The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes

The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes

3.51 of 5 stars 3.51  ·  rating details  ·  669 ratings  ·  189 reviews
Marcus Sakey returns with his most ambitious novel, a captivating story of love and memory, where the only thing more frightening than the questions are the answers.

A man wakes up naked and cold, half-drowned on an abandoned beach. The only sign of life for miles is an empty BMW. Inside the expensive car he finds clothes that fit perfectly, shoes for his tattered feet, a R...more
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published June 9th 2011 by Dutton Adult (first published May 14th 2011)
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Daniel Audet
I had never heard of this author until yesterday(I need to get out more...) when I noticed the slick, cool cover on the book and was intrigued by the title and the story-line blip on the inside flap. I decided to take a chance on Marcus Sakey's book and I couldn't be more thrilled that I did. Like I said, just because I had never read anything by this author doesn't mean he isn't well known.
The opening of the book is a stellar translation through the character's senses, in third POV, (which rea...more
Sue
This part I kept reading over and over again. He is watching a video of his wife and thinking about something she does. "A silly private moment, not the kind of thing epic love poems were written about. But the kind of thing they should be written about. Not love as stormy skies and sweeping passion gathered armies and pounding seas. Real love. Love that had to pick up the dry cleaning, and worked too late, and could swim in a moment's laughter." Good stuff Mr Sakey.
Viccy
A man wakes up on the beach in Maine with no memory of who he is or why is is drowning. His journey takes him back across the country to California, dodging bad guys and the police as he goes. Everyone in the book could be a threat to the man who calls himself Daniel Hayes. It's a thrill ride to read. One thing I did not like was the cut-outs of Hollywood screen plays, although an effective plot device, I found it tiresome (it could just be me). The ambiguity of the ending is also annoying, but...more
John Sheridan
A fast moving rollercoaster of a book, Daniel Hayes is suffering from amnesia and can't remember who he is or what he is doing naked on a beach in Maine. Finding a car parked nearby he claims it as his own and based on the wallet inside discovers his name. What follows thereafter is his attempt to find out who he is and what he is like as a person. When he finds his way home he discovers his wife is dead and he is the prime suspect but he cannot recall any details. As he slowly remembers snatche...more
Hood
Jul 30, 2011 Hood added it
Bound: Dead, Dead and More Dead
Murder Can Be a Perfect Cure

Nothing says Summer like a good murder story. Maybe it’s the cold-bloodedness of it all that helps to beat the heat; perhaps it’s simply that sweat is easier to endure when it’s shared with someone who’s sweating death. Whatever it is, there are few things more refreshing when the temperature rises than witnessing somebody fall.

When you make that a few somebodies, well, even Miami’s steamy, sultry dog days can become almost pleasant, unl...more
Kelly
See this review on 1776books.net...
http://1776books.blogspot.com/2011/08...

I remember reading a magazine article about Marcus Sakey a few months ago, which deemed The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes as the next great thing in literature. There have only been a few books that I remember with that much "word-of-mouth" exposure before it was even printed...The Lovely Bones being an example. I was anxious to get my hands on this book, as I had never read Sakey. I love to be introduced to authors I have n...more
Jeff De
Mostly yucky. I never write reviews on here but this one deserves one. Sakey writes about Los Angeles like a tourist. His slang is outdated, his knowledge of the city and getting around in L.A. improbable--just like his fantastical plot.

Examples:
-there are 100 yards of sandy beach along the whole coast. False.
-the use of "Meh"...very 2006...MAYBE 2008, but NOT
2011.
-"rolling" used to describe driving a car-early 2000s for white guys. Much older for true urbanites.
-BMW M5 as the drooler car. Nop...more
Literary Feline
Sometimes I come across a book that reads like a movie. One that would be perfect for the big screen. Each scene and character is presented in such a way I can see it in my mind's eye. Marcus Sakey's The Two Death's of Daniel Hayes is one such book. The car chase, the action sequences, the angst and sense of betrayal. The doubt and frustration. And what's more, the characters are movie perfect. I was reminded most of Momento and No Country for Old Men as I read The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes.

A m...more
Gloria Feit
Daniel Hayes wakes up on a beach in Maine, half drowned and with a loss of memory. This sets the stage for a slow, dramatic tale as he attempts to reconstruct his life. He finds a car nearby which is apparently owned by someone named Daniel Hayes from Malibu, CA. Is that him?

