Two Nights: A Novel

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

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