I am an avid fan of Kathy Reichs and her Temperance Brennan series, so I was very pleased to have been given the opportunity to review Two Nights. Whilst I did like it, I unfortunately didn't love it.
I'm not sure if it isn't my fault for expecting another alternative Temperance to be honest. I did like the main character, Sunday (Sunnie) Night, but for some reason I found her a bit stand-offish - I couldn't imagine myself going for a drink with her let's put it that way. I don't know why she didn't gel with me - I mean she is the 'good guy' in all of this, and she obviously engenders good feelings amongst some of the other characters, including of course her rather sweet brother Gus.
I think part of the problem might have been the writing style, which I found a tad too abrupt, with the plethora of short sentences creating this sense of pace that didn't give me time to acclimatise myself to what was happening. The action is pretty much relentless, so if you're looking for action-packed then Two Nights is a good choice. For me though it was just too much, I found it hard to keep up with who was who, and what their role in the story was; though this of course may have been a deliberate device rather than an unwelcome style.
The essence of the plot is interesting and engaging, with Sunday having to find the bombers that killed Mary Gray Bright and her son Bowen, and discover the fate of Mary's daughter Stella. All this leads Sunday pretty much all over the country, hopping on planes and checking into hotels quicker than I get out of bed in the mornings! I was impressed with her ability to just keep moving to avoid the danger she places herself in on a regular basis! And as I said, if action-packed is your requirement, Two Nights has it in droves. Personally though it was a bit of a slog to finish this, which are words I never usually would associate with Kathy Reichs.
