mattydalrymple's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent book--complex and fascinating characters and a satisfyingly twisty resolution.
stacylmoll's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the plot of Two Days Gone, although you start the book thinking you know what's going on, you start to doubt as the story progresses. You can easily relate to what Sergeant DeMarco is feeling as he looks for his friend Thomas. Did he really do what it seems he did, or is there something else that everyone is missing. There were, however, two things that did not sit well with me. When Thomas, a writer and man very much in love with his wife, is sitting in a cave trying not to think about what has happened and missing his wife, his thoughts about what they will never do again and how he describes it does not fit. It is not that I have something against the words, just I do not think a person like Thomas would think it that way. But my biggest issue come from his total lack of action at a very important part of the book. I know he is a professor type and a writer to boot, but please there is no way a person would buy what he was told and not fight. This book is due out in January of 2017.
kbranfield's review
4.0
Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis is a dark mystery about the murder of a beloved college professor's family.
Pennsylvania State Police Sergeant Ryan DeMarco might be broken and troubled but he has not lost any of the instincts that make him an outstanding policeman. His current case investigating the horrific murders of Thomas Huston's wife and three children hits a little too close to home but he mostly succeeds at keeping his personal feelings at bay. He is having a difficult time believing Thomas is responsible for the murders, but he tries not to let his friendship with the professor (and best-selling author) cloud his judgment. Despite his boss's doubts about letting him remain on the case, DeMarco remains committed to uncovering the truth about who murdered Huston's family.
Ryan finds his most promising lead after interviewing Huston's student Nathan Briessen who is also an aspiring author. Nathan provides valuable insight into Thomas's writing process that takes DeMarco to his first solid lead in the case. Trying to piece together the professor's whereabouts in the weeks prior to the murders takes Ryan down an unexpected path and leaves him wondering if Thomas truly is the devoted family man everyone believes him to be. Was there more to Thomas's relationships with the people he was interviewing than research for characters in his next novel?
Closer to home, DeMarco quickly learns the academic world is full of political maneuvering and infighting. Are professional jealousy and denied tenure motives for murder? Were Thomas's colleague's truly happy for his success as an author? Or were they secretly seething with envy for his commercial success? DeMarco's discoveries about Thomas's interactions with his students reinforces every accolade for the well-liked professor but was there something darker lurking beneath the surface? Could one of his students be responsible for the murders?
The chapters written from Ryan's point of view follow the investigation and to some extent, provide valuable insight into where his life went so tragically wrong. DeMarco remains trapped in an unhealthy relationship with his estranged wife. He drinks too much, sleeps too little and devotes too much of his time to his career. Ryan appears to have one healthy relationship that he seems determined to destroy, but working on the Huston case eventually serves as a turning point for him to deal with the dysfunction in his life.
The chapters written from Thomas's perspective appear to be designed to keep the reader guessing whether or not he was involved with his family's deaths. These chapters are often disjointed and somewhat rambling interruptions that disrupt the overall flow of the story and rarely add anything useful to the storyline.
Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis is an intriguing police procedural that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy. The mystery aspect of the storyline is very well written and the various twists and turns make it difficult to figure out whodunit and why. Ryan DMarco is a compelling character but some of his actions during the investigation are a little far-fetched. The investigation ends with a final plot twist that is impossible to predict and neatly wraps all of the loose ends. All in all, a dark, atmospheric mystery with a surprisingly upbeat conclusion.
Pennsylvania State Police Sergeant Ryan DeMarco might be broken and troubled but he has not lost any of the instincts that make him an outstanding policeman. His current case investigating the horrific murders of Thomas Huston's wife and three children hits a little too close to home but he mostly succeeds at keeping his personal feelings at bay. He is having a difficult time believing Thomas is responsible for the murders, but he tries not to let his friendship with the professor (and best-selling author) cloud his judgment. Despite his boss's doubts about letting him remain on the case, DeMarco remains committed to uncovering the truth about who murdered Huston's family.
