Two Days Gone

I was just about ready for an intelligent page turner when I got an advance copy of this novel. It's really well written and demands a little more from the reader than your average mystery. Also it's a quite a while before you start to suspect where this may be going and even then the plot doesn't entirely play out until the very last pages of the book. If you're tired of predictability and like a literary theme, this is a great read.

Wow wow wow!!! An absolute masterpiece...
Two days gone by Randall Silvis is a fascinating thriller about a college professor Thomas Huston, also a novelist who seems to have cold murdered his entire family (including a baby) was spotted wandering down the street with a knife and is on run. His good friend Detective Ryan DeMarco takes charge of the investigation and the story unfolds. The authors successfully keep the the reader on the the edge of seat with the wondering whether Thomas Huston murdered his family which DeMarco just couldn't believe. I loved the complex police procedural with some unique unpredictable twists.

A gripping storyline, complex characters, suspenseful, thought-provoking literary suspense.
Highly recommended, can't wait to get a copy as soon as it hits the bookstores.
A gifted copy was provided by author/publisher via NetGalley for an honest review

What a page turner - I really enjoyed all the twists & turns!

Received from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thomas Huston is on the run and is being searched for by the police (one of whom is his friend ) for the Murder of his family. He is a college professor and best selling author. Ryan DeMarco, a police officer and Thomas' friend is leading the investigation into the Huston family Murder. This is the gist of the book. The book also contains several other characters who tie into the story rather nicely. There are some twists and turns, and several reveals. Most of the characters have a purpose that is revealed during the book.

I'll be honest, in the beginning I was not a big fan of this book. I kept finding other thins to do and read. Then I got past a certain part of the book, and I found that I had to keep reading. It was not a pager turner for me but yet I wanted to see "who dunnit" and why. Did Thomas Murder his family? If he did not, who did and why? I found the book to be nicely paced, even though the beginning was slow for me. Nice detective work.

Holy heck!! Two Days Gone had me captivated from the beginning! This novel starts out with Thomas Huston's (a local college professor and bestselling author) entire family found brutally murder inside their family home. With no signs of Thomas anywhere, he becomes suspect numero uno!!

Sergeant Ryan DeMarco is heading up the massive search for Huston. Having previously gotten to know Thomas Huston personally, DeMarco's gut is telling him that Thomas couldn't have possibly committed this heinous crime. When major clues that are discovered indicating the opposite, DeMarco's initial feelings are rocked. It is now up to DeMarco to the bottom of who killed the Huston family, and if Thomas is indeed innocent, why did he run?!?!

This book nearly gave me whiplash with all the twists and turn I never saw coming!! I love it when an author can completely bust all my conspiracy theories to smithereens-- well played, Mr. Silvis, well played! The storyline was well thought out and the book was perfectly paced! If you're a fan of mystery/thriller's like I am, then this 4.5 star book is a MUST read! Having never read a book written by Randall Silvis before, but I can guarantee it won't be my last! Go 1-click One Day Gone-- you won't regret it!

This book was *really* intense and I loved every minute of it. There are some pretty dark turns, so it's not for everyone, but I loved the way the plot unfolded. I read a ton of psychological thrillers and this one's a standout for the quality of the writing and the richness of the character development.

Thomas Hudson's entire family has been murdered in their beds. Their father/husband Thomas is a successful author, professor who is loved and admired by all. He is now wandering, hiding from police and going in and out of being a character who would be in one of his books. Detective DeMarco has been called to the scene only to discover the family is his friend Thomas Hudson's. He can't believe a loving father and husband like Thomas did this. But where is he? DeMarco sets out to find Thomas and unravel the truth about this crime. While battling his own demons, DeMarco will not give up until he finds Thomas. He reads Thomas's notes on his new novel trying to get a glimpse into where Thomas mind was at on the day of the murder. What will he uncover?

I would like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for allowing me to read an advanced copy. I enjoyed Two Days Gone so much that I didn't want to stop reading once I started. The characters were very believable and as a reader, I felt there pain. Randall Silvis has an excellent way with words. I enjoyed the way he brought a little view into the world of an author thru Thomas. When I came to the place where DeMarco had put all the pieces of the murder together, I said "Oh snap, I didn't see that coming". This is the first book I've read of Randall Silvis and won't be the last!!!!

ABSOLUTELY ADDICTIVE!!! I stayed up all night with this book. It was fantastic storytelling and a true "thrill ride"--I loved it!

Implausible. Almost laughable. Ridiculous premises.
Couldn't put it down.

I enjoyed this book, but it started a little slow for me and I found it hard to get into at first. Ultimately I thought there was a good story line and the characters were well portrayed. It wrapped up well and answered all of my questions.

I have read a veritable plethora of mysteries, crime fiction, cozy locked-room puzzles,sci-fi mysteries set in the far future, even a few bodice-ripper dramas. Only a fraction of those stories were so interesting that I stayed up later than I should to get to the story's climax:

Even with some notable imperfections "Two Days Gone", by Randall Silvis, is so engaging that I enjoyed rushing to the finish line! The story: Thomas Hudson is a best-selling author and stud professor at a small college. He has a perfect family, and the ideal life, at least until one night his entire family is butchered. Hudson goes on the run and is viewed as the likely murderer. Detective Demarco is the local cop chasing Hudson although he has an awkward previous friendly relationship with Hudson.

Sounds like fairly standard fair, right? In Silvis' adept hands we follow the thinking of both Hudson and Demarco as the chase ensues and the building pressure to understand what happened that night at the Hudson house for both Demarco and we, the readers.

No spoilers in this review. Enjoy the read as much as I did: in doing some thinking about this book I most enjoyed the fact that Silvis we rites as if his readers are intelligent -- and knowledgeable.

Thanks to Net Galley for making this book available. Now I am going to research what else I can read by Randall Silvis.

Two Days Gone had me from the start. The multiple twists and turns by the multiplayers in the book kept me on my toes trying to keep them all straight. From the horrors of finding one of the main characters family murdered to the trail of who done it! Why they did it and who put them up to doing it will leave you amazed at how callous and jealous people in higher education can be!!
Randall Silvis is an amazing mystery writer!

This book took a bit longer to grab me but once it did I was caught. It is a good mystery. A mans family is murdered, did he do it? Where is he and what really happened to this family. I enjoyed this book, I wanted to find out the truth about the murders so I found it hard to set aside. I liked both main characters, Thomas Huston the professor, author and suspected killer of his family, and Ryan DeMarco the sergeant looking for both Huston and answers. Both of these men have pasts that haunt them. The south or did a beautiful job describing the surroundings as well as the feeling of the men. I good story for anyone who likes mystery books.

What a page turner! This book had so many twists and shocking secrets. Highly recommend to those who love thrillers!

I liked this book, it was definitely something different than I usually read.

This is a book about two men, who on the verge of friendship become the hunter and the hunted. Who do either of them trust? This is a beautifully written book, not just a suspenseful thriller, but a literary treat. How does it feel to have everything in your life taken away from you? Plenty of twists and turns with a surprise ending.

Thank you Landmark as well as netgalley.com for allowing me a chance to read this novel. I truly enjoy thrillers that keep me guessing. The start of this novel really hooked me. A professor on the run, his entire family murdered - the how and the why definitely caught my attention. I also enjoyed how the beginning of the novel went from the professor's "escape" and the state trooper's (DeMarco) chase. Seemed like this would really be a good novel.
However, as the book progressed, my interest waned. The novel transitioned more into DeMarco's life. There also seemed to be quite a few elements missing. You learn about the professor's colleagues - then nothing from them until the end of the story. The sub-story of DeMarco and his ex-wife was odd, at best. Finally, the fact that DeMarco allowed the professor to escape - not once, but twice - was tough for me to digest. The story just got less and less believable as it went on.
I give this thriller two stars - it was readable, but left me wanting a much better ending than was given.

This is a thriller like no other. The twists and turns in the plot kept me guessing the ending. Great Book!,
.

In writing a novel, writers may research different places, people, professions. While working on his best-seller, Thomas Huston had conferred with state trooper Ryan DeMarco about legal aspects, criminal behavior and related topics. They became friendly over the course of many of these meetings,. Ryan DeMarco can’t quite make himself believe that Huston has killed his family, this family DeMarco believed he so cherished. He had everything, why would he do that? And where is Thomas?

Huston’s been working on a new novel, which may or may not hold some clues to his state of mind, give DeMarco something to probe, but are there answers there? Huston’s also a college professor with students and co-workers. Student affair? Professional jealousy? And where is the novel he was working on?

Thomas Huston is a man with his own demons, though, his mother brutally murdered during a holdup in their little store, his father, unable to live without her, with the memories, takes his own life soon thereafter. As happy or content as he may be now, these memories never really leave.

“He understood how a single event could shred a privileged life, leave it tattered and flapping in the black gales of night.”

Ryan DeMarco also has his own demons, his son and wife gone – a tragic car accident which both Ryan and his wife survived, only to lose the one thing that tethered them to each other. This haunts him still.

A student of Huston’s, Nathan, is helpful in giving insights into what Huston’s new novel-in-progress was about, a Lolita-like character merged with Poe’s Annabelle Lee who is young and hopeful, an exotic dancer? Perhaps. In the name of research Huston went in search of the one to build his Annabelle from. And, also in the name of research, DeMarco follows in an attempt to find a girl who Huston might have viewed as his muse.

There were parts of “Two Days Gone” which I loved, but there was so much of this that I “knew” from fairly early on in the story to take some of the thrill out, but by this point in the story there were enough other avenues involved that kept my attention. I enjoyed the various forks in the road taken. I was entertained. The writing was atmospheric, the prose often lovely.


Pub Date: 1 Jan 2017

Many thanks to Source Books Landmark, NetGalley, and to Randall Silvis for providing me with an advanced copy.

This author was new to me and I don't know why. This book was magnificent, with lots of twists and turns. This book won't disappoint!

I read this book quickly in two days. The character development and the plot were very interesting and the suspense kept me reading. I felt in reading this book that I really became to know the character of Tom and the detective and was interested in finding out what happened to them in the future and how the problem they had would be solved if possible. I would be interested in reading more by this author!

A woman and her children have been viciously slaughtered and residents of a small Pennsylvania college town are shocked and horrified that the popular writer and professor they thought they knew is on the run, a jaded cop on his heels. The narration is split between the grief-stricken, half-mad writer and the damaged man who is hunting him, his thoughts slipping back to his wrecked marriage and the accident that killed his son whenever he pauses. There's a lot of intensity in this psychological thriller, but I found the tension more exhausting than thrilling.

Fantaatic book , i could not put it down, hooked from start to finish.

Started out as a page turner but then the story kept "slogging" along with no real action. After all the great psychological thrillers I've recently read through Netgalley - this was disappointing.

This is the first book by Randall Silvis that I have read. It is a book full of mystery and suspense. It even had a few surprises. It is a book I would recemmend to all who enjoy mysteries.

A well known writer/college professor’s family is found slain and he appears to be on the run. An emotionally damaged detective who has had prior (noncriminal) dealings with the professor investigates. As part of his investigation, he tries to get inside the writer’s mind, particularly as it relates to the novel he is presently writing.

There are literary references that I enjoyed and the book is well written, with the story being told from the points of view of these two. Unfortunately, despite the grave circumstances for the professor, I felt no affinity for him. Although it took me a while to get into it, the story held my attention. It is worth a read.

This was a fast paced mystery/thriller full of twists and a satisfying ending. The characters were strong and relatable. Enjoyable read!

Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis looks at the unexpected, gruesome murder of esteemed college professor and author Thomas Huston's family. Detective Ryan DeMarco is the detective trying to solve the crime, and he also finds himself trying to reconcile the man he admires to the senseless, violent act.

There is suspense, crime solving, and also a look into how a person can create stories (or art) that hold a darkness in them - is it the person society and loved ones see that is the real thing, or does this darkness come from what their hidden secrets and desires are?

DeMarco and Huston connect on several occasions during the pursuit of the murderous professor and DeMarco has to decide if he really believes that Huston isn't the perpetrator, and how far he can trust his instincts.


Some of DeMarco's backstory is a bit convoluted, but is meant to explore all the ways life happenings can change people and how they can change things completely. I thought it was well written for the most part, and kept me entertained throughout.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion / review.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a slow builder for me. Maybe I was distracted, but it took a decent chunk of the book until I was hooked. But it got me. This is different than other mysteries I have read lately. I liked the way the twists were laid out and I really couldn't guess what was going to happen next.

I almost gave up on this one, but I am glad I didn't. This was a well written and enjoyable story!