Then he decides to cross the country in an effort to find out who he is, after fleeing a cop attempting to arrest him in Maine. Dan is a scriptwriter, and his efforts are like episodes on a TV show. When he gets to Malibu, h...more
Heather
The first sentence alone is what drew me in. A man wakes up on a beach, pulling himself from the waves of water and struggling to survive and then blacks out. He awakes to find he has no memory of himself or his life. Right there I was sucked in. I love amnesia stories. I felt for Daniel right away, with his hopelessness in not being able to remember things. You get taken on this journey with him as he tries to make his way home and recover the lost details of his life. He starts searching for t...more
Alla
In “The two deaths of Daniel Hayes,” Marcus Sakey weaves a tale of a mysterious man who is accused of murdering his wife, is forced to run from the police, and has two people going after him—all while trying to piece his life together.

The story starts as Daniel is wading out of the water on a deserted Maine beach—he can’t remember whop he is or how he got there. Nearby, he finds an empty BMW, where he sees documents pertaining to a certain Daniel Hayes. Realizing that it is his car, and finding...more
Gaby
Marcus Sakey's latest novel doesn't read like your typical thriller. While it has the suspense, plot twists, and excitement in spades, Sakey's writing is more complex and clearer. It's a psychological drama with the excitement and action of a thriller.

It opens with Daniel Hayes, wet and naked on a beach in Maine. He comes across clues to what seems to be his life, but he everything is hazy and uncertain. He thinks he owns the BMW, that his name is Daniel Hayes, he dreams of this beautiful woman...more
Luanne Ollivier
I've been recommending Marcus Sakey books for a while now to library patrons who are looking for a new thriller/suspense author. Many have never heard of Sakey, but they always come back after that first read, looking for another of his titles. The Two Death of Daniel Hayes is going to propel Sakey right up to the top of the thriller/suspense genre.

A man wakes up half dead and naked on a deserted beach. He has no idea who he is, where he is, or how he got there. But... there's a BMW with the key...more
Kari Anderson
Imagine waking up, naked, on a beach. Not knowing who you are, how you got there or even where you are. But you do know some things… like that you are on the verge of hypothermia and find a car to warm up in.

Daniel Hayes soon starts learning a little more about his life, that appears to be left in California, a long way from the east coast where he washed to shore. But getting back there, and figuring out more about himself may not be as easy as a cross-country drive.

Hayes’ wife, a big name actr...more
Michael Foley
Marcus Sakey is one of the best in the business, and The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes proves it. George Pelecanos created a pair of the most exciting villains in all of literature with Shame the Devil. Sakey's latest villain tops it. He's scarily unpredictable. As soon as you think you've figured out his angle, this villain will throw a curveball at you.
Sakey has developed a very modern writing style remniscent of Don Winslow's, and it comes across as a breath of fresh air after a lifetime in a s...more
Raelynn Fry
The Two Deaths of Marcus Sakey
by Daniel Hayes
Crime/Mystery
Content Rating: PG-13 (mild sex)
Spoiler Alert: Are you kidding me??? Heck no!
Coffee Bean Rating: A strong 4/5
Release Date: June 9, 2011

The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey is quite simply, a brilliant book. And while I’m at it, Sakey is a brilliant author. I’m not much into crime/who-done-it books, but this has made me a believer; there’s something to them! At least there is to Sakey’s.

Daniel Hays wakes up naked and near death...more
Erin
THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES has already met with a great deal of critical acclaim, and rightly so. Marcus Sakey is simply a gifted author, and this layered, complicated, intricately detailed story is not one bit self-indulgent (unlike a certain tale of a tattooed young woman that I could mention, but won’t).

But here’s the rub: If you’re looking for an easy read, this isn’t it. THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES will raise your heart rate and blood pressure. It will keep you up past your bedtime....more
marymurtz
May must have been the month of amnesia novels for me!

This was a solid thriller that kept me turning the pages, but days later I realized I was more enamored of the plot than the characters. The story line of the book was far more compelling than the people in it; I had been reading fast just to see how the author reconciled all the loose ends, not because I cared about the protagonist or his story.

That being said, it was an enormously clever and compelling story. A man wakes up naked on a beach...more
Kelly Hager
I’m going to give you the publisher’s summary because that’s the safest way to keep from ruining something.

“A man wakes up naked and cold, half-drowned on an abandoned beach.
The only sign of life for miles is an empty BMW. Inside the expensive car he
finds clothes that fit perfectly, shoes for his tattered feet, a Rolex, and a bank
envelope stuffed with cash and an auto registration in the name of Daniel
Hayes, resident of Malibu, California.

None of it is familiar.

What is he doing here? How did he...more
Paul Pessolano
“The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes” by Marcus Sakey, published by Dutton.

Category – Mystery/Thriller

Marcus Sakey has turned into a storyteller extraordinaire. He has written four prior mysteries, all excellent, and has now taken a step further with “The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes”.

