The beginning was definitely a little confusing / slow. But this book blew my mind!!! It was so good!! So many good twists to keep you intrigued! I never ever would have expected the end, it really got me! Incredible writing, and an incredible plot. I truly don’t understand how authors make thrillers this good!

Two Nights in Lisbon is my first book by Chris Pavone and hopefully not my last! This story kick-off well and had me intrigued from the get-go with an immediate hook - where is Ariel’s husband?! I enjoyed how the story unfolded with plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing. Well-developed plot! I was pleasantly surprised to see it take a turn towards a political thriller halfway through but do wish this premise would have been introduced a bit earlier. My only real critiques are that I thought the book was too long for the story and that the city of Lisbon was not more visible in the story. I actually requested this book because we were traveling to Lisbon. Lisbon is a beautiful city with such unique culture and architecture and I wish the author would have captured it a bit more of it’s essence especially considering it was in the title.. but unfortunately Lisbon could about have been replaced with any European city name.

January Lavoy was excellent as narrator - multiple voices, easy to follow who is saying what.

Book: Two Nights in Lisbon
Author: Chris Pavone
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Thriller
Places Featured: Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹
Book Club/Reading Challenge: #gltreadingchallenge2022 (Book from Western Europe)
Review Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review: I really wanted to like this one because it sounded like a book right up my alley--a mystery/thriller involving international--but it was just a little too long and complicated for me to give it a raving review. It was still enough to keep me listening, though, so it has some potential. Ariel is on her honeymoon in the old city of Lisbon when she wakes up to an empty bed and no word from her new husband...which sends her on a search that takes her around the world and back to her own past. The beginning was definitely intriguing and it wasn't a bad ending, but it dragged a bit in the middle.

Thank you Macmillian audio for the audio ARC of Two Nights in Lisbon!
I always really enjoy Chris Pavone's stories, they are fast-paced, and always keep me on the edge of my seat.
When Ariel wakes up in Lisbon and realizes her new husband is missing she must decide how far she will go to get him back.
The audiobook was great, really putting the listener into Ariel's story.

Stunning, absolutely phenomenal novel. Loved it all the way and great narration! Thank you so much! Wonderful character development and writing also, all around phenomenal book and one of my favorites of the year!

This was a good book and I enjoyed the long route to the comeuppance and takedown of the disgusting politician! It was very cleverly crafted and executed, I kinda wish something like this would happen to some of our most disgusting current real-life politicians. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

I really enjoyed this book. It had a good amount of suspense and kept me wanting more. I listened to the audio book and was equally impressed by the narration. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

This book was way to long and had to many characters. I listened to the audiobook and wasn't sure if the editor listened to it. There was no pause between scenes or characters. One moment Ariel would be talking and the next someone in a different location would be having a conversation. I was so confused that I would think I missed something. Then I realized there was no continuity break between scenes. The story might have been good but the characters...CIA, embassy, Portugal police, journalist, all became confusing to keep track of.

Two Nights in Lisbon
Chris Pavone
Macmillan Audio
Publication: May 24, 2022
Narrated by January LaVoy
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Facts are facts. Truths are truths.

Americans Ariel and John Pryce travel to Lisbon together as John has business to conduct. After a passionate first night, Ariel wakes up alone. There is no note and John’s cell phone is gone. She tries calling, but her call goes to voicemail. Ariel tries to involve the police to no avail, suggesting it is too early to declare him missing.

Around one o’clock, as Ariel searches in a square, a motorcyclist thrusts a burner phone in her hand and is told to answer it when it rings. She answers it and is told there is a three million Euros ransom for John’s safe return. She has 48 hours to get the money. Where is she going to get that much money; especially on the July 4th weekend? Her frustrations and anxieties grow by the hour. How can she save her husband’s life?

The police start following Ariel and are wondering: Is Ariel a regular civilian simply on a business trip with her regular civilian husband? Or, is she something else? The story flips back and forth between Ariel’s movements and the police’s movements as the plot thickens and more secrets are revealed. There are some surprising twists as the story moves towards its conclusion.

I enjoyed this book, but wished I had a hard copy instead of an audio arc. It’s just too long at over 14 hours. I kept having to rewind to refresh my memory as I don’t have 14 hours to sit in one or two sessions to listen to any book. But, I loved the narrator, January LeVoy. She has a wonderful voice and one can easily discern distinct characters.

I recommend the audio version for those who have the time (or a better memory than me) to listen to the lengthy audio. If not, I highly recommend buying the book.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio copy. The opinions are my own.

Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone. I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook. The casting and directing were phenomenal which made it a delight to listen to. This story is a gripping thriller about a woman under siege and her willingness to go to any lengths when everything is at stake. This is a well-crafted thriller that will hold your interest till the very last second. If you haven't done so already go out and purchase this audiobook! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this copy.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of the audio version of this book.

I ended up DNFing this book because I couldn't bring myself to care about the protagonist and it felt like it was too derivative of other missing person thrillers. This might be more about me and my boredom with thrillers, because lots of people are loving this one.

Two Nights in Lisbon is a best-selling international thriller about Ariel Pryce, an American woman who travels to Lisbon with her husband of one year, John. On day one, she wakes up in their hotel room to find him missing. And the rest of the story is about her search for him and how they ended up in Lisbon to begin with.

What I liked:
- Super unexpected mystery that kept me guessing until the very end.

- The plot twisted and turned in clever directions.

- I was made to reconsider all of initial opinions and judgments about each character.

- One of the surprising themes that emerges is regarding the abuse of power by men over women. Also, the constant objectification of women.

- The narration by the award winning voice actor, January LaVoy.

What I didn't like:

- Slow at first.

- The length (14.5 hours).

Special thanks to Macmillan Audio (and FS&G) for an advanced copy of the audiobook via the NetGalley app.

TWO NIGHTS IN LISBON by Chris Pavone
Publication: May 24, 2022 by MCD
and Macmillan Audio - Narrated by January LaVoy


After a romantic and steamy night in Lisbon with her new husband of three months, Ariel
Pryce awakens to an empty bed. There is no trace of her younger husband, John Wright. Enter the frantic and uncertain world of intrigue and deceit in this riveting international thriller by Chris Pavone. John’s phone is gone, but yet he does not pick-up or reply to her text. There is no note. Very concerned she first approaches the hotel staff and security to no avail. With escalating concern, Ariel contacts the local police and is met with indifference at best. Soon she contacts the US embassy and is underwhelmed by the attitude of the smarmy and condescending aid. And yet, this same low level aid presents his impressions and concerns to the adjacent CIA officer in the building. During this unfruitful visit to the embassy, an American journalist is hovering nearby and smells a possible worthwhile story. He confronts Ariel, but is politely rebuffed. But he will not be deterred, and persistently dogs her and the locals for further details. While the clock is ticking, in spite of the initial indifference to her plight, the veracity and significance of the situation is actually being investigated by the Lisbon police, CIA and the journalist. Quickly on the streets, a black shrouded motorcyclist accosts her and thrusts a burner phone into her hands. The electronically altered voice indicates her husband has been kidnapped, and unless a ransom of three million euros is paid, he will be executed. Neither John or Ariel have this kind of money, and this is occurring during the July 4th weekend, making it impossible to obtains such a large sum. There is only one man who has access to such a sum…. a shadowy powerful man from her past, which she has taken great effort to escape.
The narrative is largely through Ariel’s POV, with frequent flashbacks laying down pertinent
backstory. There is definite linkage to her past lives. After college and a stalled career as an actress, the beautiful and lithe Laurel (her original name) marries a powerful and rich husband, Buckminster (“Bucky”) Turner. She seemingly slips into the privileged lifestyle, but is restless and reluctant with its vacuousness of purpose … and ultimately divorce is the answer. In her second incarnation, she is Ariel Pryce, running a bookstore in a small town, while living on a farm with her son. The multifaceted investigations uncover multiple mysteries and secrets in both Ariel and John’s pasts. Ariel reluctantly contacts and virtually extorts this abhorrent man from her past to obtain the ransom …. as the hours tick by closer to her new husbands demise.
Chris Pavone crafts a masterful convoluted narrative brimming with feints and surprise reveals that escalate to a near impossible denouement. Intricate plots and subplots are commonplace in this insightful novel. Pavone masterfully incorporates themes of abused and
dismissed women and victimhood, along with revenge and retribution.
The narration was provided by the talented actress, January LaVoy. Her multidimensional presentation was notable not only for the variation of accents that allowed easy differentiation of the characters but more importantly accurately set the appropriate tone, suspense and intrigue. She truly brought to life the characters in the theatre of my mind. I certainly will seek out other audiobooks for the sheer pleasure of listening to her presentation.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an Advance Audio Recording in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars

A woman suffering trauma from a lifetime of sexual abuse suspects her husband has been abducted during a business trip in Lisbon. Lots of complications & flashbacks lead to an improbable conclusion. I was not a fan of the writing style, the characters, or being immersed for the whole book in the MC’s trauma; the latter was unexpected & anxiety inducing for me.

[What I liked:]

•I’ve read few novels set in Lisbon, so that was interesting.

•The reactions of the hotel staff, local police, etc. to the MC’s seemingly disproportionate panic were nuanced & believable.

•It starts out slow, but the pace finally picks up around 35% in. From there it falters sometimes due to the constant switch between flashbacks & the present, but doesn’t drag too much.

[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Would the CIA *really* get involved in an unconfirmed missing persons report of an American on a business trip in a friendly European country less than 24 hours after he was last seen? That seems improbable.

•There is lots of information dumping at the beginning, as well as at regular intervals throughout the rest of the book. Also, the MC’s constant anxiety & rumination is tedious & made it a bit hard to follow the plot. (I know that’s not empathetic of me, but is was hard to read for the whole length of a book, & started to make me feel anxious 😬)

•There is no mention of the MC’s long & tragic history of repeated sexual abuse & harassment in the synopsis, or any indication that this would be featured so prominently in the book. It was marketed as a kidnapping thriller, with no hints of the significant focus on abuse & trauma.

•The ending isn’t terrible, but it’s improbable. It feels a little out of left field because there were no hints of it in the MC’s endless litany of thoughts about the current situation.

CW: abusive relationships, sexual harassment, mental health issues (anxiety, trauma), under-age sexual assault, a disgusting amount of victim blaming, r*pe

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

This was a very fast-paced book. I had a digital ARC and did not get to it in time, but I ended up reading it because it had a blurb from Stephen King essentially daring readers to read the first 20-pages and put it down. The last time I was issued such a dare was decades ago by a bookseller at the now defunct Castle Books in Puerto Rico. The book was The Genesis Code and I was not, in fact, able to put it down.

Same thing happened with Two Nights in Lisbon. I started listening to it, was intrigued by Ariel, and wanted to know more about how she became the woman she is today. Trigger warning: It has to do with sexual assault and the flashbacks to the first of those instances are hard to get through. However, as the book progressed I was also interested in the various characters invested in Ariel's plight: the Portuguese police officers, the CIA agents, and the mysterious reporter.

While I did put the book down because it was a bit much, I ended up reading it in two days and three seatings. The narrator was doing an excellent job conveying the urgency of the situation and the fast-paced scenes had my vicarious heart racing as well: There were times where my Apple watch thought I was working out.

As I grow older, I find myself more attracted to thrillers written by women. They tend to be less bloody, less sexist, and more psychologically nuanced, but this book didn't give me misogynistic vibes. There is plenty of misogyny in the book, but it serves as fuel to forge Ariel's character.

The missing star is because of the ending. There are certain things I did not need overtly explained and I resented the condescension.

Audio expired before I could finish listening. So unable to review this book this way but will be posting my review of the kindle version of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ariel Pryce is in Lisbon accompanying her new husband on an international business trip but when she wakes up alone in their hotel room in her gut she knows that something is wrong. As the hours begin to pass with no word from him she becomes increasingly concerned and begins to seek help in locating him; she begins with the hotel staff, then the police and eventually the embassy but get the same response from all of them; no one is worried. This is not like the man she knows ... but how well does she actually know him. When she receives a ransom note her worst fears are realized, he has been kidnapped but to obtain the money she must step back into her own hidden past and a life she has spent years running from.

Chris Pavone's newest novel is a twisty mystery with each character harboring secrets from the past that are crashing together on the streets of Lisbon. The story is told from multiple character perspective as we follow Ariel and the investigators who are becoming increasingly suspicious of her as their investigation into the kidnapping develops. Overall, this is a fun international "spy" suspense that keeps twisting to the very end. I had the audio version read by January LaVoy who I enjoyed very much and would be interested in listening to more of her work.

Riveting story .The author has not disappointed in any of his novels.Put on top of your to be read list.

Two Nights in Lisbon is a terrific listen with strong narration, storytelling and questions marks until the bitter end. Chris Pavone is an accomplished writer in the international thriller genre with plotting that incorporates character arcs as well as page-turning pace. This one started out a little slow for me, but picked up by the midpoint. Descriptions of Lisbon, a mystery identity and great narration by January LaVoy kept me listening. And the pay-off in the second half was big.

I had trouble getting into the book, but eventually, the plot points piqued my interest, and I became invested in the outcome. Despite the heavy content (sexual assault), I’d describe this suspense novel as an easy-read thriller. Perfect for summer/beach reading.