Plot Summary:
Parentless and wrestling with real world nightmares,
teenager Sunday Night, (“Sunnie”) is taken in by Charleston Police Department’s
Perry Beaumonde (“Beau”). Beau rescues
Sunnie from a stream of reckless acts, landing her with the choice between a
Department of Corrections uniform and a military uniform. Sunnie picks the military, which ends with a
dishonorable release. Undeterred Beau ,
once again presents Sunnie, isolated and living in voluntary seclusion on Goat
Island, with a way out of her downward spin, “You can’t hide on this island,
talking to no one, doing God knows what to yourself…You’ve withdrawn from the
whole goddamned human race,” (7). Beau
enlists Sunnie’s investigative skills locating the murderers of wealthy Opaline
Drucker’s daughter, Mary Gray, and grandson, Bowman, and finding her missing teenage
granddaughter, Stella, feared kidnapped by a cult. A low
quality video of three suspects in the Chicago area Hebrew School bombing,
where Mary Gray and Bowman were killed, is Sunnie’s only lead. Two
Nights follows Sunnie’s elite tracking tactics as she avoids and invites
ambushes and assaults in Chicago, L.A. and Louisville, uncovering the cause of
Opaline’s family destruction and putting the pieces of her own broken past
together.
Appeal
Intricately plotted story line
Fast paced action
Sarcasm lightens tension
Characteristics of
Mysteries
·
Crime-driven plot, “The crime and subsequent
investigation form the heart of the story line…” (Saricks 197). Sunnie’s
investigation of the unresolved murder of Opaline Drucker’s daughter and
grandson and still missing granddaughter propel the story, eventually revealing
a criminal scheme of extraordinary magnitude.
·
The story line focuses on the investigator’s
discovery and realization of clues and solving the puzzle, “Since the point of
Mysteries is to examine the clues and solve the puzzle, the character of the
investigator plays a major role, and these two appeal elements –
characterization and story line-intertwine as the crime is solved,” (Saricks
199). Sunday Night is the focus of the
story: her internal struggles stemming from the murder of her mom and torment
of Sunnie and her twin brother Gus, slowly revealed through backflashes; and
her relentless determination to save young Stella and capture the
murderers. Sunnie’s side kick and twin
brother, Gus, cunningly track and allude criminal suspects in a time
sensitive chase, “The sidekick…often
plays a key role in solving the case and in attracting readers,” (Saricks 200).
·
Frames flourish in the Mystery genre, and they
contribute to the appeal of this Intellect genre…” (Saricks 201). Reichs adds interest to the plot with a
detailed setting luring the reader further into the story with in-depth
knowledge of the Churchill Downs track and Kentucky Derby grounds layout and operations.
·
The mood of Mysteries range from gentle and
light to dark and sinister (Saricks 202).
Two Nights illustrates a
dangerous and deadly present with unexplained murders and a dark, fearful past
that continues to haunt Sunnie. Distrust,
tension and suspense first surface on Goat Island, and continue throughout.
·
Pacing moves toward the solution to the crime,
but investigative details may slow the pace somewhat (Saricks 203). Two
Nights constantly moves toward discovery and solution of the puzzle, while Sunnie’s
frequent flashbacks slow the pace of the overarching story line in an effort to
align the characters of Sunday Night and Stella.
Read
Alikes
All
the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda (2017):
Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown 10 years ago after the
unexplained disappearance of her best friend, Corinne. A decade later, she returns home to care for
her ailing father, landing in the search for another missing hometown girl and
uncovering truths behind Corinne’s disappearance.
Find Her
by Lisa Gardner (2016): A kidnapped
college student, Flora Dane, endures and then struggles to readjust to
society. With her crime survival skills,
Flora may be able to assist authorities in rescuing a missing college student. Flora, herself disappears, igniting a search
for a sinister predator.
Never
Never by James Patterson and Candice Fox (2017): Harry Blue, a seasoned sex
crimes investigator is shocked by her brother’s arrest in the murder of three
young women. Harry is sent to a
desolate, crime-infested location, paired with a new, shady partner. As she navigates her new environment and
struggles to clear her brother’s name, she uncovers dark secrets in search of
truth – before she, herself, vanishes.
Works
Cited
Reichs, Kathy. Two Nights, Bantam Books, 2017.
Saricks, Joyce. The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction, American Library
Association, 2009.
Hi, Lisa. I have read several of Kathy Reichs' books, but it's been a while. I've kind of fallen off the mystery wagon somewhat. I liked that your read-alike choices are right up to the minute because a real fan of this author's (or Patterson's or Gardner's or Miranda's for that matter) are going to grab the new books off the shelves as soon as they're hot off the presses. For a librarian doing reader's advisory for those folks, an older work would likely have already been read!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice, too, that you've given us a little summary of your read-alikes. Good work!
Cristi,
DeleteThank you! I do RA for a senior outreach program and I was, at first, amazed that they ONLY want books written after 2015. Phew...depending on the author, that can be tough. I think the newer books have a greater likelihood of success, or at least interest, for the potential reader. Thanks again.
You made this book sound interesting. I have so many questions about the book that I think the best way for me to get the answers would be to read the book. I'll add it to the top of my 'to read' list.
ReplyDeleteMary,
DeleteGreat! Before MLS classes, I really only read youth materials with my kids and ailing mom [but, I do keep a Henry David Thoreau biography in my car for down time]. I'm enjoying tasting these different genres and, I really liked this read overall. One thing I've noticed in the writing styles among these different genres is authors use "beat" repetitively, to mean a passing period of time. I have seen it used so frequently in many works that it becomes distracting and somewhat bothersome. I'm probably just being overly critical, but, I just finished a teen book, "Saint Anything" again seeing the "beat" used frequently. It must be a trendy way to write? Overall, though, Reichs' novel was well-written and a joy. Thanks.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds very interesting. Did you enjoy it? Also, I thought it was a great idea and very helpful that you included a few sentences for the read-a-likes. It gave us enough information to really see how readers of this book would probably enjoy those.
I've not read Kathy Reichs' work, but I'm definitely interested now. You've made this sound very fascinating, and I have to admit, the fact that part of it takes place in Louisville, where I live, makes me want to see how the city is represented.
ReplyDeleteExcellent annotation! You generated some good discussion out of it! I also liked that you included a sampling of quotes to reinforce some mystery appeals. Full points!
ReplyDelete