Newlywed Ariel Pryce has accompanied her husband, John, on a business trip to Lisbon. She wakes up early the day of his meeting--to find him gone. She has considerable difficulty convincing the local police and US embassy that his disappearance is cause for concern, until she receives a ransom request for 3 million euros.

Trouble is, it's the Fourth of July weekend, and coming up with the cash is difficult even for those who might have it, and she doesn't. Her only option is to extort it from a wealthy former acquaintance who caused her unspeakable harm 14 years ago. With a journalist, the embassy, and investigators eager to discover the truth now, Ariel is fighting for her husband's life as well as for her son's reputation.

A well-executed page-turning thriller that will keep you guessing. #TwoNightsinLisbon #NetGalley

What’s it about (in a nutshell):
Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone is a thriller about the disappearance of Ariel Price’s husband and everything that follows, including different investigations and a complicatedly twisted plot for justice.

Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
Looking at the book cover, I think of old James Bond movies because it has a 70s look. But the blurb is a whole different kind of description. It talks about a husband disappearing from the hotel the couple stayed at while in Lisbon on business – which would be more of a domestic thriller. Two Nights in Lisbon is quite a lengthy book for the genre, so it seems like it may be a complicated tale.


Actual Reading Experience:
I love the writing style the author used in telling this thriller. It’s in third-person narration but switches perspectives in small scenes within each chapter. You learn about Ariel’s past and present, how she works to save her missing husband through her eyes, and the investigation through a reporter, the local police, and the CIA, who are all three doing independent research and discovery. The way the story is written helped take a pretty lengthy tome and make it read relatively quickly.

The story tackles a few social injustices, predominantly how women are not listened to, especially when they try to alert people about sexual assault and rape. The story also talks about media, power differentials, and politics. There are a few soapbox moments, but I only mildly took note of them as they had the capability of pulling me a bit out of the story.

I loved the twists and turns the story took. It was quite dizzying at times as the story changed quickly, and the plot doubled back on itself. I was very right about it being a complicated tale. There are so many layers, and fortunately, all my questions found answers by the end, which satisfied me. I only wish the story had been a bit more streamlined, as I didn’t believe the length felt justified. I thought that large parts reiterated what had been told, and character histories rambled slightly.

Characters:
Ariel is the main character and the only one I got to know. She’s a bit elusive, very private, and has many anxieties/fears. Yet, she is strong and independent, never tolerating injustices or feeling happy to sweep things under the rug. She preferred to stand up for herself and others.

To Read or Not to Read:
Two Nights in Lisbon will bring you to a world full of thrills and twists and give you an international thriller encompassing many social issues and investigative bodies.

ARC book review 📚 This book comes out tomorrow!

Ariel Pryce wakes up in Lisbon, alone. Her husband is gone with no warning, no note, not answering his phone. Something is wrong.

She starts with hotel security, then the police, then the American embassy, at each confronting questions she can’t fully answer. She's only been married to him for a few months and only known him for around a year. She doesn't exactly know what his business in Lisbon is and who would want to hurt him. She shortly finds out he has been kidnapped.

The clock is ticking. Ariel is increasingly frustrated and desperate, running out of time, and the one person in the world who can help is the one person she least wants to ask, her past abuser.

This book was a bit tough for me. I expected it to be about a missing husband. It has so much more than that. This book was far too slow. It's also too long. It could have lost at least a 100 pages and been better paced. I would say I wasn't really into the story until around 40%. Once it started picking up it was SO intriguing and I couldn't put it down. This book hits more on serious subjects like rape culture vs. being about a kidnapped husband. I did overall enjoy the story. I loved Ariel. She is the perfect strong female lead. I recommend this book!

**Check the triggers as there are a few**

Thank you to NetGalley, Chris Pavone, and the publishers Farrar, Straus and Giroux, MCD for the gifted copy! ❤️

When Ariel Pryce awakens on her first day in Lisbon her husband John is gone. It is an opening scene in Chris Pavone’s latest suspenseful story that begins with a search of the hotel and eventually involves the American embassy and the CIA. After checking with reception, Ariel goes to the police. It has only been a few hours and they are reluctant to become involved. She has only been married for a few months and when they start asking questions she is unsure of her answers. This was a business trip but she does not know the name of his contact. They have been married for three months but she only met him a few months prior to that. There is a lot that she does not know about John, but she does know that she loves him and something is wrong. Frustrated by the police response to her pleas she heads to the embassy, where she receives a similar response. Once hotel security tapes show John being forced into a car and Ariel receives a ransom demand the story takes off. The demand is for three million euros in only two days.

Prior to her marriage to John Ariel lived in a quiet town. She owned the local bookshop and had a small farm where she lived with her son George. Growing up she received little support from her parents. Her first marriage to a wealthy businessman ended when she was assaulted and he offered little support as well. In a settlement with her attacker, she signed a non-disclosure agreement but kept evidence of his guilt. Now she reluctantly contacts him again, threatening to release her evidence if he does not help with the ransom.

