This is a ‘stand-alone’ book but one that would easily lend itself to become a series. If that was the case, I would hope that the ‘demons’ Sunnie has aren’t overplayed. It is great to have background and understanding of why the main protagonist behaves as she does, her character and relationships. As a reader, I want them and understand the need for them. But there also needs to be a way forward whether that is to overcome, or accept and be able to live with, them. It would be interesting to see how that would be handled. I would welcome more from Kathy Reichs should she decide to write more.

Review
If it were possible I would have given this 3.5 stars.
Kathy Reichs, well know for her Tempe Brennen series, branches away from the world of forensics and FBI investigations into the world of private investigation with her new book Two Nights. This may not be loved by all those who are Kath Reichs Tempe followers but I very much enjoyed it, it is well written as you would expect from Kathy Reichs, it has pace, the characters are great and it's a terrific read.

As you guys know, I am a bit of a fan of Kathy Reichs. And it's been a while since I read a good thriller lately, so when I heard that her latest was a standalone, I got excited and a little nervous. So, I requested madly on NetGalley and started trying to power-read it once I finished Invasion of the Tearling when I knew I was going to an event where Kathy Reichs was at (want to read my write-up? TA-DAH!!!).

Well, I finished this last week (just before my blog break, FYI) and I've had time to thing about my thoughts and feels on this. But before I go head-first, let's talk about that this is about.

Sunday Night is a woman with scars - both physical and psychological - and a woman who is running from her past, burying secrets and trying to build a life as far removed from her childhood as possible.

But someone comes to her for a job, needing a private investigator, Sunnie feels like she has to take it. A girl is missing and Sunnie is drawn to this child. And the child vanished mere moments after a bomb went off outside a Jewish school, killing her mother and brother. Is the girl dead, snatched or has something more terrifying and disturbing happened?

As Sunnie hunts down the truth, her past begins to blur with her present and soon, one has wonder how connected Sunnie and this child is...

Ok, now it's time to talk about this. If I am honest, it's not the best Kathy Reichs I've read, but it's solid. It's fast-paced, full of action, drama and the twists kept me on my toes. All very Kathy Reichs. I can see this working as a mini TV drama (three episodes, maybe, to keep the plot and action tight) and I can see this being the start of a new series (which I would be on board with).

However - yes, there is a however. Like I said, this isn't my fave Kathy Reichs. There are things that people won't warm to. For a start, Sunday Night isn't Temperance Brennan. People are going to compare - I did for a first few pages. This is natural. But, unlike Tempe who is warm and relatable, Sunnie is cold and very prickly. It takes time to warm to her as a character. I liked characters like this but I know some of you won't - plus, with Sunnie not apologising for her coldness, some of you won't like her at all.

While I liked the pacing and the twists, there's something about the story that doesn't right with me. I like the ideas and theories Kathy throws at us - cults, home-grown terrorism, zealots, etc - but there were times I did feel a little overwhelmed. It's as if Kathy was throwing a lot of ideas at the wall and seeing what would stick. It felt messy at times.

Though there were moments that I felt disjoined from the book, I did like it. Maybe not as much compared to other Kathy Reichs's novels but it's refreshing to see an author try and write new characters and ideas outside their series. And I do think Two Nights would make a good TV adaption and is a good solid start to a series, if Kathy wants to return to Sunday Night and her complex backstory. If for nothing else, I want to spend more time with Sunday's brother, August...

Such a different character and departure from her series about Brennan here, but  well worth reading.

Reichs has created a new, tortured (the female PI default) character called Sunday Night, who has a twin August Night. Now these are very unusual twins in that not just their sex is different - one male, one female - but due to a genetic hiccup, August is black and very short - compared to Sunday anyway. Their father was probably black it is hinted at in the book.  And they were born into a cult that committed mass suicide just after they escaped together. Their difference in characters but twin closeness and ability to know the other's thoughts and intentions, enable them to work together in a way that partners can only envy.

