Bloggin' 'bout Books: 07/11/17

2026 Literary Escapes Challenge

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International:

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Reichs' Standalone Thriller Twisty and Compelling

7:51 PM

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Need no one. Feel nothing.

That's the mantra Sunday "Sunnie" Night has lived by ever since her forced retirement from the Charleston Police Department. Living on isolated Goat Island, she keeps her distance even from her few neighbors. It's only when her foster father, Perry "Beau" Beaumonde, asks a favor that Sunnie even contemplates breaking her strict code of not caring about anyone but herself. A retired cop, Beau urges Sunnie to at least meet with a wealthy grandmother who's willing to pay big for information about her 15-year-old granddaughter, who's been missing ever since the Hebrew school bombing that killed her mother and brother.

Sunnie can't help but identify with the teenage victim, who's described as moody, resentful, and unhappy. Those are emotions with which Sunnie is all too familiar. The fact that Stella Bright may have been kidnapped by members of a dangerous cult also piques Sunnie's interest. Having narrowly escaped that life herself, she knows something about what Stella may be facing.

Determined to find out what happened to the girl, Sunnie enlists the help of her twin brother, Gus. Together, they chase leads across the country, risking their own lives to solve an increasingly puzzling mystery. With danger lurking around every corner, will the two Nights survive their perilous assignment?

Two Nights, a standalone thriller by Kathy Reichs, author of the popular Temperance Brennan series (on which the t.v. series Bones is based), is a fast-paced, exciting story. With lots of action and plenty of twists, it's a difficult-to-put-down page turner. Sunnie is Tempe's opposite; she's tough, unyielding, and flinty. Although she's not as warm or funny as Tempe (a character I happen to adore), Sunnie's a sympathetic character who's easy to like and admire. While Two Nights didn't capture me as much as Reichs' other books have, I still enjoyed this engrossing mystery.

(Readalikes: Um, nothing specific is coming to mind. You?)

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