Two Nights: A Novel (Random House Large Print)

Actually, I would probably give the book 2.5 stars, but my choices were limited to full-star numbers. I have read almost all of Reichs' Temperance Brennan novels, and I was curious about a different central character. I've noticed for the last several novels that Reichs has moved more and more to an almost shotgun-like prose style, and it gets annoying after a while. The sentence fragments and partially-complete thoughts are a deliberate style choice, but without any variety in the prose, it's monotonous and keeps the reader from becoming engaged in the story. That style was on full display in this novel. Sunday Night, her central character, has potential, but I found her to be too extreme, making her not fully human and thus not as compelling as she could have been. The story was action-packed and kept moving well, but I probably would not choose to read a second entry in this series, or, for that matter, from this author. Several years ago I read one of her young-adult novels, Virals (I'm a high school librarian), and it was terribly written--really badly done. Again, the story was intriguing and had potential, but the writing was so bad I couldn't recommend it to anyone. While I enjoyed her earlier work, her recent books have struck me as shallow and poorly done.

This story is a jumbled ramble of events without an "Ah Ha!" moment of clarity to tie it all together. The ending even fails to do that. I find it hard to believe there could be a successful sequel. I've always heard "write what you know". Kathy Reichs has done that brilliantly with her past books. In contrast, this one comes off like a forced first attempt by a wannabe author. Too disjointed, too much mystery to the point of being murky as to where it was going and why. Too little character development. Too many questions left unanswered. Write what you know...good advise for this author.

Great read! I love Kathy Reichs but worried that her new hero wouldn't appeal to me. I needn't have worried. If there will be more I will read them. From Bourke to Evanovich you gotta love those novels with flawed cop/detectives and Kathy Reichs has a new one that I can definitely relate to.

Although I very much enjoy all of Kathy Reichs Temperance Brennen novels I did not care for this format near as much. I look forward to her new novel coming out in August as a return to her original Temperance Brennen.

The writing of Kathy Reichs is compelling. What more can I say? Introducing a new character after years of Temperance Brennan is a tough challenge, but I quickly adjusted. Everyone will rush to their bookstores to read this new book!

Although I very much enjoy all of Kathy Reichs Temperance Brennen novels I did not care for this format near as much. I look forward to her new novel coming out in August as a return to her original Temperance Brennen.

The writing of Kathy Reichs is compelling. What more can I say? Introducing a new character after years of Temperance Brennan is a tough challenge, but I quickly adjusted. Everyone will rush to their bookstores to read this new book!