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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
I just didn't like this book. I think it was mostly the writing style that I didn't care for. I wasn't crazy about any of the characters either. I'm hoping this is not the start of a series. I'd much rather see more books in the Bones series.
I have read most of Kathy Reich's books. I found this stand-alone book featuring a new character, Sunday "Sunnie" Night. (Yes, that is her name.)
I did like the book and would like to read more books with this character. She is a flawed, scarred and broken ex-cop and ex-Marine. She is a recluse on a remote island in South Carolina, complete with tin shack, goats and pet squirrel. (Weird.) Her foster dad offers a job to break her out of her cycle of self isolation and depression.
I wanted to learn more about the character and her motivations. You get snippets in flashbacks, but never learn the full story until (literally) the last page. I want to have more books about this character because I read this whole book...not really caring about her...and, now, at the end, I understand her motivations. I wish that more of her backstory had been revealed earlier in the storyline, so that I could have had more empathy for her character.
This book wants to be a comedy but never quite makes it. Storyline is very dark. She is sarcastic but never makes it to the comedy level of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone. Felt like her, but her much darker past and psychological trauma hold her character back from becoming funny or likable. The reader feels like they are missing out on knowing why Sunnie is made this way. By not revealing her troubled past sooner, Sunnie is just made as an unlikable and mean person...you want to like her because she is trying to save the girl.
At the end, Sunnie is contemplating why someone becomes a threat to society. Three people go through the same type of childhood trauma with three different outcomes. One scarred but persevering; one traumatized but hiding in a facade; and one broken and rebuilt as a terrorist. Maybe this is why I liked the book. Deep questions about how circumstances shape and mold each person. My hope is that Sunnie will live to see another book and story and help more people.
On a personal note, I liked that the story involved multiple locations, including the Kentucky Derby. Fun to include details about a family tradition.
I did like the book and would like to read more books with this character. She is a flawed, scarred and broken ex-cop and ex-Marine. She is a recluse on a remote island in South Carolina, complete with tin shack, goats and pet squirrel. (Weird.) Her foster dad offers a job to break her out of her cycle of self isolation and depression.
I wanted to learn more about the character and her motivations. You get snippets in flashbacks, but never learn the full story until (literally) the last page. I want to have more books about this character because I read this whole book...not really caring about her...and, now, at the end, I understand her motivations. I wish that more of her backstory had been revealed earlier in the storyline, so that I could have had more empathy for her character.
This book wants to be a comedy but never quite makes it. Storyline is very dark. She is sarcastic but never makes it to the comedy level of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone. Felt like her, but her much darker past and psychological trauma hold her character back from becoming funny or likable. The reader feels like they are missing out on knowing why Sunnie is made this way. By not revealing her troubled past sooner, Sunnie is just made as an unlikable and mean person...you want to like her because she is trying to save the girl.
At the end, Sunnie is contemplating why someone becomes a threat to society. Three people go through the same type of childhood trauma with three different outcomes. One scarred but persevering; one traumatized but hiding in a facade; and one broken and rebuilt as a terrorist. Maybe this is why I liked the book. Deep questions about how circumstances shape and mold each person. My hope is that Sunnie will live to see another book and story and help more people.
On a personal note, I liked that the story involved multiple locations, including the Kentucky Derby. Fun to include details about a family tradition.
Listened to the audio book; the last chapters saved this from being a 2 star review.
Sunday Night is ex-military and an ex-cop, with that she is experienced and damaged inside and out. She finds herself living on an island with her pet squirrel. When an older wealthy woman requests her to look into the case of her missing granddaughter she is intrigued.
While investigating she finds herself hunted by those who were involved. This is the part that gets a little tricky. Some of the plot was a little confusing and there is supposedly an element of a cult. One of the women she is hunting eventually becomes a informant.
I feel the main character Sunday was not developed enough and some of her "demons" were just hinted at but since this seems to be a series I guess that makes sense. I just wanted a little more development. I didn't get a sense of what she looked like but they talked about her twin that showed up to help her, looking quite the opposite from her and it made me more confused.
Good action, ok characters made it just an ok book for me.
I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
While investigating she finds herself hunted by those who were involved. This is the part that gets a little tricky. Some of the plot was a little confusing and there is supposedly an element of a cult. One of the women she is hunting eventually becomes a informant.
I feel the main character Sunday was not developed enough and some of her "demons" were just hinted at but since this seems to be a series I guess that makes sense. I just wanted a little more development. I didn't get a sense of what she looked like but they talked about her twin that showed up to help her, looking quite the opposite from her and it made me more confused.
Good action, ok characters made it just an ok book for me.
I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
2...The first 29 chapters...I couldn't wait for the book to be over!!!! The last couple chapters were pretty fast paced BUT not good enough!!! A really good story but it felt like it dragged for me! Found myself staring at the clock hoping for it to end! Just not my cup of tea, I guess!
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5 stars
I have been reading the Temperance Brennan novels since their first release nearly 20 years ago and was keen to read this new stand-alone novel from Kathy Reichs. Unfortunately it didn’t hit the mark for me – I just couldn’t engage with her new protagonist, Sunday “Sunnie” Night. I found her to be a little bit too stereotypical of the failed armed forces/police officer, emotionally/physically wounded tough guy/gal. So why else didn’t this book work for me?
1. The name – when I first saw the name Sunday “Sunnie” Night I cringed as the last time a character’s name made me want to throw a book at a wall was John Katzenbach’s overuse of the irritating “Andy Candy” in The Dead Student. Fortunately the use of “Sunnie Night” was limited throughout the novel and only mildly irritated me.
2. The way Sunday and Gus’s backstory was developed – it took nearly the entire book to complete. I must admit by about 70% through the book I was just skimming those parts. Maybe had the backstory been completed earlier I may have felt differently towards Sunday.
3. Too many short sentences in key parts of the novel. It made these parts “choppy” and detracted from the flow of the chapter.
What I did enjoy was that it was a fast paced, action packed detective story with little dependence on forensics or technology to solve the crime. (No offence to the Temperance Brennan series as the use of forensics in those novels is well balanced and naturally given the lead character, an integral part of the story.) Where technology was used, it was well explained and limited mainly to simple mobile phones and laptops.
I can see a future for this as a series in its own right and there is plenty of potential for Sunday to develop into a more rounded out character and maybe gain the same following that Temperance Brennan enjoys both in print and on screen.
I must admit I felt the same way about J.K. Rowling/Robert Galbraith’s first Cormoran Strike novel and have since enjoyed the second and third novels in that series. I would give Sunday Night another chance.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in return for a fair and honest review.
Two Nights is a suspense novel centered around Sunday "Sunnie" Night, a troubled woman with a horrific past that she does her best to never remember. She is yanked out of her recluse lifestyle by a case that tugs at her childhood memories, and once she begins investigating she refuses to stop until she has gotten to the bottom of the whole mess, even if it sparks recollections she would rather forget. While the story is not bad, I couldn't really get attached to any of the characters. Additionally, it was lacking in the science tidbits that I expect and enjoy in Kathy Reichs books. If there is a sequel I will probably read it, but will not be waiting at the edge of my seat for it to be released.