, suspected to have been kidnapped and in a different cult.

This book was a welcome relief to Kathy Reichs' typical, Temperance Brennan novels that she is known for(the TV show, Bones, was based on this series) I can EASILY see this book becoming a new series and would follow it eagerly. I. Just. Don't. Like, Sunday. I get that she's got a tortured past, I get that she's a one woman show and hates relying on others, I get that she hates being even kind of sort of close to anyone. But it makes for a hard character to be drawn to. Many of her responses to questions are one word and short and staccato in their delivery; a quarter of the way into the book, I was over it. I adored Gus and the other staple in her life, Beau. I even enjoyed her little pet squirrel.

A book worthy of picking up - and worthy of a second installment
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2024627786

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Kathy Reichs has written a well-plotted stand alone thriller in which the heroine Sunday Night carries victim baggage from her past as she tries to find a missing woman who is held by a cult which is bombing different sites.
Flash backs to Sunday's past intermingle with a complex chase after the missing girl. Be sure to pick up this thriller.