Pavone allows you to feel Ariel’s desperation as the deadline approaches. Her attacker is now a powerful politician, bringing the CIA into the investigation when it raises the question of national security. Ariel is unaware of John’s true background. As she learns more about her husband, his involvement in his own kidnapping comes into question. When the press and social media becomes aware of the events in Lisbon the questions begin to pile up and the direction of the investigation changes from the kidnapping to Ariel’s own history. It is not until the final pages that Pavone reveals the surprise truth behind the events. From the very beginning, this story progresses at a pace that will have you reluctant to put the book down. I would like to thank NetGalley and MCD - Farrah Strauss and Giroux for providing this book for my review.

An international thriller at its best. A slow burn, intriguing thriller! Dual point of views and timelines. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Two Nights in Lisbon - What a suspenseful ride! This thriller is a page-turner, edge of your seat, kind of book. You need to be focused to read because the story does bounce around, a lot, but well worth the read. I loved how the plot kept the reader guessing and nothing is as it seems. So many books have a disappointing ending, not this one! One of my favorite books this year. Thank you NetGalley for the early copy to read.

The latest book from Chris Pavone follows a woman in Lisbon trying to save her kidnapped husband. I’m a fan of his other books, and this one did not disappoint. The plot kept me engaged and wanting to keep listening. Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention to the details, but I didn’t have it all figured out in the end. The narrator was great, though the book probably could have been about 20% shorter. There are definitely trigger warnings if that’s something important to you. I didn’t find it too hard to follow the dual timelines in the audio, but if that’s a concern, the print or digital version might be a better option.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this book in for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

I heard really good things about this book before I got it gifted from @netgalley to read.
There are some trigger warnings, so look for those before reading!
Overall, i did enjoy this book. It was quite lengthy and at times slow paced. But it had twists throughout it and I keep you invested in reading it!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I found "Two Nights In Lisbon" by
Chris Pavone to be an addictive, intriguing, twisty & well written thriller that pulled me in right away & didn't let me go until its final page.
I would definitely read another book by Mr. Pavone.

Chris Pavone's latest release has a very cheeky premise, but that in no way detracts from the thrills he delivers in this tale of abduction and a race against the clock. I was on the edge of my seat, eager to see how this was going to unfold.

Ariel Pryce wakes alone in a Lisbon hotel room, both a little disheveled from the previous night's amorous fun with her new husband, John. But where is John? It's still early, so it's strange that he's not there in the room, even if he did wake early. Unsettled, Ariel begins her day without him. When John still hasn't joined her for breakfast in the hotel dining room, Ariel's concerns escalate and she begins to ask around. First the hotel staff, then the local police. By mid-morning she's at the embassy. Nobody seems to share her concerns (including me!), but then the ransom demand arrives. OK, now it's serious. This failed actress turned farmer/bookstore owner has to raise 3 million Euros within 48 hours to secure her husband's release. No small feat. And the only person who can help her is the last person in the world she wants to ask.

This was my first experience reading Chris Pavone and I was pleasantly surprised. I'll certainly be checking out his earlier books now. Although the book has a decent pagecount, the time flew as I read twist upon turn. The pacing was perfect and the plot both clever and topical. Highly recommended, although be warned that content includes details of sexual assaults.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: May 24, 2022

TW: rape, statutory rape, victim blaming

Ariel is on a business trip in Lisbon with her new husband, only to find him missing when she wakes up after their first night there. Marketed as a mystery/thriller but more truthfully a look into rape culture and how powerful men rarely face a reckoning. Trigger warning definitely needed as some of the assault scenes are quite detailed. I enjoyed the setting in Portugal but I found myself racing through this just to find out the answers instead of loving it the whole way through.

"The truth has a steep price."

Ariel accompanies her husband John on a business trip to Lisbon, waking up early one morning to find him gone without explanation. She looks to the hotel staff, Lisbon police and the American embassy for help but no one believes her or takes her seriously. At each step along the way, she learns more, leading her to question how well she actually knows her husband. Frustrated and alone, desperate for answers, she turns to the one person who can help but is the last one she wants to ask.

Two Nights in Lisbon addresses the issue of how well we know others, how we see only what people want us to see based on the appearances they present. Obsession with beauty and status takes precedence over logic and reason, often causing us to overlook how people truly are, shifting our perceptions to what we want to see in them.

Truth and lies are intertwined and tied to questions of trust, credibility and control. Money, power and privilege contribute key themes to the story. Action begets change as we assume the role of reconstructing history to establish our own personal narratives, creating identities to reinvent the past.

The author combines multiple timelines with various points of view in an effort to describe the complexities of the background of this story but in doing so, adds too much detail, causing the story to slow along the way. Perspectives changed too often, making it difficult to fully invest in the characters. I also found Ariel to be quite unlikable and I struggled to feel empathy for her until late in her journey.

Despite the length and pacing, the underlying premise had so much potential and sparked my interest with the story offering thoughtful and timely statements on issues relevant to the world we live in today. I would have liked to see enhanced description of the Lisbon setting, however, creating a more atmospheric experience. The last 20% of the book finally picked up speed with twists and turns and an ultimately satisfying ending with all the pieces of the puzzle coming together seamlessly. Overall, I thought this was an excellent story but I would have enjoyed it so much more with a shorter length and more thoroughly developed storyline between changing viewpoints.

"Something you think is entirely yours to control, and you assume that all the choices are up to you, then you learn that you’re wrong. The choices are not yours. Neither is the control."

* 3.5 stars rounded to 3 for Netgalley. *

** Special thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Quotes subject to change at time of publication. Available May 24, 2022. **

Hmmm, I'm torn on this one. I was into the basic story -- a woman wakes up after the first night on a business trip to Lisbon with her ten-years younger new husband. His is unexpectedly gone, with only his phone missing. She can't get a hold of him, and no one, not the hotel staff, police or American embassy, are concerned by reports of his absence. We learn that both the woman and her husband have secrets in their past. So that's all a great setup and should have kept me racing through the pages to find out what's going on and what's going to happen. BUT.... for a book billed as "two nights" and would presumably race along at breakneck pace (like the TV show "24"), this DRAGS. Partly it's because the book is rather long at 400+ pages, partly because we are given a lot of flashback backstory for the main character, and a lot of rants about various issues that are not necessarily relevant to the plot.

Nothing is what it seems in this taut thriller from author Chris Pavone. 'Two Nights in Lisbon' is sure to entertain if you like twisty thrillers and unique characters and plot twists. Aerial is on an adventure with her new husband John when he disappears one morning after an unforgettable night of love-making. She has accompanied him on a business trip to escape the life she has made on a small rural farm a hundred miles from New York City. She moved there to escape another life, one that the reader glimpses as the story unfolds. Who is John? Why has he disappeared? That is what Aerial needs to find out. She enlists the help of the local police, the American Embassy, and even the CIA on her quest. John is a mystery man and his disappearance and his own backstory are revealed also as the story unfolds. I liked this book. The plot was interesting and I really was almost finished with the book before I realized what was happening. The book is written in layers and sometimes those seemed to lag, but I was glad I stayed with it and enjoyed the author's writing and imaginative twists in the plot. The characters were the interesting part of the book. Aerial takes a while to get to know but as the reader finds out more about her, it seems her mystery deepens even more. John is not really revealed until the book's end but one gets the impression that there is more there than the author reveals. Prepare for a long story, one that is intertwined with each character and world events in a unique setting. Thanks to #NetGalley#TwoNightsinLisbon for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Ariel wakes up in Lisbon and her husband is no where to be found. When she reports him missing to the authorities she realizes she can’t answer most of their questions about him and why he’s in Portugal.

This is a thriller with some weight to it. I was a bit intimidated to pick it up because I’m so used to thin and light thrillers. I was able to get into it immediately. Be aware that it moves at a pretty slow pace. Hints and pieces are dropped throughout the story, but you don’t get a full picture for a while. The entire 432 pages is over two days/nights. If you like slow moving, slow unfolding mysteries and political thrillers, give this one a try.

“She has been silenced by operant conditioning by receiving the same response again and again, like an electro shocked lab rat or a beaten dog. A disbelieved woman.

Two Nights in Lisbon comes out 5/24.

YES!YES! YES! This was a great book. Please write more like this. A smart, sophisticated spy novel. Sped through this novel to the conclusion. HIghly recommended.

I kept picking up this book and putting it down. I liked the premise, But the writing didn’t hold my attention.

The premise of an international kidnapping told in the span of just two days sounded really intriguing, but Two Nights in Lisbon unfortunately fell flat for me. The story itself could have been cut down because many parts reiterated the same information told through the narrator, and then the detectives, and then US embassy staff, etc. The narrator also really irked me. I don't typically have to like a character to enjoy the book, but Ariel was really stiff, overly judgmental, and not at all realistic. The ending of the book also seemed like a stretch, and I couldn't get over all the plot holes.

Many others seem to have enjoyed the book, so I'm likely in the minority with this critical review. I can picture this as an engaging action film, however.

Ariel and John are in Lisbon when he suddenly disappears. In this fast-paced international thriller, we see what see what she will do to find him and unravel the twisty backstory that leads up to this.

This one kept me guessing. I knew there was more than what met the eye when a woman loses her husband in Lisbon. One of the drawbacks of the book is the transitions from the past to the present are clunky and awkward. At times I had to reread the paragraph and realize I was now in the past or present. There are many angles to the story and I will give it to the author, the ending was a surprise and not something I had anticipated.
The book has intrigue, deception, revenge, and resolution.