I enjoyed this new character and the story-telling was up to Reich's normal standard so what's not to like? Complex plot and excellent story-telling mean a new series to follow.

I have never read any books by Kathy Reichs so this was my first experience! This is a fast based thriller and I really enjoyed it. Sunnie is hired to find a young girl missing after the girls family is killed in a bomb explosion. As Sunnie gets more drawn in, what is the truth, does the girl want to be found and are there darker forces at work. Brilliant loved the book and would really recommend.

Excellent read as always. ..............................

Having read several Kathy Reichs books, I was looking forward to this change of direction for her. The plot seemed promising, an ex military, ex policewoman is persuaded to look into a bombing in which four people are killed and a young girl goes missing. I have to admit that the name of the main character, Sunday Night, really grated on me which wasn't the best start. Although the central plot was interesting enough to keep me reading I found the style of writing irritating. Sunday (Sunnie) has a troubled past which is revealed slowly through flash backs. This has made her hard and uncompromising and I get that but the tough girl persona gets very wearing when it transfers into constant smart ass, bitchy comments. I also found the way she asks 20 questions, one after the other, in her head annoying. This is obviously a favourite ploy of Reichs but for some reason I could ignore it in the Bones novels, maybe because I liked the main character.
This is a decent thriller but if I wouldn't recommend it over other Reich's novels.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this copy.

I really enjoyed this book - I am a huge fan of the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs and I love the TV show Bones too, so was really looking forward to reading about this new character, Sunday "Sunnie" Night. I have to say I love her name!

Sunnie is a bit of a recluse living on a small island by herself. She is ex-military and an ex-cop with a pretty nasty background and unhappy childhood too. Her foster father feels she needs something is bring her back to land of the living as it were and encourages her to take up a private investigator job finding out what happened to a family caught in a bombing a year ago. The mother and son died, but the daughter disappeared, believed to be kidnapped by the bombers.

At first there is no information to be found, but Sunnie is not one to give up and digs and digs, until she begins to get close and unfortunately has people trying to kill her in the process. She enlists the help of her twin brother August and together they hatch a plan. Things soon take a turn when the bombers are revealed and they hand over some very interesting information.

But that is not the end of it by far. Sunnie may have found the culprits and may have been paid for them by the grandmother, but she has to find out what is really going on with this group of people and how the granddaughter is involved. The police are helpful in their ways and with her instincts and evidence, the plot is foiled!

I really liked Sunnie - she was determined and was not one to give up easily on what she believed was the right thing to do. Together with Gus I felt they made a great team and would love to see more of them.

I wasn't sure when I started this book but as I got into it I loved it - a great new character - look forward very much to the next. A great twist to the story at the end. would highly recommend . 5 stars

Different to Reichs' other series but just as enjoyable. Sunday Night ex armed forces, ex cop, lives alone on a small island and that's how she wants it to stay. When Sunday is employed to search for a missing girl whose mother and brother were killed in a terrorist attack she has no clue that it is going to open a whole heap of memories.

Action packed and fast paced this could be the start of a great new series of books with an unlikely but likeable heroine

I have always been a fan of Kathy Reichs. D her TemperNce Brennan books so was interested to see that a new character had been invented. I have not been disappointed, in fact I could not put this book down and read it in 2 days straight. Well written and cannot wait to read more. Thoroughly recommended.

I have been reading Kathy Reichs books for years and was really excited that she had written a new book away from the Bones series and Boy she did not disappoint!

This book was a page turner from the get go. It has crime, suspense, bit of action and of course a badass heroine that takes no prisoners!

You meet a young female who has seen and done it all and has lived to fight another day, she gets embroiled in looking for a young woman who has been kidnapped by a cult and it's a race against time to find her as well as stopping the bad guys.

It touches on subjects that are hard hitting and Reichs style of writing just grips you and doesn't let you go until you have finished the book.

