Two Nights
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs steps beyond her classic Temperance Brennan series in a new standalone thriller—featuring a smart, tough, talented heroine whose thirst for justice stems from her own dark past. Meet Sunday Night, a woman with physical and psychological scars, and a killer instinct. . . . Sunnie has spent years running from her past, burying secrets and building a life in which she needs no one and feels nothing. But a girl has gone missing, lost in the chaos of a bomb explosion, and the family needs Sunnie’s help. Is the girl dead? Did someone take her? If she is out there, why doesn’t she want to be found? It’s time for Sunnie to face her own demons—because they just might lead her to the truth about what really happened all those years ago. Praise for Kathy Reichs “I love Kathy Reichs—always scary, always suspenseful, and I always learn something.”—Lee Child “Kathy Reichs continues to be one of the most distinctive and talented writers in the genre. Her legion of readers worldwide will agree with me when I declare that the more books she writes, the more enthusiastic fans she’ll garner.”—Sandra Brown “Nobody does forensics thrillers like Kathy Reichs. She’s the real deal.”—David Baldacci “Kathy Reichs writes smart—no, make that brilliant—mysteries.”—James Patterson “Reichs, a forensic anthropologist, makes her crime novels intriguingly realistic.”—Entertainment Weekly
I discovered Kathy Reichs years ago in kind of a backwards way; I fell in love with a unique and intriguing television show. I’m sure I don’t even have to mention the name because you already know which one I’m referring to; right here let’s take a moment to mourn the fact this amazing show just ended this month after airing nearly 250 episodes for an remarkable 12 seasons. Why is it important to talk about a TV Show named Bones? This was loosely based on the life and writings of our esteemed author. An inspiring woman whose resume includes being a forensic anthropologist on top of being an award winning novelist. She has written nearly 20 books in her Temperance Brennan series, 6 novellas, and a 6 book YA series. Two Nights is her first stand-alone novel.
At this point you should want to buy her book just based on her impressive reputation and resume. Anyone with that kind of background deserves a shot to see what else she can bring to the table. Now let me tell you why you should pick this book up based on its own merits.
In typical Reichs style her writing is extremely descriptive to the point the chapters fly by creating movie quality images in your mind. The way she sets scenes and describes the characters, not just how they look but their mannerisms and body language, you can’t help but feel like you’re watching this story instead of reading it. It’s even possible to hear the voices of her characters because of how vividly she has created them. This novel will fly by as you lose yourself in the world and people Reichs has created; it’s so good that if left to your own devices you could easily finish this off within a few hours as you become glued to finding out the success or failure of Sunnie’s mission to save a missing girl.
Sunnie Night is this loner, ex-cop, ex-marine, all around bad-ass. She also feels like a perpetual failure who can’t measure up so she has rage issues and less than idyllic mental health making those who know her perpetually worry where on the spectrum of sanity she sits. All of this makes her a very complex and intriguing character because she is someone who desperately needs to be saved from herself but doesn’t feel deserving of it. The only thing she can do is turn around and hopefully save someone else, almost as if she’s balancing out some kind of karmic scale. She has this great sense of humor embedded with so much snarky sarcasm and wit she’ll have you laughing to the point you forget this is a mystery instead of a comedy at times.
Reich’s brought out her trademark in this story line filling her plot and character’s actions/motivations with plenty of trepidation, wit, cryptic clues and a surprising amount of warmth in that you will feel your heart strings tug for Sunnie. You will ride in the cart alongside her for sure in this emotional rollercoaster that still maintained an air of realism. There’s bombs, murder, missing kids, religion gone awry, cult-like leaders, it’s got everything you could ask for in a thrilling, action packed novel.
Even her title is meaningful to the story which you will discover along the way.
Since this is my 200th review of 2017 it was important to me that I find a truly worthy book to hold that place, one I can recommend wholeheartedly and I do so with this one.
Bones may have ended this month but Kathy Reichs proves she has staying power beyond the Fox Network and her beloved character Temperance Brennan. Here’s hoping Sunnie Night is here to stay as part of Reichs literary resume and will continue to grace our shelves in the years to come. Maybe if we’re really lucky Brennan and Night will cross paths….
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for allowing me to review this book.
*synopsis and pic from netgalley.com