This is a brilliantly written novel by an author I have never read before. It is a fascinating thriller but at the same time a work of literary art. Based on this novel, Silvis is an exceptional writer, one of the best that I have ever read. Writer and professor Thomas Huston is on the run , his family having been brutally murdered overnight Huston rapidly becomes the number one suspect. He seems clearly implicated in the massacre of his family and his disappearance lends credence to that view. But detective Ryan DeMarco, who is acquainted with the writer and admires his work, sets out to bring him to justice. But as the plot advances he develops lingering doubts about Huston's guilt and explores alternative suspects while still pursuing his number one suspect. We are caught flat-footed by the sudden plot twist at the end although the groundwork has been subtly laid for it. Kudos to the author for the brilliance of his plot, his solid character development and the sheer joy for the pleasure of his writing.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the Advance Review Copy which allowed me to enjoy this novel before its publication.

A very unusual book. I enjoyed it very much and looking for more by the author. I enjoyed "meeting" the characters and the whole story was well written and believable. Will recommend

In Two Days Gone, this book asks the question of can an All American family guy be pushed far enough to do unthinkable evil, or is there more below the surface if you looked again. The book’s premise is Thomas Huston, who is becoming more of a celebrity as his books receive more and more attention, and is also a beloved professor, father, and husband is suddenly found missing after his wife and children have been found brutally murdered. Obviously, he is the police’s first suspect because it’s always the husband right? Or is it? An acquaintance of Huston’s, Sergeant Ryan DeMarco, is actually on the police force and deep down believes that Huston would never be able to do such acts of violence especially against his wife and children, and decides he’s going to prove to everyone that believes Huston is guilty, that he is innocent and would never do this. But first he has to find him, and before Huston may do something drastic.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I really enjoyed it and would definitely check out any other work by this author. I’ve always been willing to try new authors as long as the premise of their books sounds like the type of book I generally enjoy. It took a little bit to get used to the authors writing style as it would jump a lot while not really having any cuts or segways in between the different viewpoints. It would go from Huston’s thoughts while on the run, to what his Sergeant DeMarco was thinking about the case, to a flashback of what Huston’s life used to be, to a flashback of what Sergeant DeMarco’s life used to be. After I got used to the writing style, I really liked it and it really helped to get more into the story and couldn’t put it down after the storyline really got going.

I thought the character development was really well done, and you really got a sense of why Sergeant DeMarco is the way he is, because he’s had his share of tragedy in his life making him kinda jaded, but still believing that the people he knows are genuinely good people. You also find out as the story goes on that maybe Huston wasn’t as innocent as a family man as he led everyone to believe, and that’s part of the reason I kept wanting to continue reading. I wanted to know if Huston maybe actually did do this horrible crime, and DeMarco was completely wrong in his judgement that it had to be someone else, or if again not everything was as it seems. I felt like the ending wrapped up everything very nicely, and everything came together and nothing came out of left field which if a book has an ending that seems to come out of nowhere or facts are just thrown in at the last minute to try and make the ending work is always a huge disappointment to me and sometimes comes off as sloppy writing, even if the book was really good up until that point.

This book didn’t have that problem, and I just really enjoyed this book and the author and would definitely read more books by the author. Also a big thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and Randall Silvis for letting me read this ARC, as I can’t express how much I truly enjoyed this book.

Two days Gone a Mystery / Thriller by John Silvis was sent to me through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This was a excellent book , a superb read.
A very suspenseful read set in a small college town where the wife & three children of a famous & popular professor have been all been horrificly murdered in thier sleep. Professor Hutson is missing. Sgt DeMarco is assigned to the case .
Sgt. Demarco & Prof. Hutson are friends and now have very parallel lives. DeMarco becomes consumed by this case and Hutson is losing his mind having trouble between fact & the imagination and grief.
You quickly feel you know and understand the characters thier friensdships.
The twist & turns keep you guessing all the way through the book until the very end.

Ryan DeMarco is a sergeant in the Pennsylvania State Police, trying to hold his life together after his family fell apart. Thomas Huston is a fiction author and academic at the local college. His family has been found dead in their beds, and he has disappeared. Two Days Gone follows the paths of these two men as they try to understand this tragedy and guess each other’s next move, based only on their brief acquaintance. Like his fictional author, Silvis has the “goal of bridging the gap between serious and commercial fiction.” (Would Silvis, like Huston, resent selling “too many copies”? Perhaps not.) But also like Huston’s books, the success of Two Days Gone lies in the plotting and dialogue as much as in the cherished prose (check out the Acknowledgements.) The almost-parallel stories of DeMarco and Huston intersect just enough, and there are good plot twists and turns. It says a lot that I figured out who done it about two-thirds of the way through, but there was still plenty of story (and loose ends) left. Even once you know who perpetrated the murders, you will still be engaged with this book. If you’re looking for a psychological detective mystery while you’re waiting for the next installment in the Dublin Murder Squad series, this would be a good choice.

A tragic, complex thriller full of twists and turns. The author keeps an intense pace brewing right uo till the end with this beautifully crafted work.

Thomas Huston has it all. A beautiful wife, and four happy children. He's a respected college professor and a best-selling author. His family is everything to him, so the town is shocked when they are all discovered slaughtered in their beds, and Tom is nowhere to be found. Ryan Demarco, the detective working the case, is acquainted with Tom socially, and can't believe that the man he knew would be able to do such a terrible thing. The character parallels are heart-breakingly beautiful, as Ryan sympathizes, (often overly much) with Huston due to the loss of his own child, and consequently his marriage, years earlier. They are two broken men, each on their own journeys that connect in surprising ways. Yes, there are some twists and turns, but not in a Gone Girl kind of way. This is a more cerebral, literary thriller, and that is a good thing.

I loved this book and would recommend it with enthusiasm but could only bring myself to score it 4 stars because of the sex references. I know this might make me sound like a prude to some but it really isn't that. It's just that it read to me as if another author had written all the bits of the book that had any sex in. The rest of the writing was excellent and the plot both thrilling and believable. I enjoyed all the characters and would look forward to reading more from Randall Silvis but just less gratuitous sex please!

I really enjoyed this book.
It was tense, the characters were believable and it was very well written.
I'm not normally one for heavy prose but it worked for this book and made sense for Huston to be using that type of prose as he is an author.
I liked the twists and turns and the story had me gripped as to what had happened.
I'm not going to spoil the book with a blow by blow recount as that's not my thing but I urge you to read it and will be urging people around me to read it when it is published.
Many thabks to the publishers and Net Galley for allowing me to read an advanced copy.

This crime novel was nice and dark with lots of flawed, likeable characters, a story which flowed at a good pace and a twisty plot to keep you guessing.

This book was filled with beautiful, lyrical prose and then would have a jarring segment that just didn't fit. It is narrated by two very broken, very likable men. A well paced, good dark mystery that has some nice twists and turns along the way.

What is it about a book that pulls you in? Keeps you thinking of it when you aren't able to read? Different types of books do this for all sorts of different types of people making that 'thing' almost impossible to put your finger on. Two Days Gone is a good book. It's written very eloquently and all the ends are tied up tightly by the conclusion. But, for me, it just didn't have that 'thing'. With 150 pages still to go I felt it must be wrapping up. What could possibly be in so many more pages? And I found that while the last ends were being tied, I didn't really need them to be. They weren't necessarily superfluous, but I didn't have much attachment to those characters. A solid book that I can see may hold that 'thing' for others. Perhaps that person is you.

I received an Advance Readers' Copy through Netgalley for am impartial review.

Wow! Two Days Gone is phenomenal. The complex and incredibly sad story of a family murdered. Is the father, noted novelist Thomas Huston, a family annihilator? Detective Ryan DeMarco, an acquaintance, an almost friend of Huston, is in charge of the investigation to bring the missing Huston to justice.

Silvis presents the family in flashbacks; they are lovely and funny and sweet. He does not belabor the circumstances of their deaths because he doesn't need to be gratuitous. Readers will feel the emptiness that their senseless deaths have caused. Huston, a man familiar with sudden and violent death, is viewed sympathetically. I wanted him to be innocent although nothing could ever make him whole again. Did he snap? Was there some sort of emotional breakdown?

Detective DeMarco is also swimming in his own bottomless sea of grief. After the sudden accidental death of his son, his marriage and life as he knew it are over. His personal life now is just a series of motions while he subverts his grief investigating the abyss of others' evil.

Silvis allows his detective to contemplate motivations. Too often in too many mystery/thrillers, there are sudden leaps of knowledge. Here DeMarco immerses himself in the hearts of those he questions. He keeps on pondering even when it appears there are no more issues to resolve.

Silvis' characters, both living and dead, are well drawn and true. Two Days Gone is one of the best books I have read this year.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb sounded exciting and I was looking forward to a psychological thriller. But honestly, I just couldn't get into this book. I was bored. And I found myself stopping this book to read other books.

I DNF this book.

Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis is a great read, It drew me in from the beginning. Since I live in the same geographical location the story is set in, I enjoyed it even more! I liked the way Silvis uses Thomas Hustons own research for his book, to each characters description. I had no problem getting into each character and setting and imaging just how they were. I love books that become a film in my mind. I so recommend!

Brilliantly written book. Author has a really good style and the writing is both artistic and intelligent. I love when an author really understand and uses words well. It's an art. Many writers can weave a story - few can do so where the writing is beautiful.

Story moved at a great pace. Characters are fabulous and intriguing. There really wasn't anything to dislike about this book. Kudos to this writer. Superb.

Incredible! I loved the writing style, the plot and, most especially, Thomas. Actually, I fell in love with all the characters, even Laraine. Oops! Not everyone...not Inman! Each one was so beautifully developed. At times, it was like watching a fantastic movie! I could empathize with the evolving emotions of each character as if I was watching them on a screen.

I struggled a bit when I learned why the family was slaughtered. The reason seemed weak to me; underdeveloped.

Overall, though, a fantastic book! Thanks for the opportunity to read it!

Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebook Landmark, and Randall Silvis for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review. This story revolves around Thomas Huston, author and beloved small Pennsylvania town professor. An unthinkable crime is committed against Huston's wife and children. The community comes together in support of their local "hero". Huston then disappears and becomes the town's number one suspect. Sergeant Ryan DeMarco has the difficult task of not only dealing with his own demons but also trying to solve the grisly murder as well as come to terms with whether or not Huston is guilty. The writing was top not.

It is more like 4.5 Stars.

I must admit that this book surprised me. I expected a very interesting story, which it was. But i did not expect all this darkness in the lives of the different characters. In a way, it was fascinating!

Thomas Huston had it all. Perfect life, perfect family, perfect career. One day, it was all gone. All his family was butchered and he was the only suspect.
DeMarco, the cop in charge of this investigation, had his own demons and tragedies. What he did not expect was that while investigating the life of Huston, he discovered something else under all that apparent perfection, something similar to the darkness inside his own soul.

The story was amazing and at points depressing but i enjoyed every chapter. The way the investigation brought to light different facts and sides about all the people involved. The despair of Huston was acutely expressed, and after some of those specific chapters i felt tired and sad!
And i kept building theories all along the story, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation that would make sense of the actions of Huston, and still the end was not like i imagined it, it was much more!

It was a very good book and i would recommend it to all my friends.

When Thomas Huston's wife and children are found brutally murdered, and Thomas is nowhere to be found, everyone assumes that Thomas is behind the deaths and fled after he killed his family.

Sargent Ryan DeMarco met Thomas a couple times in the past, and has a hard time reconciling the man he met with the man who could kill his entire family. The further DeMarco gets into the investigation, the more he wrestles with the question of whether he really knew Thomas, or whether Thomas may actually be innocent.

*Thanks to NetGalley who provided an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis is chilling, and I couldn't put it down. A recommended read! I am intentionally listing vague details here to avoid spoilers. The book begins with an unthinkable and senseless crime, immediately drawing the reader to demand answers. As an investigation into the crime unfolds, we are immersed in the inner workings of each character involved until the truth comes out like a punch in the gut, and the truth is more horrible than anyone can imagine.
The main characters in this book, Ryan DeMarco, the cop, and Thomas Huston, the novelist/college professor, are well developed and you are led to care for them and feel their deep emotion. The interactions between DeMarco and some of the other characters are at times humorous, which helps to balance out some of the intensity.
The progression of the story, and the clues we are given as DeMarco conducts his investigation, are the kind that give you a slight inkling of what may be going on without being predictable. But be warned....just when you think you have it figured out, a huge twist reveals itself!

This story was intriguing from the outset. The entire family of successful author and college professor Thomas Huston has been brutally murdered. The Huston family had "appeared the epitome of a happy family, smiles on all their faces. Claire and Thomas holding hands, the kids laughing, little Davy all eyes and sloppy grin." But Tom Huston is on the run and suspected of committing the atrocities. The story is very dark. The community and investigating police officer have trouble believing Huston could have butchered his family; however, he has disappeared, was seen tossing what could be the murder weapon off a bridge into the water, and it is discovered that all was not so idyllic in the Huston household. Did Tom Huston snap? Did something caused a psychological disconnect? Or is everybody wrong? Did somebody else murder the Huston family?