This is a great new character from Kathy and I look forward to seeing her develop Sunday in the books to come.

Was looking forward to reading something different from Kathy Reichs and I wasn't disappointed. Sunday Night is an interesting new character and although this is billed as a standalone thriller, I can see a series coming along!
The back story was quite intriguing and I feel there is more to come of this. The character is quite similar to Tempe Brennan in that she is a highly intelligent woman but there is a bit more vulnerability there. Any fan of Kathy Reichs' work will enjoy this book.

This standalone thriller is very different to my previous experience of Kathy Reichs’ writing. A few years back, having loved the Bones TV series, I read Déjà Dead, the first of the Temperance Brennan books. I have to admit I struggled with Déjà Dead and it kind of put me off persevering with the literary series. But when I heard Ms Reichs has written a standalone crime thriller that wasn’t based around a forensic anthropologist, I thought I would give her writing another try.

Two Nights involves a year old crime – the bombing of a Jewish Girls school when a young girl vanishes without a trace. The young girl’s grandmother Opaline (fabulous name) calls in Sunday Night to try and find the people responsible for the bombing in hope that she’ll locate her missing granddaughter Stella. Throughout the book I was constantly asking myself (and my kindle) what happened to Stella? Where is she?!?!

Now Sunday or Sunnie as she calls herself – I thought she was a brilliant character. For starters, the name – love it!! Kind of a lighter version of the dark Wednesday Addams! Sunnie knows her stuff, much more than a regular PI. She knows off the top of her head, what gun laws each US state has, how to reverse search a phone number…

Sunnie is a twin and you get to meet her twin in the story – I love the banter and the almost psychic thoughts between the two of them! It’s great character pairing!

This book has restored my interest in Kathy Reichs’ writing – I will definitely be considering going back to Brennan and the team! I know this is meant to be a standalone novel but I think Sunnie is a character I’d like to see more of!

Many thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone, William Heinemann
and Netgalley for my e-copy of Two Nights.

I was hoping for something a bit different from Kathy's new series. And in places, I got it, but other than not cutting up bodies, Sunny and Tempe came across too similar to me. I'm also enjoying her relatively terse writing style less than I used to, but the plot was still good enough to keep me involved.

When I sat down to read this book I thought I knew what sort of story I'd be reading as I've read most of Kathy Reichs other novels. It became obvious almost from the start that this book is totally different and is a complete change of style for her. Centred round the character of Sunday (Sunny) Night a young woman who is a skilled military tactician who has become almost a recluse after losing her job in the police, she is tempted (by her mentor and surrogate father figure, Beau) into looking into the disappearance of a young girl who hasn't been seen since a bombing at a Jewish school. As the story progresses and Sunny makes progress and is joined in the search by her brother, Gus, we gradually learn more about her and her background through flashbacks, culminating with the whole picture being unfurled towards the end of the book. The main story, that of the young girl who was kidnapped, is fast paced and keeps the reader wanting to read on until the conclusion. Although I enjoyed this book, because of the flashbacks I did find it confusing at times, and I also found it rather unrealistic in places. If it's one of a series I'll definitely read the next one as I think now the scene has been set and the character introduced Sunny will be a good character to follow.

A new protagonist from master storyteller, Kathy Reichs. A real page turner.
Recommended.
For full review, please follow tumblr link

Thanks to Net Galley & Random House UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
Sunday Night - retired from the police force with an injury to her eye., psychological scars from her past , she is seeking justice for a bombing that killed innocent people and a young girl is missing. Is the girl still alive?
Sunday is hired to find those responsible for the bombing & the missing girl. Her brother Gus helps her. The story is action packed rather than a thriller.
I didn't like Sunnie and I didn't really enjoy the book.

First Kathy Reichs book I've read, and really enjoyed it. Interesting lead character with just the right amount of baggage to make for an interesting back story, without seeming too contrived and forced. Well paced plot, and some interesting little twists that are enough to make me look at her back catalogue.