Ryan finds his most promising lead after interviewing Huston's student Nathan Briessen who is also an aspiring author. Nathan provides valuable insight into Thomas's writing process that takes DeMarco to his first solid lead in the case. Trying to piece together the professor's whereabouts in the weeks prior to the murders takes Ryan down an unexpected path and leaves him wondering if Thomas truly is the devoted family man everyone believes him to be. Was there more to Thomas's relationships with the people he was interviewing than research for characters in his next novel?
Closer to home, DeMarco quickly learns the academic world is full of political maneuvering and infighting. Are professional jealousy and denied tenure motives for murder? Were Thomas's colleague's truly happy for his success as an author? Or were they secretly seething with envy for his commercial success? DeMarco's discoveries about Thomas's interactions with his students reinforces every accolade for the well-liked professor but was there something darker lurking beneath the surface? Could one of his students be responsible for the murders?
The chapters written from Ryan's point of view follow the investigation and to some extent, provide valuable insight into where his life went so tragically wrong. DeMarco remains trapped in an unhealthy relationship with his estranged wife. He drinks too much, sleeps too little and devotes too much of his time to his career. Ryan appears to have one healthy relationship that he seems determined to destroy, but working on the Huston case eventually serves as a turning point for him to deal with the dysfunction in his life.
The chapters written from Thomas's perspective appear to be designed to keep the reader guessing whether or not he was involved with his family's deaths. These chapters are often disjointed and somewhat rambling interruptions that disrupt the overall flow of the story and rarely add anything useful to the storyline.
Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis is an intriguing police procedural that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy. The mystery aspect of the storyline is very well written and the various twists and turns make it difficult to figure out whodunit and why. Ryan DMarco is a compelling character but some of his actions during the investigation are a little far-fetched. The investigation ends with a final plot twist that is impossible to predict and neatly wraps all of the loose ends. All in all, a dark, atmospheric mystery with a surprisingly upbeat conclusion.
andrearbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis was a thriller that had been on my list for awhile. And well, y'all, everyone say this with me, I. Don't. Like. Procedurals. This wasn't fully procedural, but it definitely had that spin, and I just cannot make these work for me. Again, that's about me as the reader. A professor's wife and children are found murdered in a college town, and the professor is nowhere to be found. Detective DeMarco is assigned the case. He knows the professor, and something just doesn't add up. Maybe the answers lie in the professor's unfinished manuscript. And so the investigation begins. . .
lhuber86's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
shanonkluttz's review against another edition
4.0
This book lacked everything that I usually go for in books...a strong female lead, a setting that is vital to the story, etc, but for some reason this one had me hooked from the beginning.
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
5.0
Highly recommended by Mary Ann. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Stwo%20days%20gone%20silvis__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
tabatha_shipley's review against another edition
4.0
What I Liked:
-Kept me guessing
-Delivered on the plot twists and surprises
-Beautiful language and descriptions
-Flawed characters
Who Should Read It:
-Mystery fans who like to be surprised by characters
-Fans of psychological thrillers and flawed characters
For Full Review (including what I didn’t love): https://youtu.be/qALNpWwvkZg (38:28)
-Kept me guessing
-Delivered on the plot twists and surprises
-Beautiful language and descriptions
-Flawed characters
Who Should Read It:
-Mystery fans who like to be surprised by characters
-Fans of psychological thrillers and flawed characters
For Full Review (including what I didn’t love): https://youtu.be/qALNpWwvkZg (38:28)
lisaeirene's review
3.0
Difficult read. I guess I'm getting to the point where I can't read stuff where little kids are killed. :(
The story was a bit far-fetched in my mind, but they wrapped up the loose ends in the end pretty well. There was a lot of slow parts of the story, but the main characters were pretty well written. I don't know that I liked this book enough to read the next one.
The story was a bit far-fetched in my mind, but they wrapped up the loose ends in the end pretty well. There was a lot of slow parts of the story, but the main characters were pretty well written. I don't know that I liked this book enough to read the next one.
scknitter's review against another edition
3.0
Beautifully written, almost too literary for my tastes. But, so dark and so sad.