The writing flows beautifully with luxuriously descriptive sentences. I enjoyed the of prose.

Great book! Kept me engaged and interested. Parts were predictable, but at the same time it stayed interesting. I really liked the characters throughout the book.

This was a mystery murder/thriller cum detective novel at its finest! A real page turner. One I had to finish in one go.

A well respected college professor, also a famous crime writer finds his entire family brutally murdered. He is also on the run. It simply points out to his guilt. For some reason, completely unfathomable to everyone around him - his students, his in laws and even to the police chief who knew him this was not his work. But then why was he missing, why didn't he turn himself in and tell his part of the story.

The story unravels slowly without any sequence or logic. I personally could not work out who was the murderer and why till it was actually spelt out. Taken in baby steps, the logic and why and wherefore of how a murderer's mind works and subsequently how those who are most affected take revenge are devious and complicated. This adds to the story here.

A solidly-plotted, fast-paced thriller with dark undertones. Compelling, unusual and moving with some moments of real brilliance.

This is a well-paced thriller that picks up speed as you go along. The characters are well-drawn and fully dimensional, especially the professor and the investigator. Most of all, I was impressed with Silvis' writing. So often thrillers sacrifice attention to language in furtherance of plot. Not here. He checks both boxes.

A riveting mystery that had me hooked from page one. Loved the twists and turns.

When Thomas Hustons wife and children are found murdered the deaths are investigated by Sergeant DeMarco. This book shows in a beautifully written way that not everyone is as they seem.

Thomas Huston, a best-selling novelist and college professor, is on the run. His wife and children have been brutally murdered, and he is the prime suspect. The question is, did he do it? Ryan Demarco, a veteran law enforcement officer knows Huston and thinks he may be innocent. As the tale unfolds, unexpected secrets emerge that challenge readers as they try to unravel the mysterious murders.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced, and I would never have guessed the ending. The characters were well-developed and the story line kept my interest. Recommended for fans of the thriller genre.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a complementary eARC of this title.

This was a great mystery. A professor loved by everyone is accused of murdering his whole family. The cop on this case is someone he has been friends with and has a hard time believing the professor did it. The professor is on the run as he is scared and trying to figure out what happened. This was fast paced and I received it from NetGalley.

An innocent family is brutally murdered and the famous missing husband, of course, is the number one suspect. Throughout we see the story through the eyes of the lead detective, DeMarco and Huston, the missing husband. DeMarco who is battling his own demons actually had a friendship with Huston and at times it's hard to tell if this clouds his judgment during the investigation. Was Huston leading a double life or was his research on his latest novel to blame? Everyone seems to have their own option and most are quick to condemn Huston. . . what looks true IS true, right?
This novel was fast paced and it was very interesting where the investigation lead DeMarco at times

First of all thanks Net Galley for the opportunity to have an ARC Book and read this book in advance for an honest review.

First impressions:
It's an amazing non-obvious thriller, it's dark, it's a page turner.

I enjoyed the book and read it in 3 settings, which for me means it's a page turner that you just can't forget until you finish and get to the bottom of the mystery.

The story is interesting and hooks you from the beginning. To be honest the part i mostly enjoyed was the prose in the first chapters. Very poetic and dark.
The main characters are well developed, you get a hang of DeMarco, the detective, as a cop who has suffered and is just getting by, moral but open to justice. Thomas Huston, the writer is not described in large detail compared to DeMarco, but it also helps keeps part of his life a developing mystery and add to the thrill of the book. The other characters generated mild interest, and were kept in the dark until it was their time to shine. There are many characters in the book, some are dismissed and some come back, which overall adds to the "mystery" of the story.
I didn't feel the book was "too long" or had unnecessary bloated pages, and it also wasn't as bare as a Dean Koontz novel which focuses only on the plot.
The story. It's dark and bloody. You don't know if it will turn into something like SEVEN or Number 23(the jim carrey movie). The setting is grey and makes you feel a bit grey yourself, which means the writing is good. I loved all the twists it holds.

Overall I would rate this book 4/5 stars. why not 5? the ending could be more developed! to my taste it felt a bit rushed. It gave a sense of unbalance vs the rest of the book which was perfectly paced.

Do I recommend? hell yes. Specially if you're into the Cop-Thriller-Mystery and want something more "prosely intellectual" "poetic" or "elegantly written".

This book was beautifully written and kept me second guessing myself the whole way through. Great crime novel that eventually all comes together at the end!

I don't read a lot of crime (except for J D Robb books, because I'm seriously addicted) because I find so much of it is obvious and poorly written - either too gory, or too subtle. But Two Days Gone came highly recommended and when I gave it a go I found I couldn't put it down.

It's the story of Prof. Thomas Huston, who is currently wandering in the wilderness in bare feet and shock after his family have all been brutally slaughtered. Sergeant Ryan DeMarco, still dealing with the breakdown of his own family, is called in to investigate and has trouble reconciling the brutality with the calm, clever professor he knows.

As the story progresses, Huston gets deeper into the woods and DeMarco gets deeper into his life. It becomes impossible to tell what elements of Huston are real and which are research for his latest novel. Every new lead dissolves as more and more characters are introduced until the reader is as confused and lost as both Huston and DeMarco are.

The end of the book comes crashing down with unexpected endings (of stories, families, and lives) all round. It keeps you on your toes until the very last few pages and leaves a restless unease over the impermanence of life and love.

The book, Silvis' thirteenth novel, is due out in January next year and all in all is a masterful effort at bringing together literature and suspense. DeMarcos backstory is beautifully rendered and demonstrates the range of reactions that occur with the death of a child. Huston's dissociation is written with grace, believable and tragic and perfect for the story. You will not see the end coming, and the story builds and builds, making this book one you will not put down until it is over.

PS: A bit of a warning, though - it's really dark in some places and quite graphic, so trigger warning for the gruesome deaths of small children described in intimate detail.

Can we always trust our instincts? Is a human nature that we see on the surface the same as deeply inside? How far would you go to find the truth? How far would you go to protect the truth?


Two Days Gone is one of the best psychological thriller I’ve read since a long time.

A small town in Pennsylvania is shocked: a whole family of Thomas Huston, a local college teacher and bestseller’s author is brutally murdered in their house. His wife and three children are literally slaughtered. All evidence suggests that a murderer is Huston himself. His disappearance only supports this theory. But if it is true then what forced a family man and loving husband, a popular citizen and a famous writer at the height of his career to kill his family? And if he is innocent, then WHO DID and why is Huston on the run?

Sergeant Ryan DeMarco, who considered himself as Thomas Huston’s friend takes over this difficult case. He himself lost his son in a car accident over ten years ago, that broke down his life. Is he the right man for this investigation? Can he found the answers on the questions that plague everyone?

I LITERALLY couldn’t put this book down. The writing is magnificent, the plot is excellent, and the way the author tells this story, giving bit by bit the missing pieces of a jigsaw, is addictive.

I love EVERYTHING in this book, but my absolute HIGHLIGHT is the character Ryan DeMarco with such charisma!..The plot is dark but deeply philosophical and even if it's difficult to say it, considering the subject, stunningly beautifully written.


HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Thank you Net Galley and Randall Silvis for this Advance reader copy of Two Days Gone. Full of twists and turns, It is a thriller about a college professor Thomas Huston, also a novelist who appears to have murdered his entire family and was seen wandering down the street with a knife and is on run. Thomas Huston's good friend Detective Ryan DeMarco takes charge of the investigation, believing his friend could never commit such an act. . The book was filled with unique unpredictable twists and turns. Great read!

Great book! Glad I read it! It kept me on my toes the entire time. I loved all the twists.

Sergeant Ryan DeMarco's life was shattered when his wife Laraine was in a car accident that killed their baby. She went off the depth end into sex and alcohol and he buried himself in work and worrying about Laraine. Thomas Huston is a NYT bestselling author who teaches at the local university, with a picture-perfect family and life. These two men become friends, bonding despite their differences. So, when Huston is accused of murdering his perfect family and going on the run, DeMarco cannot bring himself to accept Huston's guilt. How could the man he knew and whose books he admired commit such a heinous crime? VERDICT: This polished and detailed mystery is full of suspense. The dark and atmospheric writing emphasizes how DeMarco teeters on the edge of a breakdown and how hopeless Huston feels on the run. Silvis is an accomplished author; recommend this for Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay readers.

Whether you love this book or not, it will likely make you form a strong opinion. This novel kept me turning pages, curious about the outcome of the mystery, the lives of the characters and the plot itself.

I've read a lot of crime novels this year, some of them better than others, but few that have stayed with me after finishing them and moving on to another book. I have a feeling I will be thinking of this one for a while. There are plenty of plot twists to keep reader's engaged and surprised, and one in particular that will chill you to the bone. I had to the set the book to the side for a few minutes and breathe.

Randall Silvis makes it easy to feel compassion for his characters. They are multidimensional and feel like real people, from their quirks, to their decisions, both the good ones and the bad. I liked the friendship between the officer and the suspect, and the way the author managed to make them alike for all the wrong reasons.

This is a book that I can easily recommend to others, with a small warning for language and sexual content, if that sort of thing bothers you. One of the best books I've read in a while.

This review is based on a complementary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

" Two Days Gone" is a total page turner. The story line is completely different from any thing I have ever read before. I could not put the book down. This novel has it all: great characterizations, great plot and great writing.

disclaimer – i received a copy of this book via sourcebooks landmark in exchange for an honest review.

a wife and three children were brutally murdered. the only suspect is the small town’s most beloved resident. the detective in charge of the case not only knows the suspect, he has a great respect for him and considers him a friend. that could be considered standard mystery fare, right? in randall silvis‘ hands, though, it becomes a taut and nuanced thriller with secrets that don’t explode until the end.

i opened two days gone thinking i would read a few chapters then go to sleep. five hours later, having gotten completely caught up in not only the story but in the interplay between the characters and the ongoing discovery of their connections to each other, i finished the book. the characters were complex and the story danced from one to the next with no mistakes or missteps. there were no trick misleads here, nothing pastiche, nothing common, just texture and pain and the inevitability of life.

four out of five stars

Thanks SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and netgalley for this ARC.

Fast paced, animated, and puzzling in a wicked way

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a very interesting thriller with a little but of a whodunit twist. Thomas Hudson is a thriller writer and has now experienced his family murdered and he is on the run. Why? That is the question among others DeMarco has to solve. I will admit the author lost me a couple of times with all the dialogue. However, the deeper I got into the book the more I wanted to learn. I am glad I stuck with it. Turned out to be a very enjoyable read and well crafted thriller.

Thomas Huston is a beloved college professor and bestselling author, living in a small, Pennsylvania town. When his beautiful wife, Claire, and his seeming perfect family – children Thomas Jr, Alyssa and toddler David – are all found murdered and Huston vanished from the house, he seems the obvious suspect. Sergeant Ryan DeMarco is in charge of the case, even though he previously met Huston several times, when he was researching his latest book. DeMarco admired Huston and also envied him his family and career. His own personal life is troubled and has affected his career; leaving him sleepless, lonely and depressed. As DeMarco sets off in pursuit of Huston, he discovers that the professor had his own issues behind the perfect façade. There are problems with colleagues at work as well as the tragic loss of his parents.

This is very much a literary mystery, which goes beyond the normal thriller boundaries and delves into the background and relationship between the two main characters. DeMarco uses Huston’s writing to try to understand his state of mind – if he is guilty, why would a successful, seemingly happy man snap? If he is not guilty, then where is he? We do have some scenes where Huston is on the run, but mainly the book centres on DeMarco, his investigation, and with clues in the manuscript he is currently working on. With the background in academia, plus the fact that the main suspect is a writer, this will appeal to book lovers everywhere. I really enjoyed DeMarco as a character – he was undoubtedly the best part of the novel for me. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

I requested this book off of NetGalley because the blurb sounded interesting, and it fit in with my current suspense/thriller kick for reading.

I did not anticipate loving this book as much as I did. DeMarco is a bit rough around the edges, dealing with his own issues and his own struggles, but he is such a great character. He's sharp, picking up on the subtle signs that are there for the reader but that I never noticed. He has good intuition and an understanding of the human psyche that makes him good at his job, and as a character, none of this is outside the realm of believability.

The book flip-flops between DeMarco's search for answers, and Huston's travels as a fugitive. The parts that are written from Huston's point of view are so intense and so shocking, illustrating how disconnected Huston has become after the tragedy of losing his family - and possibly being the cause of it. As a character, Huston is a best-selling author, and the reader learns about him through DeMarco's questioning of people Huston knows. In the passages where Huston is on run, he often draws the connection between himself and a character in the novel, separating himself from the reality of what has happened and basically writing his own story. It's an interesting way to show what's going on in Huston's head, and I loved reading those passages.

The end of the book has one twist after another. It's both what I was expecting and a surprise. Nothing is quite what it seems, and even the most unseemly of characters are given a bit of redemption in the book.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me turning pages all the way through, and I found myself easily sucked into the story. This one definitely fulfilled my current obsession with suspense novels, and I recommend it to anyone who's interested in the genre.

We follow two characters through the whole story. Writer Thomas Huston who is on the run after his wife and three kids have been brutally murdered, and Ryan Demarco who is the head state police officer in the case. Demarco and Huston have a unique relationship having befriended each other prior to the murders. Demarco struggles to believe Huston could ever be guilty of killing his family. This was the best psychological thriller I have read all year. The plot was fantastic and the plot twist kept you up at night turning pages until you could no longer keep your eyes open. The twist and turns came out of nowhere and I found I couldn't actually predict what would happen until about 3/4 of the way through the whole book. I highly recommend this book! 4 out of 5 stars!

Two Days Gone started out beautifully, and I was full of praise--in the way you just comment to yourself about the writing with excitement and pleasure, but...

I'm going to link to Deb Marten's review (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1735983710?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1), which says almost everything I intended. The only difference is that she does not mention the ending, then the ending, then the ending. She was probably exhausted.

So much potential here! I've rarely been so disappointed by a book that had such promise at the beginning.

Read in Oct.; blog review scheduled for Dec. 19.

NetGalley/Sourcebooks

Crime/Suspense. Jan. 1, 2016. Print length: 400 pages.

A novel about a beloved college professor accused of murdering his entire family, and one small-town cop's dangerous search for answers.The book started to loose me at times and I wanted to know what happened but it wasnt one of those "stay up all night" kind of books. Worth a read tho.

I really enjoyed the thinking of DeMarco and how he didn't give up fully getting his answers on his case. He knows the suspect Huston but he just can not believe he would do something like that tragic. So DeMarco works the case and tries to find Huston. Where would he go? Where would he see? What is this story that Huston was working on? Does it have anything to do with anything?
Huston is a writer and a professor who has tragedy hit him like no other. Though it has made him become hunted by the police. We go back and forth between different point of views Huston's and DeMarco's.
With Huston's p.o.v. we see how he handles the trauma and what he does to stay alive and remember that night. He is determined to get answers. When we got towards the end and Huston started revealing what happened that night my heart broke.
DeMarco he is a no nonsense character who is dealing with his own demons. He constantly has his heartbroken by his wife and we see this through out the story. Even though she is breaking her own heart in what she does. I was glad to see DeMarco finally take a stand. Though you can tell it hurt him to do that. Through out it all he doesn't let it deter him from this important case. Even when he looks like crap and needs sleep. Jack, coffee and no food slowly take their tow.
I really loved how there was humor between DeMarco and his boss. Not sure the friendship of the two but his boss doesn't get offended by DeMarco and his mouth when joking so that was nice.
Overall it was a good mystery to finding a killer. It was nice trying to pin point who was behind it all and how DeMarco truly cared for his friend.

Now there was one scene that I think needs to be reworded a bit on the author's part and it when he is describing what he would like to do with his wife Claire. This sentenced through me off a bit. "He wanted his dick in her mouth, wanted to taste he pussy and to feel her body rocking against him wave after wave." Umm wait what? Why not just say he would want to make love to his wife and feel her body rocking against him. The whole dick in mouth and tasting nookie though me off for a second when reading.
The plot was good, the characters memorable. I really liked the references to Poe that was done by Huston through out the story. With the story that Huston was putting together I thought it was neat how his character he was building was based on other author's characters but he was adding his own touch.
I think I would read more by this author again. Especially if DeMarco is going to be in future stories.

Book blurb...

A literary page-turner about a beloved college professor accused of murdering his entire family, and one small-town cop’s dangerous search for answers

Thomas Huston, a beloved professor and bestselling author, is something of a local hero in the small Pennsylvania college town where he lives and teaches. So when Huston’s wife and children are found brutally murdered in their home, the community reacts with shock and anger. Huston has also mysteriously disappeared, and suddenly, the town celebrity is suspect number one.

Sergeant Ryan DeMarco has secrets of his own, but he can’t believe that a man he admired, a man he had considered a friend, could be capable of such a crime. Hoping to glean clues about Huston’s mind-set, DeMarco delves into the professor’s notes on his novel-in-progress. Soon, DeMarco doesn’t know who to trust—and the more he uncovers about Huston’s secret life, the more treacherous his search becomes.

My thoughts…

I LOVED this book. I was riveted throughout, desperate to understand what happened to this well known family. The author’s use of a writer as the main suspect in this plot was inspired! The added twist and the unique voice made the story one of my best mystery/crime reads of the year.

I cannot recommend this one highly enough to readers who love clever plotting, a true mystery and a character who takes your emotions of a rollercoaster.

This review will be posted on Readroundoz at a later date

By all appearances, Author Thomas Huston lives a charmed life. He has a good job teaching at a university, bestselling novels, and a wife and children who he adores. So when his family is slaughtered and the missing Huston is the top suspect, detective DeMarco tries to piece together what could have made the author snap.

This was a well written, engrossing mystery. The book alternatives between DeMarco and Huston, keeping the reader in suspense right to the end. I enjoyed it very much.

I haven't heard of the author prior to reading this book, but the premise seemed intriguing and it was available as read now at Netgalley and I'm a fan of domestic mysteries, so sure, why not. Turned out to be an inspired selection, a genuinely literary thriller driven by sheer strength of writing and characters more so than just the notion of finding out who did what and how and when. Told through parallel timelines from two different perspectives immediately in the aftermath of a horrid crime. A perfect family of a man who seemed to have it all brutally murdered, the man himself is nowhere to be found. The basic Fugitive premise of a chase. The cleverness of the author sees the novel unfold in such a way that for the longest time we're really unsure what happened and get so wrapped up with characters that we end up going on this desperate journey of discovery with them. The man whose family is killed is an author, one who strives to become distinguished as a novelist and not just dismissed as a mystery writer, albeit bestselling, which is somewhat meta, because this book may, but really mustn't see the same fate. The quality of the narrative alone makes this a terrific drama, serious fiction, the crimes only give it more urgency. Really strong book, literary mystery thriller done right. Enthusiastically recommended.

The mind of an author.. you don't know what's hiding and raging in the twisted corners of their mind .
Written beautifully , almost poetic but mixed with suspense and savage events .
The complicity of the cheaters is unbelievable (in a good way) And still makes sense ( not too much and not understandable in other novels) +1 point for the sense of humor despite all of the darkness .
The lineout of the this novel is perfect and calculated , reveling parts and making you curious .
To be completely honest here I thought I figured the plot twist fully , I was wrong . Plot twist is a craft and that novel is an example on how to craft a beautifully written one . Enjoyed this novel to the fullest and DEFIANTLY looking forward to read more novels written by Randall Silvis

A slow burn of a book that draws the reader in slowly. You learn about the characters and decide yourself before being told which way they will turn. Sometimes this is not what you expect.

A heartbreakingly excellent literary thriller that will appeal especially to writers and bookaholics.

The dual story of two broken men: Thomas Huston, a literature prof who is also a bestselling author and doting father and husband -- and Sergeant Ryan DeMarco, a police detective.

Both men lose everything that is most dear to them -- their families. They've met by chance in the past and they have respect for each other, but then the unthinkable happens. Huston's wife and children have been slaughtered and he is the prime suspect. It is DeMarco's job to find Huston and bring him in. This is like a modern Les Miserables. So much sadness, so much nuance. An absorbing, heartbreaking read. Brilliant.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the review e-edition of this book.

Thomas Houston is a very popular Literature teacher and well known author. Houston's world is turned upside down when his entire family is murdered and he becomes the prime suspect. Detective Ryan DeMarco catches the case and is on the hunt to locate the missing Houston. Detective DeMarco is convinced that Houston couldn't have killed his entire family. He begins to wonder if there is more going on than what meets the eye. Can Detective DeMarco solve the murders an prove a man innocent or will his search endanger his own life?

I really enjoyed this novel by Randall Silvis. I definitely plan to read future books by this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark Publishers for the ARC or "Two Days" by Randall Silvis. Randall Silvis starts the mystery by setting the scene with the gruesome murder of Professor/Author/Thomas Huston's whole family in Huston's house. Huston seems to be running and hiding. Sergeant Ryan De Marco is in charge of this murder investigation, and finding Thomas Huston, who at this point is considered the murderer or a person of interest. The question asked is how could such a beloved teacher and famous writer do this unspeakable act. Ryan De Marco is an acquaintance of Thomas Huston, and has a signed book. In addition Thomas Huston had what appears to be the ideal life: a fantastic career, beautiful and loving family and gorgeous home. Randall Silvis starts with the ingredients of a horrendous,repulsive crime and starts with just a few characters. As the novel proceeds, more complex questionable,suspicious characters are added to this batter. It is up to Ryan De Marco to stir up all events and questions about this timeline. The two main characters ,Huston and DeMarco are flawed and conflicted. DeMarco tries to think the way Huston would, as a writer and author. There are twists, and turns and questionable suspects. I would recommend this book,but it is a heavy mystery with many layers,twists and turns.

I really liked this book, for a few reasons. It sounded like something that was likely to catch and hold my interest (and take my mind off the election), it had characters that sounded relatable, and the author has a great vocabulary (“nubilous moon”).

The basic premise is that a gruesome murder has been committed: the bodies of the wife and children of a beloved college professor, Thomas Huston, are found in their home. Huston has disappeared and is suspect #1, and Sergeant Ryan DeMarco is on the case. It turns out that DeMarco and Huston are friends, and DeMarco greatly admired the Professor. As DeMarco’s investigation begins, he is sure that Huston couldn’t have killed his wife and family, and he uses the notes for Huston’s half-finished novel to help him in his search for the truth. Along the way, he uncovers Huston’s secret life and wrestles with the difference between the man he knew and admired and the one he seems to be tracking as he works to solve the crime.

DeMarco is an interesting protagonist, with demons of his own: “He thought it remarkable all the thins he could feel when he sat motionless in the darkness without a drink in his hand…” I also liked the way his thought process worked: “…he also knew enough of human behavior to know that logic seldom applied when an ample supply of testosterone was stirred into the mix.”

Difficult to make more comments without spoiling something. Overall, this is a well-crafted, tightly plotted thriller with mounting suspense, interesting characters, and a mystery that isn’t easily solved (well, at least not by me, but then I am not the best at solving mysteries along the way, generally being surprised ☺). With thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley, I give this one 5 stars. I hadn’t previously read anything by Randall Silvis, but I definitely hope we see more of Ryan DeMarco!

3.75 stars. I agree with a few other GR reviewers that Two Days Gone starts off really strong but loses a bit of momentum. But I thought it came together pretty well in the end. Two Days Gone starts with the murder of a mother and her three children. Set in a small town in northern Pennsylvania, it is told from the point of view of the children's father -- a bestselling author and English professor -- and the police officer charged with solving the case. Both are interesting troubled men. I won't say much more to avoid spoilers, but I will emphasize again that the set up is really strong. This is very much a literary mystery/thriller. Silvis is an excellent writer, and he throws in plenty of good literary references. The characters are interesting, and his take on relationships is not simplistic. The story deflated for me toward the middle when it took a few turns that felt quite ordinary and the plot line got a bit slack, but then the end picked up again with a good twist and satisfying closure. Two Days Gone makes for a good read and I would be happy to try Silvis' next book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

Relating to this book was easy for a number of reasons. The biggest one is that much of the action takes place in parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio about a 45-minute drive north of our northeastern Ohio home. That alone - seeing names of cities, small towns and places in between that we've visited too many times to count - got my attention. The job of keeping it, though, falls directly into the hands of the author - and what a great job he did!

That said, it not a book to be skimmed; the writing is brilliant, but close to what I'd call ponderous. Some of that, no doubt is because one of the two central characters, Tom Huston, is a bestselling author and college professor and the other, Pennsylvania State Police Sgt. Ryan DeMarco, is a well-read guy who in many ways doesn't fit the description of standard-issue cop. The two men have met and like each other, but circumstances here cause one to become a hunter and the other the hunted.

The story begins with the brutal murder of Huston's wife and three children in their home. When Huston goes missing, the assumption is that the mild-mannered, popular writer-educator who was working hard on a new book with a lead character loosely based on Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolilta" and Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee," somehow snapped. DeMarco doesn't quite see Huston's killer potential, although he wonders why the man has run away. But whether Huston is guilty or innocent, it's now DeMarco's job to find him and bring him in.

As the search progresses, DeMarco travels in and out of many places familiar to me like Erie and Linesville Pa., and Conneaut and Pierpont, Ohio. At one point, I was surprised to see a reference to the 1985 tornado that destroyed much of Albion, Pa., but - as I can personally attest - not before it wreaked serious havoc in and around my town of Niles, Ohio.

It is character development, though, that takes center stage; little by little, we see into the hearts and minds of various characters - Huston and DeMarco in particular. DeMarco, for instance, is no stranger to tragedy; a traffic accident a few years earlier resulted in the death of his young son and, ultimately, the loss of his much-loved wife. His understanding of anguish, in fact, is one of the reasons he not only doesn't accept Huston's guilt and ultimately is willing to put his own career on the line to get to the truth.

It's rare that I give much credence to official book descriptions issued by publishers, but in this case, their word "masterful" is right on target. Kudos to the author, and many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read the book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a really atmospheric thriller, with a mystery that completely drew me in! The characters are intriguing and all seem a little dubious, except for DeMarco, who is trying to solve the mystery. I found this to be a bit of a slow-burn type of book, which, if well done as it is here, can be a very good thing. Looking forward to more books by this author in the future!

Sergeant Ryan DeMarco is faced with the unenviable task of hunting down a man he knows, a man he classes as a friend. That same man, Thomas Huston, is accused of murdering his wife and children, and is nowhere to be found. DeMarco has to chase down some very slim leads if he has any chance of understanding what makes a man who has everything, snap and kill his family. The more he looks into it however, the more he questions whether Thomas was capable of this, and if he didn't do it, then who did?

I've read a small mountain of crime fiction over the years, and it's as much the characters as the plot I need to buy into if I'm going to fall in love with the book. Afraid to say it didn't quite happen here. De Marco ticked a few too many of the clichéd flawed hero boxes for me - broken marriage, drink problem, lots of time brooding in a dark room on his own, etc. I did really like the banter he had with his boss - he really comes to life in those exchanges, and made me laugh a few times, but not enough to push this from a three star to a four star review.

The plot felt like it ambled along at a fairly slow pace as well, and didn't have enough of those "moments of peril" that have you turning the page, desperate to know what happens next. We then get to the end, and it all seems to get tied up too neatly, too quickly for me. Would I read another by the same author? Probably, yes, but I'd want that little bit more edge to the next one to make me want to buy a third

Thomas Huston is a college professor, a famous author who writes dark and mysterious novels. His family, his life and his career is envied by many. His sincere and intelligent personality captivates attention of his friends and his students. Everything was going so well. Until one night…

Did I manage to get your attention? Are you interested in what happens next? Because I sure was! The perfect life went downhill the night Thomas Huston’s family was found slaughtered in their own house. Killed with their own chef’s knife. And the trustworthy college professor ran away, seen by few neighbours and town visitors.

I loved the complexity of the characters. And I am not talking just about our writer and professor, whose mind was filled with different personalities. I am talking about the police agent dealing with the loss of his family while trying to determine the innocence of his friend. I am talking about Annabel, brought by so many different people.

However, it didn’t surprise me as much as I hoped it would. It was definitely not Gillian Flynn who would surprise you on every single page. I can’t say that it was predictable. No, it wasn’t. But every time I thought: «Yes! It’s time for some surprising twists!», it never actually came, which made me feel quite disappointed.

Overall, it was an entertaining read that I managed to devour between busy working and studying hours.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very well-written book and the descriptions were beautiful. At times, it was a little much for me, I just wanted to get to the "meat" of the story. I liked the to main characters, Thomas and Ryan. They were multi-faceted characters that really have been through a lot in their lives. It was a dark and sad story but suspenseful and I enjoyed reading the novel.

3.5 stars. Thomas Huston is a popular professor and best-selling author who has a seemingly picture perfect life with a loving wife and three children. But when his wife and children are found brutally murdered, Huston, who has disappeared, becomes the prime suspect.
Sergeant Ryan DeMarco, who got to know Huston personally when he helped him with some research for Huston's book, can't believe the mild-mannered author could be capable of such a horrific crime and starts to look into Huston's background. Could the latest script Huston has been working on have anything to do with what happened?
This wasn't an instant page-turner, but it became more engrossing the more I read. It was an intricate character study of two troubled men set amidst a slowly unraveling mystery. Written in detailed, atmospheric prose from the perspectives of DeMarco and Huston, I preferred the chapters from DeMarco's perspective. Yeah, he was the quintessential flawed cop fighting his own demons, but he was extremely likable and I enjoyed his humorous exchanges with his superior and colleagues, which were a welcome boost in an otherwise very heavy and depressing tale. I also enjoyed the book-related elements of this, such as the insights into the writing process and the literary references, which were quite cleverly incorporated into the plot.
The strength of this was certainly in the characterization of the two main characters. This should appeal to anybody who enjoys elaborately written literary fiction. I received an ARC via NetGalley.

This book is captivating. I started reading it late at night, and don't really recommend that, because it is very graphic and kept me awake. The characters are so realistic and I immediately got caught up with the story and wanted to know what was happening.

It's rare that I come across a book I enjoy reading simply because of the way the author has strung together words as much as I did this one. I found myself pausing to appreciate a sentence more than once, and I have to admit that I am envious of the author's talent.

Thrillers are one of my favorite genres; so, it wasn't surprising that a story with a mysterious synopsis would capture my attention. I really enjoyed the way the book was told from two points of view: the professor accused of murder and the detective hunting him down. I always feel this makes plot lines more interesting because the back and forth keeps the momentum going and keeps me turning the pages.

This story was very enjoyable and entertaining for the majority of the book. Somewhere around three-fourths of the way through, however, it started to drag for me a bit. The book could have ended a little sooner for my personal tastes. I felt the ending was too long and a bit contrived. Overall, however, this was a very enjoyable read, and I will be looking for more books from this author in the future.

I would like to thank Randall Silvis, Sourcebooks Landmark, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A college professor is accused of murdering his whole family. His wife and children are found brutally murdered in their own home. The professor is missing.

What. Great read this was. I liked the authors style in writing this story. I do recommend this novel.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and the author Randall Silvis for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great book- fast paced thriller with twists and turns along the way. Enjoyed the book! I loved the development of DeMarco's character and would have loved to see more in depth character development of Huston. Good writing. This was the first Silvis book I have read and definitely would like to check out more of his book.

Randall Silvis is a new author to me, and I have mixed feelings as to whether I care to read another of his books. I was intrigued by the story itself; a respected professor's family is murdered as they slept one night and the professor goes on the run leading everyone to think he is the prime suspect. A police detective, friend to the professor, is charged with solving the case but can't believe that his friend could/would do such a thing. During the investigation, he has to deal with things he uncovers about his friend, while dealing with his own demons. Make no mistake, these are two very troubled men, and their characters are complex and deep. I liked that. What I didn't care for was the somewhat pretentious language (don't know if this is the author's usual style, or if this was meant to serve as a reminder that we're dealing with academia in this story). I also found the middle slow, (sorry!) rather boring and sophomoric as we delve into the world of the innocents caught up in strip clubs etc. I know, I know, it was all part of the story, but so juvenile... Rather like a teenaged boys wet-dream in words. Do we really have to look for the professor's muse in strip clubs? Ewww...

The ending showed some fine unexpected twists, but as a whole, I considered myself lucky to get to the end of the book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thomas Huston has it all. He has a beautiful wife and three amazing kids. He is a popular and respected college professor, admired by colleagues and students alike. He has written several novels, each successful in both literary circles and bestseller lists. It is a perfect life.

And then, in a heartbeat, it's gone.

Sergeant Ryan DeMarco knows what it is to lose everything. So when Huston's family is slaughtered and Huston himself is seen leaving his house with a large knife in his hand, DeMarco can't help but wonder what happened to bring the man to this. It takes two days for DeMarco to track Huston down. Two days to figure out what happened and why. Two days to try to save what's left of Huston's life, and maybe his own as well.

Randall Silvis' Two Days Gone is a literary thriller like none I've read. It draws you in with an intriguing story and beautiful writing, and leads you through the mystery with style and intelligence. The characters are beautifully intricate and well-rounded, and you can't help but feel for them once you find out what is happening.

If you like a good thriller, then read this as soon as you can. If you like a great thriller, then read it immediately. You won't be disappointed.



Galleys were provided by the publisher through NetGalley.com

This book is just what I hope for when I read a suspenseful crime drama: a clever plot, complex characters, a fast-paced, engrossing narrative, and a surprising ending. The structure of the novel was well thought out, and it was carefully edited so that there was not a dull moment. It was a pleasure to read.
I found all his characters complex and unique, and their interactions believable. I especially liked the protagonist. He was struggling to cope with a terrible loss in his life, and his relationship with another key character, also in similar pain, was an integral part of the story. The relationship between them was touching, but not maudlin. I also enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek humor between the protagonist and his boss.
I highly recommend this book for those wanting an engrossing thriller with twists and turns, an unpredictable ending, and a great cast of characters. This entertaining story is sure to be made into a film. I look forward to reading more of this author's work.
Note: I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is slightly different from the usual run of the mill detective thriller as the immediate suspect in the case is known to the officer in charge and their tentative relationship provides the officer with some insight into what might have happened. With the narration being shared between the po!ice officer and the wanted man, the truth is slowly and achingly painfully revealed. An excellent novel to be recommended.

"You're out there somewhere," he said. "You're cold and you're hungry, and as far as I know, you're completely out of your mind. But you're out there. And I'm coming to get you. I'll find you, my friend."......


Tom Huston, celebrity around his Pennsylvania college town. An author, professor and family man. Until the day comes his family is found gruesomely murdered, and Tom has disappeared.

Sergeant Ryan DeMarco knew Tom. Like everyone else, finds this murder hard to believe. His search for answers and Tom includes delving into a novel Tom was working on. Are there clues in it? Did Tom have a life that no one knew about?

Is Tom alive? Dead? Innocent or guilty? Ryan will have to uncover secrets and untangle the confusion to get to the bottom of these murders. Are the answers in the books that Tom has written? Ryan's own pain and problems will keep him company on this road.

I found Ryan to be an interesting character in his own right. Considering Huston as a friend, he struggles with his own sense of loss for this family. Along with his own personal losses, and demons, he has a hard edge, walking a fine line between (Pennsylvania State) police officer and friend.

This story was gripping from the very first chapter. I didn't want to stop reading until I knew what happened to Claire, Thomas Jr., Alyssa, and baby David. Would the man they trusted the most really take their lives?

Thank you Randall Silvis, Netgalley, and Sourcebooks Landmark Publishers

This book was a revelation to me! I started off not really enjoying it and before I knew it- I was hooked and couldn't put it down! A book were not all is as it seems! Well written and paced! Good example of how to write crime fiction that is intriguing and addictive! Great Read!

Wow. After a slow start, this thriller had me turning the pages (so to speak... on my kindle) till the very end. If you want an unpredictable, well-crafted story with well developed characters, then this story is for you.
Sergeant Ryan DeMarco heads up the massive search for Huston, his personal friend. DeMarco is conflicted as he doesn't feel that Thomas couldn't have committed the murders. However, as more clues turn up, DeMarco is starting to second guess his gut feelings.

There are more questions than answers till the denouement when all is revealed and it all makes perfect sense.

A literary page-turner about a beloved college professor accused of murdering his entire family, and one small-town cop's dangerous search for answers.

Thomas Huston, a beloved professor and bestselling author, is something of a local hero in the small Pennsylvania college town where he lives and teaches. So when Huston's wife and children are found brutally murdered in their home, the community reacts with shock and anger. Huston has also mysteriously disappeared, and suddenly, the town celebrity is suspect number one.

Sergeant Ryan DeMarco has secrets of his own, but he can't believe that a man he admired, a man he had considered a friend, could be capable of such a crime. Hoping to glean clues about Huston's mind-set, DeMarco delves into the professor's notes on his novel-in-progress. Soon, DeMarco doesn't know who to trust—and the more he uncovers about Huston's secret life, the more treacherous his search becomes.

This book has so many layers, just when I thought I'd figured it out and just about reached the end there would be another twist, I would have never guessed the who did it or the why. Randall Silvis grabs your attention and doesn't let it go.. There is a depth to his characters that I feel like I haven't seen in anything I've read in awhile. This is the first book I've read of Randall Silvis but definitely not the last. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Publishing for a chance to read this ARC.

Wow! Haunting and sad, this book really captures your attention and drags you through what would be most people's worst nightmare. The characters are so likable, and the author makes you care about them. Will keep you reading until it's over....

A gripping novel that screams at you to be read, read in large chunks. Characters that you can relate to and a wonderful plot an exceptional novel throughly enjoyed it highly recommended

Well liked college professor and famous author Thomas Houston had turned to State Trooper Ryan DeMarco for police procedure for one of his novels The two men had become friends over the course of many meetings on this research. Then Thomas’s in laws go to his house and find their daughter and their three grandchildren one only a baby brutally murdered with Thomas no place to be found. Then it comes to light the last time Thomas was seen was walking down the road with a knife in his hand. So Thomas becomes the main suspect in these horrible murders. Ryan is given the investigation and starts the hunt to find Thomas. But Ryan finds it hard to believe Thomas did this. Ryan believed that Thomas cherished his family and had everything a man could ask for. It shows that Thomas did have his own demons: his mother was murdered while being in a hold up in their own store. Then Thomas's father committed suicide shortly thereafter as he couldn’t live without Thomas’s mother. The memories never really leave Thomas. Ryan understood how one night could tear your life apart when he , his wife, and their son had been in a terrible car accident ten years ago. Ryan and his wife survived but not their child. Ryan’s wife blamed Ryan and left him and was never the same nor was Ryan. One of Thomas’s students - Nathan- gave insight to what Thomas’s new novel was about. It was also proven Thomas didn’t murder his family as he was at work on his new novel. Ryan does look into other suspects while looking for Thomas. While on the run from the police Thomas alternated from the horror of what happened to his family to a shocked distance as he tries to track his course as if he were part of his novel. But Thomas is also desperately looking for food and shelter and someone he can trust. Ryan does find Thomas’s notes on his new novel and Ryan thinks he might know where Thomas is headed.
I did enjoy this story a lot even though it was pretty dark. The writing was good. The characters seemed real and you felt like you were there with them. This had a very good plot. Although I will say the story dragged at times but for the most part that wasn’t the case. I didn’t like where Thomas was thinking about the oral sex he would never get again from his wife. Just didn’t really fit him or the story as far as I am concerned. But for the most part I really enjoyed this. I kept coming up with different scenarios and killers but I was wrong so you had to keep reading if only to find out who killed Thomas’s family and why.So i really liked the ins and outs of this story and I recommend.

A quote from the acknowledgements section:

The best fiction is a voyage of feeling, and the writer's job is to generate sentipensante for his readers, those feelings that give rise not to an intellectual kind of knowledge but an emotional knowledge, a deeper connection with what Faulkner called "the old verities and truths of the heart".

I feel this is exactly what Silvis accomplished in Two Days Gone. His writing is visceral and portrays extremely well the emotions of grief and guilt.

Thomas Huston's wife and children have been murdered. He, best-selling writer and college professor is the prime suspect.

Sergeant DeMarco, in charge of tracking Huston, has ghosts of his own. As an acquaintance of the writer, he does not quite believe that Huston is responsible for the crimes.

The investigation will yield truths of the hearts of both men and some of the reader's too. An atmospheric and haunting read.

(Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy!)

This is a book that keeps you guessing, just when you think you have it figured out you find out more information that leads you down a different path. I can usually always figure out movies or books but this one had me guessing. This is a dark book but the ending left me satisfied.

This book is told by Ryan DeMarco the cop trying to find his friend and discover if he was the one who killed his entire family and Thomas Huston the author and professor whose wonderful life has been destroyed in one night. His wife and children brutally murdered. Huston is missing, did he kill his family or is he searching for his familys killer? DeMarco can relate to Huston's sense of despair since he lost his young son in a car accident DeMarco's life has been put on hold. He hasn't done anything to finish the projects he was working on, he is still tracking his grieving wife and is really stuck in place even years later.

Both of these broken men take us on a very dark and brilliantly written path toward answers, though the answers for each may be different they both find their own sense of peace in the end.

Wonderfully done.

As this is the first book read for 2017 I wondered if it would set the standard of what is to come. I certainly hope so! Thomas Huston is a lecturer on Creative Writing as well as an author. He researches his books meticulously and in the course of his research he meets Ryan De Marco who becomes a friend. When Huston's wife and three children are found murdered De Marco .finds it impossible to believe this sensitive thoughtful man is to blame.

The story follows Huston and De Marco's path told from their points of view. The writing is beautiful and the story is totally absorbing. Definitely a five star start to the year. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for getting my reading year off to a great start!

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this great book!

I was unfamiliar with this author's work - this is not just a typical mystery. It's definitely a literary thriller, stuffed with wonderful writing, literary references, and more words that I had to look up in a book in a long time!

However, at the heart of this book is a great thriller. The story is told from two viewpoints - a hardened Pennsylvania State Trooper, Ryan DeMarco, and a bestselling author/professor, Thomas Huston. When Huston's entire family is slain and Huston goes on the run, DeMarco has to face the fact that the man he knows on a friendly basis may be guilty, even though he doesn't really believe it. Both of these men have demons to face so neither are thinking clearly as DeMarco's hunt for Huston and the truth go on.

A great book with that requisite twists and turns - don't miss it!

Two Days Gone
by Randall Silvis

Rating 4.5
Synopsis from Amazon:
The perfect family. The perfect house. The perfect life. All gone now.
What could cause a man, when all the stars of fortune are shining upon him, to suddenly snap and destroy everything he has built? This is the question that haunts Sergeant Ryan DeMarco after the wife and children of beloved college professor and bestselling author Thomas Huston are found slaughtered in their home. Huston himself has disappeared and so is immediately cast as the prime suspect.
DeMarco knows―or thinks he knows―that Huston couldn't have been capable of murdering his family. But if Huston is innocent, why is he on the run? And does the half-finished manuscript he left behind contain clues to the mystery of his family's killer?
A masterful new thriller by acclaimed author Randall Silvis, Two Days Gone is a taut, suspenseful story that will will break your heart as much as it will haunt your dreams.

Two Days Gone is a psychological thriller. This is not my usual genre but the synopsis and the premise intrigued me. The story takes place in a small town in northwestern Pennsylvania, an area that I am familiar with and therefore a comfort zone which, I think, contributed to how I felt about Sargent Ryan DeMarco and Professor Huston. DeMarco is a detective with multiple personal problems, alcohol abuse and a deteriorating career while Dr. Thomas Huston is a university professor and renowned author.

I was totally drawn to Detective DeMarco and Professor Thomas Huston from the start. I got to know the characters slowly with each turning page. What is critical is that both of these men knew each other both professionally and personally. Detective DeMarco knew about crime, motives and he has the investigative and intuitive skills to solve his cases. He was methodical in his methods as he did not jump to conclusions nor did he rule out the obvious. Professor Huston, on the other hand, is a master storyteller of crime, passion and attuned to the fine details of the commission of crime and escape. He researched thoroughly by picking the brain of DeMarco in all aspects of crime and investigation. I guess you could say he learned from the best.

This is indeed a cat and mouse game of hide and seek between these two men. DeMarco is faced with the possibility that his friend, is indeed, guilty of the most heinous crime imaginable and he has to find him and bring him to justice. DeMarco reminded me a little bit of Ironsides, Matlock and Columbo all rolled into one with his intuition, deduction and observation skills. Huston is a mastermind of crime, albeit, in books; but his research with DeMarco was thorough and it has paid off as he knows what to expect AND how to avoid capture. The game has begun… The barebones of the characters of DeMarco and Huston are quickly defined and are gradually developed throughout the story giving each character a multi dimensional and layered feel. Much of the this goes on inside their heads…the author put me inside their brain. I knew what they knew…or at least I thought I did. It was uncanny and admittedly, a bit scary and unnerving. The characters are, by far, the driving force of this book.


The story is fast paced and I found myself quickly turning each page. References to Edgar Allan Poe and Nabokov’s Lolita added literally flair like icing on a cake. I felt I was brought into the story and actively participated by going back and fourth between DeMarco and Huston. I was in a quandary…in a way, rooting for both DeMarco and Huston. When an author can do that to you, it is phenomenal. The story is filled with false leads, twists and turns that it constantly keeps you on guard and guessing. The ending was totally unexpected…

I have received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shaped or influenced my opinion of the book. I would like to thank Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for this opportunity.

Review to post on my blog on 1/9/17

I started this book a bit hesitantly as I'd read it was told from two POVs. I hate books told in alternating POVs so I was blown away when I realized that for a change this aspect didn't annoy the crap out of me.
This book is dark, very dark and the viciousness of the murders were very disturbing, however, the story was so darn captivating that I read it in two sittings. I love a book that can keep me guessing until almost the very end. I wasn't sure of Huston's guilt or innocence and keep swinging in first one direction and then another.
The police detective, DeMarco was as fascinating and engrossing as Huston. There were so many facets in his personality that I'm not sure which character, Huston or DeMarco, was more fascinating. The secondary characters were as well flushed out as the main characters and you find yourself weighing each to see if one of them could have possibly killed the Huston family. There are several twists and turns in this story that keeps you clutching your book for dear life and unable to go to bed until you read just a bit more. Just one more chapter and then one more till you realize you been up all night. At first, I thought this was a standalone novel but I kept seeing it listed as a Ryan Demarco Mystery so I sure hope we see more of this awesome detective or I'm really going to be disappointed.

Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis

Told from the perspective of two men – one on the run and the other searching for him – the book was filled with suspense, mystery and darkness. Ryan DeMarco is the policeman on the case and also a friend, of sorts, to the man on the run - Thomas Huston . The murder of Huston’s entire family has caused him a bit of disassociation and a great deal of mental trauma – it has also created a target for him that he is intent on finding and also made him into a target. DeMarco spends his time trying to figure out the clues that will determine whether or not Huston was the perpetrator or a victim, too.

The novel was long, detailed, and filled with characters, backstories and descriptions. It was a good story but not the best of this genre that I have read. There were a few surprises that made me lift the rating from a three to a four because I do like a book that makes me think or surprises me. My inability to relate to either DeMarco or Huston may have impacted my enjoyment of the book although it was well plotted and crafted.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOK Landmarks for the ARC. This is my honest review.

3.5 Stars

This is a wonderful literary thriller. Silvis shows us the lives of two men: Thomas Huston, a famous author and college professor and Ryan DeMarco, a police detective. Huston is on the run from the police after his entire family is found murdered in their home. DeMarco is in charge of the case, and having suffered the loss of a child himself, finds it difficult to believe that Huston is the murderer. Silvis's characters are richly developed and completely believable. The plot is complicated, with plenty of unexpected twists and the writing is excellent. A very satisfying read.

Thomas Hutson, popular professor and best selling author in a small college town in Pennsylvania seemingly has it all, including a good marriage to a beautiful wife who adores him and three beautiful children. That is until his wife's parents arrive at his house to find their daughter and her children murdered and Thomas on the run. Shocked at the scale of the crime, Sergeant Ryan deMarco must hunt Huston down and bring him in for questioning. However, deMarco has trouble believing that the man he knows and likes so much could be responsible and he starts to delve deeper into Huston's life and movements prior to the murders, hoping to get some clues as to where he has gone.

This was an excellent, suspenseful literary psychological mystery. By interweaving chapters describing the hunt for Huston with Huston's own thoughts while he is on the run, Silvis has drawn a picture of two complex main characters, one who has already been damaged by life's events and one who is struggling to believe all that has happened to him. Huston's life as a writer and teacher is central to the book and deMarco is slowly able to put together some idea of what may have happened with the help of one of Huston's students. This is a hard book to put down as the questions and suspense keep building right up to the final chapter and a very satisfying but unexpected ending.

Book hangover and I just had to finish it!!
This was a well written suspense, psychological page turner which kept me on the edge of my seat all the way until the end.
So many unexpected twists, turns,ups and downs that will all lead you to the same question ??
Who really killed the Hutson family and why!!!


So glad to have this been the last book of 2016. I recommend to all who like a good thriller!!

One last thing....... The Ending, no words!!


My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This started out a little slow for me. The author was trying to portray the writer's mind (Thomas Huston - one of the main characters and a major suspect for the killing of his whole family). That grew a little tiresome for me. But I kept with it and I am glad that I did. Of course, none of us could contemplate what we would do if our wife and three children were killed one night, so I guess the author lingered on the writer's thoughts and behaviors to acknowledge his pain and suffering.

However, about 1/3 of the way through the book, the story started to pick up. There were suspects other than the writer. There was a different life the writer was leading. Ryan DeMarco his friend was on the case and he could not believe that Thomas had done this. What happens throughout the rest of the book will most assuredly perk you up, open your eyes and say WTF? Because the first part of the book leads you to believe its a cut and dry case. Period. The writer went off the deep end and killed his family. Then you begin to read . . . the rest of the story.

I seriously wanted to put this book down at the beginning and I am glad that I stayed with it. I grew to really like this DeMarco character. His relationship with his boss is hilarious. His search for his friend the writer, Thomas, you could just feel the weight on him. However, he did his job and hoped against all hope that it wasn't Thomas. Believe me, getting through the beginning is worth the ending.

Thanks Sourcebook Landmark for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

1 like

The first thing I should say is that it was a hard read based on the format on my Kindle, as it was all over the place format wise. But I’m hopeful that it is only because it was a galley copy and I assume it won’t be like that regularly. As for the story itself, it was ok. I can’t say great because it just didn’t engage me as much as previous books I’ve reviewed but perhaps I’m not being fair due to all the other stuff that kept my mind occupied. It was a pretty dark storyline though, one that hooked me into wanting to read it.

I didn’t really understand why Sergeant DeMarco was so captivated by Huston, the man accused of killing his own family. He seemed to think he knew him far better than someone who only hung out with him a few times should. It was little things like that which bugged me a bit but overall, I thought the storyline was ok, and subplots like DeMarco’s wife and his history were included but didn’t do much to enhance the story. But did it keep me wondering who actually did it? For sure! Did I enjoy reading it? Not really. Did I look forward to finishing it to move on to another story? Yes. So from that, you can reach your own conclusion!

Two Days Gone is the gripping story of Thomas Huston, a popular, respected college professor, well known crime writer and above all loving family man, driven to breaking point. The reader is kept enthralled throughout the novel, wondering whether Thomas Huston's creative strategy of getting into his protagonist's head has caused him to snap and commit an unthinkable act, or whether there is some undisclosed, insidious undercurrent in Thomas' seemingly perfect life. Police sergeant Ryan DeMarco heads the investigation, trying (unsuccessfully, at times) not to allow his own personal issues to influence his actions. An engrossing read. Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the ARC.

The book begins with the discovery that Claire Hutson and her children have all been brutally murdered and her husband is missing. The book then takes turns to tell the investigation side through the eyes of Sergeant Ryan DeMarco and Thomas Hutson as he goes on the run.

There is a connection between the two narrators as Hutson is a well know crime novelist and DeMarco has not only read his books but been a part of research Hutson did for one of his books.

It seems pretty clear cut, that although there seems to be no reason to it, Hutson has murdered his family - otherwise why would he be on the run?

I really liked the two main characters in this book. DeMarco is almost channelling Columbo in his detective style, and I enjoyed it. He uses the writing of Hutson to try and second guess his motives and actions whilst on the run. He also has a little back story of his own running through the book and a complex relationship with his estranged wife.

Meanwhile Hutson gives a glimpse to what he is going through whilst on the run. At one point he becomes one of his characters in order to be able to carry on and get through his ordeal. I found this a really interesting perspective.

Both men are heading twoards Annabel, the muse of Hutson's unpublished latest book. One man knows who she is and the other is trying to find out. This was the part of the book that hooked me in as the plot unravels to reveal whom Annabel is or whom Hutson wants her to be.

Just when I thought this book was done and dusted there were a couple of twists, and not ones I was expecting. At times I found this book terribly sad - so much loss between the pages. However, it also manged to be a really good mystery.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars.

I COULD NOT PUT THIS DOWN!!!!

I started reading this earlier tonight and was immediately hooked. It was so good I found myself reading the story in the parking lot then had to take my tablet into a board meeting so I could keep reading right up until it started. After I drove to Starbucks and ordered an espresso to make sure I could stay up to finish it. Now at 1:30a I finally did and don't regret my exhaustion or burning eyes.

The story is about a murdered family, who did it, why and the detective who has his own struggles impacting his investigative work.. If only it was that simple then I could've put this book down and gotten some decent sleep. The author is so descriptive not just in how he lays out a scene but in the dialogue between the characters. It is also the first time I've ever read a mystery book that drove me to tears as my heart broke for one of the characters when the story began to reveal itself.

You must read this book but start early on your day off or be prepared to lose sleep.

Thomas Huston is a bestselling author who has disappeared after the brutal murder of his entire family. He become suspect number one and Sergeant DeMarco is on the case. He's always admired Thomas and considered him somewhat of a friend so this case not only becomes something personal, it also manages to tap into his own personal issues. Did Thomas kill his entire family? If he did, why? If he didn't, then why did he run?

Most of the book is straight through DeMarco's eyes with glimpses of Huston's point of view here and there. The author really puts you into the nitty gritty mind space of both of these flawed characters. You really begin to feel for both men and as the mystery unravels, you get gut punched in a few places. Atmospherically a beautiful novel. Dark, brooding and emotional. A bit slower paced than I particularly care for but I was invested and anything referencing Poe to make it a literary mystery is top notch in my book!

This story is exactly what it claims to be, a page turner. But I'll go one step further by saying it was unputdownable. Thankfully I started over a holiday weekend because I truly could not stop. I had to know the If's and Why's and What's and sticking with it was easy because the writing is wonderful; lyrical and smooth, well plotted, and with characters that grab a hold of you.

The story is delivered in dual points of view, that of the professor Thomas Huston and the investigator Ryan DeMarco. Randall Silvis is an accomplished author but his is the first by him that' I've read. Yes, I'll be digging into more of his work. He uses prose and imagery that make this story unforgettable. I'm primarily a reader of romance; romantic suspense, romantic comedy, Contemporary and historical romance, the entire gamut. Two days Gone has none of that. But love drives the plot line ~ it's about what we will and won't do for our families , romantic entanglements included.

The dual point of view is so well executed and I became equally invested in both characters. I needed their backstories, I need to know Ryan DeMarco personally, what makes him tick, what hardships and tragedy has befallen him? What compels him to work 20 hour days and fall asleep only by the hand of a tumbler of whiskey? We learn about Huston mostly through DeMarco's investigation but while in his head all I could think was ...well, I wonder if he did it. Is that a man who had a psychotic break? Silvis skillfully skirts the evidence, making this a mystery that was both about character and how none of this tragedy makes sense. Just when you think you have a sense that Huston is a good guy, you'll find yourself second guessing the facts. Maybe he has fooled the world but maybe there's other motivations at play. The story is filled with clues and red herrings and hidden agenda's and at times it's dark. Depending on the situation the brutality can be both subtle and stark.

I don't often recommend books to my husband ( again, I focus on the romance genre) but Two Days Gone is one that I can't wait for him to read. I highly recommend to any readers of the murder/mystery suspense genre. I would love to see this one made into a film which is something I don't say that often. 5 Stars!!

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Readers who take their novels strong and dark will savor Randall Silvia’s skillfully-written latest literary thriller-contemporary crime noir: TWO DAYS GONE with the introduction of his new series and intriguing character (Ryan DeMarco Mystery).

The best part is the connection and relationship between writer and reader. The Author’s Acknowledgement "Writer/Reader relationship" earns a 5 Star +. An added bonus following the book. For every author and reader.

If you’re seduced by the darker, deeper, grittier side of literature, with vivid descriptions, you will be drawn to the grisly, moody, atmospheric, graphic, disturbing, and unsettling tale, with a clever thought-provoking literary twist. A book within a book. Not for the faint hearted.

A bold powerhouse novel and author. The cover, copy and book description: A "bullseye." Right On. Gripping, taut, sensitive, and astute. Even the inner musings of the characters have a poetic power. A haunting character-driven study of two deeply flawed and troubled men protagonists (alternating narratives). Both solitary men in their own way.

DeMarco lived alone and of course Huston did not. Both had complicated relationships with others. DeMarco had no center. He ventured out to relationships from emptiness and to emptiness he returned. One case of tragedy after another, puzzle after morbid puzzle to solve. What if he had made better choices twelve years ago on that rainy night?

Sergeant Ryan DeMarco of the Pennsylvania State Police has seen his share of despair, violence, and malicious acts. From college students to strip clubs, the woods, the streets- there lies a murderer. Hiding. A man, gone mad in the blink of an eye. A man turned into a beast.

A murderer is in their midst. A community. One of their own. Someone they all trusted. a bestselling author. The education of sons and daughters. They had seen his smiling face in local bookstores and watched him with Katie on Good Morning America.

Claire Huston, one of the prettiest women in town is dead with a slash across her throat. Thomas, Jr, twelve, a sixth grader also dead, same way. Sister, Alyssa, fourth grade, also murdered. Little David Ryan Huston, asleep on his back in his crib. A blade thrust in his heart. A second one. A chef’s knife.

The perfect family. The perfect house. The perfect life. All gone. Snap your fingers five times, that’s how long it took. Five steel-edged scrapes across the tender flesh of night. Why was the baby killed differently than the others in the family? Stabbed in the heart twice.

The bodies of the Huston family had been discovered. From family, neighbors, and friends. All stunned and grief-stricken. All eyes turned toward the husband, the father, the accomplished writer, the professor. He had fled.

DeMarco had met Thomas Huston previously. He had read all his books. A reader. He was a friend. He reminded him of a young Jack Kerouac. Thomas Huston was a professor. A writer. He loved his students. He was working on a new book. A trooper was one of the main characters. They had met on several occasions and connected on several levels.

There was Huston’s tragic past. The bungled robbery of the family hardware store. The blast that tore out his mother’s throat. His father’s suicide two weeks later from an overdose. The horrific images still haunted Thomas. The memories overwhelmed him. Now, his own family. Was he the murderer? Or someone else?

DeMarco had his own demons. A ruined marriage, his son’s death, his anger, his aggressive behavior, and the subsequent demotion. His drinking. The accident that took his son’s life. He and Huston had connected.

How could this man have killed his entire family? He loved them. He was a good and decent man. He spoke so fondly of them. He was not a violent man. Did something set him off? Now Huston was out there. He had fled. Maybe he is amnesic?

Ryan begins researching Thomas Huston and his parents, his books, his reviews, articles and his latest novel, The Desperate Summer. A book released three and half years after his parent’s death. Other profiles from Poets and Writers. Interviews. Characters.

It was clear that Thomas Huston, like his character, suffered some very dark moments. But dark enough to cause him to slaughter his own family? The rage and grief. What would have gone through his mind for him to do this to his family?

Huston was a writer, teacher, and student. It was his job to make order out of disorder. To find the meaning in metaphor.

DeMarco is on the hunt, digging for each piece of evidence. The woods, his students, and strip clubs (Whispers). Strippers, hookers, an abortion, dancers, bouncers. Research for his books. Did he have enemies? Were all the associations for his book, or personal?

Was Hutson’s life idyllic as it had seemed? He was the primary suspect and DeMarco took no pleasure in that discovery. Marco could drink himself into a stupor, but he needed a clear head. He had to figure out who murdered this family. He liked this man. He owes him to find out what happened. He goes back and forth with his suspicions.

The more he learns, he wonders if the writer had become the characters in his book? Had the murder and suicide of Huston’s parents loosened something in him or spawned a rage he struggled with, and finally lost?

Who was Annabel? Bonnie? Tex? Were these relationships an integral part of the slaughter at the Huston home? After the murder, Huston had been spotted wandering through the dawn in a daze. Where else would he go? Could he have been cheating on his wife?

DeMarco had to find him. As he digs deeper, with the homicide investigation, time is of the essence. Four people are dead and three of them are children. If Thomas is running because he is innocent, who is the guilty party? DeMarco wanted Hutson to be better than this. Someone he could admire. Had the equation changed? Was it infidelity, madness, lust, weakness? He had to know!

Who could Thomas trust? Who can he turn to for help?

Complex characters. It’s the contradictions in a personality that make for conflict. Did he take the qualities for each of these women to build his characters or was it something else?

In the meantime, we hear from Thomas hiding out. Like some character out of a Flannery O’Conner story. Hiding in a shed. A misfit. Hunted. Hates. Will his life ever get better? The events leading up to the murder. The book is in his head. Is this all a dream? The lines are blurred.

From literary references to Poe, Hemingway, Steinback, Faulkner, MacBeth, Wolfe, O'Connor, Nabokov and Poe’s Annabels, Poe’s poetry. A trinity of troubled men. A kinship. Misery. What parts are made up and what is real?

“To the casual observer, Huston’s life would have appeared blessed. But this was the illusion Huston had created and maintained. A man patient and generous with his students, a picture-perfect wife and family, shirts and chinos always neatly pressed, fame and financial success; a man respected envied; a man with a life each of his students longed for.

Was it all a construction meant to conceal in himself the same dark urges that drove Huston’s characters? His life had seemed a sunlit lagoon, but what currents made the blue water shimmer. A lifetime of struggle and ambition. Parents, taken away by violence. Professional jealousies. The stresses of fame the loss of anonymity. The pressure to live up to the hype, to always be better, brighter, more successful, more worthy of praise.

Was it as simple as that? The façade as thin and brittle as all facades are, shattered? Had Huston snapped? Was he deliriously happy in his insanity? Weightless and free? No shame, no remorse, no obligations, no sin?"


Does the life of novelists show up in fiction, thinly disguised as somebody else’s life? Portions of the journal were totally fiction; others not? Discerning the difference would be the hard part. Were the character’s desires actually Huston’s desires brought to the surface?

Did Thomas dream of these events, or did they actually occur? The knife. How could he go home? All is gone.

Entries:

“If a book is filled with love, it is because the writer longs for love? If the book drips of violence, it is because the writer burns to levy justice, to decimate his enemies? A means of survival. Otherwise, his psyche would unravel. Pitiful or disastrous.

Does a guilty man hide his deeds behind his words and hide his thoughts behind his smile? Others behind other deeds? Doesn’t the pedophile hide behind the Little League team he coaches or the school bus he drives or the Masses he conducts?

And doesn’t the wife beater hide behind the sidewalks he cleans for the old lady next door, and behind his punctuality and efficiency at work? The pornographer, the rapist, the serial killer; .the predatory stock broker, the ambulance chasers, the Medicare-bilking physician—the congressman, the senator, the president—don’t they all cloak their evil behind silk ties and thousand-dollar suits?


The man and woman he is referring to? DeMarco wonders as he is reading-desperate to solve this puzzle. Huston had reached out to him. Will he be so desperate to commit suicide or seek revenge, if, in fact, he was not the killer? He may have nothing to lose.

Between pressure at the station to find Huston and his need to help this man, the author keeps the suspense high, while readers slowly learn what went down that fatal tragic horrific night. His family had been butchered.

Did helping someone with a simple choice in life - set the stage; putting things in motion, for a string of deadly events to unfold, with devastating consequences?

TWO DAYS GONE is like no other book I have ever read and surely it will be at the top of the bestseller list. Silvis grabs you from the first page to the last, with the introduction of this new series, and anxiously awaiting the next!

Ferocious storytelling that makes you think, and feel with an array of emotions. From the dark and ugly pit of the human psyche. Sadness, pain, suffering, tragedy, love, and loss, sprinkled with a heavy literary flair. The relationship and narrative between the two men sealed the book. Both equally strong and powerful. The relationship between writer and reader, priceless.

Other readers have asked me about a similar author or book to compare. I can honestly say, this work is unique. In regards to the crime thriller genre, the one which comes to mind is possibly Paul Cleave (New Zealand), Of course, his Trust No One is a book within a book, as well. Cleave's crime writing is also gritty and dark, with twisted humor, and his cop leads, tend to become emotionally connected. Fans of David Bell and Dennis Lehane will also enjoy. With Silvis, you receive the crime + the literary fiction in one package, a rare find.

"The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past." -William Faulkner

This one will stay with you. Chilling. A murder mystery, both absorbing and entertaining, from an experienced author drawing from his own experience as a writer and academic.

Connecting with readers and writers: My favorite part: (Acknowledgements) this is only a small portion:

“A writer’s job is to love his readers and to want nothing more than to pilot them from experience to experience, emotion to emotion. The best fiction is a voyage of feeling, and the writer’s job is to generate sentipensante for his readers, those feelings that give rise, not to an intellectual kind of knowledge but an emotional knowledge, a deeper connection with what Faulkner called “the old verities and truths of the heart.” (love William Faulkner: Nobel Prize Speech Stockholm, Sweden 12/10/50).

“Another way of looking at this relationship between writer and readers is through its intimacy; the reader comes, to a story wanting to be wooed, desirous of seduction. If the writer’s inducements are successful, the voice sufficiently tempting, the promises sufficiently alluring, the reader gives herself over to the story not for minutes but hours, and for days at a time, melding her own imagination with the writer’s while falling into step with the characters, hoping for the best, giving them her heart. What greater gift can a writer receive than this?


A special thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Also purchased the audiobook, performed by Graham Winton; currently listening. (great)

"Next time someone asks you how you’re feeling, dig a little deeper, find that emotion, that story behind it."

JDCMustReadBooks

Thank You NegGalley!

I finished this book in a couple of days - and really did enjoy it.
What makes someone snap? What causes to give up an destroy everything you have?

The plot was enough to keep me totally interested in the book. It was full of possibilities, was fast paced and had a great cast of characters.
Some scenes are very disturbing, but it works in the story.

What could have been a been there/read that story, was really well written and did not disappoint. I found I kept reading until the end because I genuinely wanted to know who and why.

I was tentative at first reading this novel, because I have not heard of the author or novel on any blogs or youtube channels. I was pleasantly surprised by the author's devotion to the writing and novel itself. The scenery, individuals, and every circumstance the main characters where in were described in beautifully written descriptions that made the reader feel as if they were in the novel right beside the characters. One of the drawback to the writing though was the tendency to use uncommon words that needed to be looked up to understand the content of the novel. This language was unnecessary and took away from the plot and descriptions in the novel.

Overall, I really enjoyed this thriller. Usually thrillers turn out to be overly hyped or not really all that thrilling, but this novel kept me turning the page trying to figure out what would happen next (I could not even fathom a guess). It was really suspenseful and enjoyable. I loved the backstory on the detective, and the constant hints and clues into the lives of the two main characters. The momentum from these hints kept me reading and the shift between the detective and professor created interesting viewpoints. Speaking of viewpoints, the professor envisioning his life as if he was a character in a novel was brilliant. I have not seen that perspective or take on a novel and loved it.

I would like to thank NetGalled, Randall Silvis, and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I would not have picked up this novel otherwise, and would have missed out on an amazing thriller that I loved more than the overhyped The Girl on the Train novel.

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book is about the murder of Claire Huston and her three children: Thomas Jr, Alyssa, and little David Ryan. The small town is shocked and grieving, and Detective Ryan DeMarco is determined to find out what happened to the family. Ryan doesn’t believe his new friend Thomas, Claire’s husband and the children’s father, could really be responsible, but since he disappeared from the house the same night as the murders it’s hard not to consider him as a suspect. Thomas was a local college professor and a best-selling author, the pride of the local community and by all appearances a committed husband and father and part of a happy family. But as Ryan starts digging into the events that led up to the tragic event, he realizes there was darkness in Thomas’s life that no one knew about. And unless Ryan can find Thomas quickly, there is a chance that more will die.
Overall I really liked this book. The book is told through two alternating points of view, Thomas and Ryan’s. I think the author did a great job of creating a well layered story line and an intriguing mystery. The story itself was so very tragic, even two days later I feel bad for everyone involved and I am still struck with sadness over the pain that these characters endured. The ending overall was very fitting for the story, just very sad. The only part that felt a little off to me was the additional party’s involvement at the end (I can’t really be more specific without giving away parts of the end). That part still doesn’t feel like it fit with the rest of the story line for me personally. Other than that though I really liked this book and I would recommend it, especially for anyone who likes a good thriller/suspense.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

My thoughts: Every once in a while Netgalley has some "Read Now" options that catch my eye - well, this one certainly did and I'm so glad that I took a chance on it. This one kept me hooked from start to finish - though not necessarily in the way you might think!

This is a twisted, crazy book! It's dark and strange - definitely one of the crazier psychological thrillers I've read in a while, which is a good thing, because it was so very different and is definitely set apart from all the others. It almost comes across as if two writers wrote it at times...though that's not the case. You have two different points of view from time to time, and let me tell you, when Huston is telling us the story - it gets a little nuts! But, I loved it! I loved the writer's perspective, getting inside his head and all the literary references. Which was so very different from DeMarco's chapters - so very to the point and on target, very straight-forward. I think this was my favorite part of the story - the unlikely pairing of these two characters telling the story - it's a bit disjointed at times, but I think it's brilliant!

Both men are flawed, troubled, emotionally damaged men. They have their demons, particulary DeMarco, and that makes them so very real and believable. The despair Huston feels is palpable, and DeMarco just can't quite believe his friend would be guilty of such a savage act, but nevertheless demands to be put in charge of the case. This is tough for DeMarco, but it shows his strength and determination.

There are quite a few twists and turns in this book and some that left me quite speechless. I was desperately trying to figure out just what happened to Huston's family - was he or was he not involved in their deaths - and the answer is definitely not what I was expecting. Bravo Mr. Silvas!!! And on top of that, to find out that this is not the last we have seen of Ryan DeMarco - I'm one very happy reader :)

Two Days Gone

This is a dark, fascinating mystery thriller that won't fail to entertain and draw the reader on. There are lots of layers and twists in this fast paced thriller, you won't fail to be entertained.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book with thanks to Netgalley and the publisher. 4*

Another thriller, this one focuses on a grizzled, life-beaten, middle-aged detective in a small college town on Lake Erie. A famous best-selling author, who happens to be a writing professor as well, is missing while his wife and three young children are found butchered to death in their home. Nope, not a book for the faint-hearted. The story plays out through both men's eyes. Tom Huston, the author, plays 'catch me if you can' in the woods, attempting to get to get food, shelter, and some assistance as we see his mind devolve. Detective Ryan, who had a past friendly relationship with Huston, follows every lead, realizing as he pieces the story together, that perhaps the police have the wrong killer. Ryan's past with his wife, the death of his son, his time on the vice squad all influence his actions. Author Silvis uses his own prodigious knowledge of writing skill and poetry to imbibe this book with legitimacy as well as beautiful writing. It is a solid page-turner, with some great twists throughout. My only complaint is the following: why, oh why, must we continue to be bombarded with all-male stories, continuing the myth of strong silent males who do all the saving, and weak females who are seen as good only for office assistants, mothers, or sex workers? Seriously? It is 2017 - I think we can move beyond the stereotypes. Just my two cents:)

Terrific thriller with intricate and complex characters. Very well written. I loved the main character Demarcos. And with enough plot twists to keep you guessing. Will definitely recommend to a friend!

Started out strong but my interest waned by the end.

This book kept me guessing from beginning to start and the plot reveal was done really well. I really enjoyed this book and will recommend it gladly!

Thanks to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark publishing, and author RandySilas for the ARC.
I enjoyed this book, I love the story and it kept me guessing through most of it,Was he main suspect acting out his storyline? Was he a multiple personality? My until further in did I think maybe he wasn't the killer. A good twist in the story and then again in the end.
My only reservation with this book was that, for me, it was to crass..
I think a lot if the "man talk" was just uncalled for and we could have seen the commarodery between male characters in a different way.
Also, I've never known a female parent of a decreased child that would go off and become so loose. Just saying...
But all in all I might pick up the rest of Demarco' s cases, if I can get past all he crassness.

Great read! The author tells a great story. I look forward to reading more from this same author.

Do not start this book if you have to work the next day. It pulls you in and does not let go. Highly recommended.

This book sucks you in from the very beginning and while the whole book was a good read, it is also perversely dark and very depressing. The writing was very well done and even though I like how everything was nicely wrapped up at the end, I wasn't sad to say goodbye to this story.

“Two Days Gone” by Randall Silvis is a hauntingly beautiful novel.

Summary:-Thomas Huston, a beloved professor and bestselling author, is something of a local hero in the small Pennsylvania college town where he lives and teaches. So when Huston's wife and children are found brutally murdered in their home, the community reacts with shock and anger. Huston has also mysteriously disappeared, and suddenly, the town celebrity is suspect number one.

Sergeant Ryan DeMarco has secrets of his own, but he can't believe that a man he admired, a man he had considered a friend, could be capable of such a crime. Hoping to glean clues about Huston's mind-set, DeMarco delves into the professor's notes on his novel-in-progress. Soon, DeMarco doesn't know who to trust—and the more he uncovers about Huston's secret life, the more treacherous his search becomes.

My thoughts:- A wonderful work of art. Randall Silvis has written it so well. He has deftly portrayed how a writer’s mind works. As if he is a character himself, feeling whatever he feels, doing whatever he does and thinks.

"Thomas Huston, a beloved college professor and bestselling author, and Ryan DeMarco, a police sergeant whose troubled personal life has ravaged his career. on the surface, Huston and DeMarco could hardly be more different...and the eventsthat drew them together could hardly be more chilling."
I have never read a book like this before. Superb characterization of Thomas Huston and Sergeant DeMarco. The author has poured out a writer’s psychology through Huston’s character.

Drawbacks and ratings:- The most important drawback I felt that the monotony of Huston’s character when he was in a stupor after the accident happened in his house. His movement were sloth to make me feel bored. However what can I expect from a man who just had to kill his own baby? May be I am being insensitive towards him.

And one more mistake I found out that in one place it has been printed that “Riders to the Sea” was written by William Synge. It should be John Millington Synge. I hope that during the book’s publication it has been checked.

Overall not a bad experience. 4stars granted.

Thanksgiving:- Thank to the author and the publisher for the ARC I received.