The story begins on a Maine beach. Man, naked, struggles out of the water from an attempted suicide. He has no idea who he is, how he got here, or anything from his past life. He spies a BMW on the beach with clothes in i...more
Jamie
I had never read a Marcus Sakey novel so I had not idea what to expect. First of all, it doesn't read like a typical thriller. The book did have suspense, plot twists and excitemtn, but it was one of the most complex novels I have read in a long time.

The story begins with Daniel Hayes, who is wet and naked on a beach in Maine. He washes up onto the shore and has no idea who he is. All he has to go on is that when he washed up there was a silver BMW with a keys in it, and an identification that s...more
Savvy
Life is a Raindrop… (in a thunderstorm of a novel!)

“You are who you choose to be. Be sure you can live with the decisions you make.” Daniel Hayes

The dilemma is that Hayes begins his journey in a haze (a play on words, Mr. Sakey?)… dripping wet, naked, confused and with no memory of how he got where he is…and worse…not even knowing WHO he is…his identity an enigma!

What decisions has he made? What has happened to him? Where exactly is he…what ocean did he just drag his body out of?
“Calm, don’t pa...more
Kathy
This novel had my full attention from the first page and never lost it. It is one of the best crime drama/thrillers I've read this year so far. The book opens with Daniel Hayes struggling for life in the ocean off Maine. He has no idea where he is or who he is...he has amnesia.

I don't want to give too much away or just rehash the plot line here. Since Daniel has amnesia, the reader discovers things when Daniel does. There are so many twists and turns and surprises that the reader becomes complet...more
Chris Bauer
"The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes" is another great work by Marcus Sakey. As a thriller it is top notch work with excellent pacing, deep characters and non-stop tension. I tried to pace myself during reading as to enjoy it a little longer, but found myself tearing from page to page, unable to slow down. The protagonist of the novel is rich in details as are his relationships with other characters in the work. And the antagonist is simply one of the best "bad guys" I've had the pleasure to read abo...more
Josh
Memorable quote: ‘Everybody sins sister, to own them all you have to do is see it.’

The opening sequence to Sakey’s latest novel ‘The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes’ is a vivid rendition of a drowning man reminiscent of Patrick Quinlan’s ‘The Hit’ struggling for breath, solid ground and security. Interestingly enough, the protagonist, Daniel Hayes continues to seek these basic needs throughout the telling of this story.

Beginning with nothing more at his disposal than a primal survival instinct and a...more
Wanda
I had to wait several days after I finished this book to review it, and I'm still feeling ambivilent about it. Great premise, exciting beginning, and a twist that I never saw coming. But - you knew there was a but coming, didn't you? I won't go into the details of the plot as others have done such a good job with that, but there were distractions that made escaping reality impossible. One was the device of injecting what seemed to be pages of a screenplay to describe part of the action - this ju...more
Timothy Dalton
Coming off of the last book I just read this one also fit the profile of a very suspenseful thriller as well. From the opening scene our character wakes in the midst of the Atlantic Ocean, naked and nearly drowned. He makes it to shore and up the beach to an abandoned car. Luckily it is unlocked and he climbs inside for warmth. In the car there are several items and he finds out the car is registered to a man named Daniel Hayes. One slight problem with our main "hero" here, he has amnesia and ev...more
Kandice
This book and author have received a lot of critical acclaim so I was looking forward to reading it. At the beginning, I wasn't overly impressed. It seemed like any other action/adventure or mystery I'd read. However, the longer I read the more quickly I changed my mind. The story of Daniel Hayes trying to recreate his life and his memory while being chased by the police was anything but predictable. Those readers who like surprises and twists will love this book. The first surprise comes about...more
Mike Tueros
This book started out feeling like the movie "Memento"; with clipped writing and an amensiac lead character with a lot of compelling questions, and no answers. As the mystery enfolds, there is great drama for the first 150 pages and then Sakey loses the edge that had me turning the pages at a fast pace. It becomes almost predictable, and the lead characters have too much "luck" (if you will) to get accomplished what Sakey needs them to in order to move the plot along. I feel Sakey lost track of...more
Noodlesmarie78
I found the author of this book on one of my favorite TV shows, Hidden City on the Travel Channel. He hosts and I think produces the show. They go into different cities and investigate & tell the story of the cities biggest crimes. It's an awesome show. I figured if he wrote his novels the way he tells the stories on Hidden City, they would be good. I was right.
I randomly chose this book to start. The main character, Daniel Hayes, wakes ups on a beach not knowing who he is. Ironically, I ju...more
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