Two Nights in Lisbon is the second Chris Pavone book I’ve read and it definitely won’t be the last. I read the Expats a while back and loved it, so I was excited to get this copy! This book was an exciting page turner that grabbed me from the first page. This book is a great example of how a thriller can be more than just suspense and thrills, as it was also meaningful and poignant. Be sure to check warnings though as there was a graphic scene of physical violence.

Chris Pavone delivers another top-notch thriller in this hard to put down novel about a husband's disappearance, a wife's certainty that he's been kidnapped, and the certainty of the Lisbon police that there's nothing to worry about - especially since it's only been a few hours since Ariel Pierce last saw John Wright leave their hotel room . They've only been married for a short time, and neither Ariel or John have told each other the whole truth about themselves, which leaves Ariel with nothing but a hunch that he's in danger.
There are too many spoilers to recount - suffice to say that the CIA is involved, and Pavone's forte is spy fiction, and he writes it exceedingly well .

So wonderfully easy to review this book, it’s the best thriller I’ve read in a long time. This is the story of Ariel who wakes up one morning to find her husband missing. They are in Lisbon and soon she is involved with the Lisbon police, the American Embassy, the CIA, and a strange reporter. It becomes apparent that he has been kidnapped. The kidnappers have made a huge ransom demand which Ariel must meet or they will kill her husband.

Ah, the twists and turns! The author brilliantly inserts a fascinating backstory from Ariel’s earlier life. I was unable to put this book down for a moment. It is totally engaging and enthralling. The story is very timely and there is so much that is unexpected. The reader truly becomes part of the story.

I cannot wait to share this with book clubs. There are so many points ripe for discussion.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in return for an honest review. This was truly a remarkable journey.

Two Nights In Lisbon is a thriller about a woman, Ariel, who accompanies her husband to Lisbon for a work trip and wakes up entirely alone with no trace of where her husband has gone. Throughout the story is Ariel’s frantic search to find her husband and in this search, she finds more questions than answers. Something is wrong and Ariel knows it, but the questions loom about her husband and how well she knows him. This was a quick read with so twists that turns that many will find intriguing. I really liked the author’s character building and writing.

My mind is going a million miles an hour right now.
Loved this book. