A dual review: I read this one and alternated with the audiobook, ultimately, preferring and finishing, in print.

A bit of a slow start, this mystery quickly speeds up the plot adding many elements to the point of muddling the waters a bit too much. But, a satisfying resolve.

My favorite Pavone remains The Expats, but a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I'm afraid I couldn't get in to this one at all, and stopped reading after only a few chapters. The plot didn't keep me hooked enough to continue.

Ariel Price wakes up in a hotel room alone in Lisbon, her husband, John, is nowhere to be found. Turns out they are recently married and they’ve only known each other for a short time. And Ariel came on this business trip but doesn’t know what John really does. She goes to the police and US Embassy, who have a hard time believing anything is wrong.
Secrets around and we learn Ariel has changed her name for some reason and had left her husband under mysterious circumstances. She also has a son And her husband John? He also changed his name. He has a sister who he no longer talks about. And it turns out he used to be in the CIA.
Scenes from the point of view of the police and the embassy staff were interesting, but parts of the scattered backstories and flashbacks were too sudden for my taste.
While twisty and face paced, I found too much going on to really focus on the story, although the ending was a bit of a surprise.

Ariel Pryce, a single mother with a fourteen year old son, woke up one morning to find her new husband gone from their Lisbon hotel room and all evidence showed he was kidnapped. She went to the Police and the American Embassy and appeared to be unsuccessful in her efforts. Then she while she was walking back to the hotel, a person on a motorcycle handed her a burner phone the began ringing almost at once. She was told her husband had been taken and she needed to pay a 3 million Euro ransom for his recovery. The novel’s plot is very complex and borders on the convoluted (this explains the 4 stars) but is fascinating. I will not reveal more because of spoilers but will say it covered the past and the present and dealt with NDA’s, extortion, politics and revenge. It was well carried out. Thanks to Net Galley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an ARC for an honest review.

This was another of my attempts to read a new author with rave reviews by other well known authors (someday I’ll learn). This book was an utter disappointment. I found the main character to be shallow and uninteresting. The writing style was not engaging and the attempt to make this a mystery/thriller fell flat.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.

Imagine--a second chance at love. A blissful day in Lisbon for a honeymoon and waking up to find your brand new husband gone. Ariel has left her son at home under the care of her mother, who had always criticized Ariel's choices, This time, however, Ariel was sure she had made the right one. But her husband was nowhere to found and then there was a note that he was kidnapped. One person from Ariel's past had the resources that could pay the ransom, and though she was loathe to do so, she had no choice but to ask for money. The money was paid, but still no husband and she had to go back home to her critical mother. This one will keep you wondering. I received a preview copy and was able to freely review this book.

Every once in awhile you find a book that makes you wonder, "What would I do in this situation:" "Two Nights In Lisbon", is that kind of novel. A woman wakes up in Lisbon and her husband is missing. What should she do? The police and the American Embassy seem to be dismissive of her. And yet, her husband is missing!

This book is a mystery, and is as action packed as a spy novel. It held my interest from the first page and kept me reading breathlessly until its conclusion. Mr. Pavone is a master at building suspense. His writing is great. I loved this story and highly recommend it.

The description of Two Nights in Lisbon is full of suspense, and it's set in beautiful Lisbon. No spoilers, all the blurbs convey that our protagonist Ariel wakes up in the hotel room and her husband is missing. And from there we take off. Well, Ariel takes off on her mission to rescue said husband. She acts with urgency from the very beginning, in the first hours of his disappearance.

I had trouble keeping the narrative straight. She contacts both the local police and the US embassy. It was hard to tell all of those on the case apart, they all melded together, working towards the same objective of finding the husband. Convoluted.

The author has a pretty heavy handed, negative view on technology, with commentary such as this sprinkled throughout: "toxic effects of social media...economic devastation wrought by online retail and the tech-driven gig economy and the decline of Main Street". Similar commentary on the American political system. It was tiresome. But, this is an international thriller, so maybe it fits?

I did love the descriptions of Lisbon, very flavorful and accurate. I did spend a few hours on the couch flipping the pages to see how it would end. I just didn't love the characters, or find the twists that compelling (a lot is foreshadowed) or believable. It's not a quick read (448 pages!). While not for me, those who love political intrigue and a Lisbon travelogue may enjoy it a lot more.

My thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, MCD for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by Chris Pavone. A very tightly plotted international thriller ... although as Chris himself mentions in the body of the epilogue, the twist is a bit "convoluted".
That being said, I enjoyed the book immensely. The characters had depth and were interesting. Particularly the people tracking John and Ariel. I read the book in two sittings. Perhaps I would have preferred a slightly different ending (no spoilers).
I found the discussion of NDA's (non disclosure agreements ) fascinating....particularly the aspect of how they have long term negative emotional impact on the victims..
I will now go back and read more of Chris Pavone's early work.

For the first couple of hundred pages Two Nights In Lisbon felt like two year in Siberia. It's a convoluted plot supported by a narcissistic leading lady bent on concealing the true nature of the tale. It's only in the last one hundred or so pages that you get the feeling that this is more that a mundane murder, mayhem, espionage or kidnapping and reveals itself to be a cunningly contrived caper.

But Pavone claws back some resonance when he describes America as "cognitively dissonant", (a vision the rest of the world holds), and states..."that's the real hysteria, the national pretence that we are not what we empirically are". This novel reinforces that concept. It's a vengeful tale, and the "means to an end" mentality used by the dominating characters are somewhat unfortunate.
There's no heroes to see here.

Fast paced, thrilling and impossible to put down. This book is an absolute must read for anyone who enjoys a thriller.

I loved this book

When newlyweds Ariel and John go to Lisbon for John's business, John leaves the hotel in the morning and does not come back. Ariel has to fight to get the local police to believe he hasn't just wandered off, or possibly left her in the lurch. After all, they have only known each other for a year and have been married for just three months. But when she receives a ransom demand for 3 million euros, they start taking it seriously. The police turn up some interesting facts, like both John and Ariel changed their names years ago. How well does Ariel really know the man she married? And there is the story line of Ariel's 14 year old son, born while she was married, but with no father listed on the birth certificate.

The plot had some holes. But the characters were well written and the ending was great. It kept me reading way after bedtime and I skipped a planned outing because I wanted to finish it.

I have not read anything by this author before, but once I go into this I ordered his other books.

Wow! Another fantastic book by Chris Pavone. At this point I'll read anything that has his name on it. This book was fast paced, twisty, and thoroughly enjoyable. The plot line kept me guessing and I absolutely loved it. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me an ARC.

Two Nights in Lisbon is the latest fast paced thriller from Chris Pavone. Ariel Pryce (main character) wouldn't be out of place in a James Bond book. If I were ever in a spot and needed a fierce friend on my side, Ariel is who I would call. I want to thank NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for an early copy to review.

Loved this darkly elegant international thriller! With breathtaking suspense, a tightly woven plot and beautifully nuanced characters, this expertly crafted story is full of surprises from start to finish. When a woman wakes in a foreign city and her husband is nowhere to be found, a wild race begins. A surprisingly moving story about love, marriage, power and how far some will go for revenge. I highly recommend!

Expertly crafted….. Two Nights in Lisbon is a wild, thrilling ride that just kept getting better and better as the story unfolds. Relentless suspense, crisp dialogue and twist after twist has you powering through this book. The story is told entirely through the POV of Ariel, a deeply hurt character whose anger is palpable on practically every page. This is a powerful book with a central theme that will anger and shock you as the layers of Ariel’s life are peeled back with each chapter as the storylines merge.

Although the plot to this novel sounded appealing, its approach ran a little flat. I didn't feel anything for the main characters and the author made a lot of assumptions for his readers. For instance, right out of the gate there were FBI, CIA, and local police involved in a kidnapping yet this isn't explained why and it was assumed that the reader could keep track of who all of these investigators were affiliated with.

This my first book by this author and I will be following his work from now on. I love political thrillers so I might have been biased going into this because give me all the government agencies, secrets, etc. but still I think this is a really good one! Can’t wait to share a more detailed review closer to the publication date!

A woman awakens to an empty bed. Her husband can't be more than a few minutes ahead of her, but he hasn't left a note. When she doesn't find him waiting for her at breakfast, she becomes worried. It turns out neither of the spouses have been completely honest about their pasts.

What do you do when you wake up in a foreign city and your husband is nowhere to be found? Not their honeymoon, but a 'business trip' that seems to go awry the morning after a lovely romantic dinner and a nighttime of pleasure. When Ariel Price wakes up in Lisbon, alone, she searches the hotel, checks with hotel staff, the local police and the American Embassy. No one is as concerned as she is. As the story unwinds, we learn a lot more about Ariel, her husband, and her past. This is a wonderfully-written thriller that keeps you guessing until the very end!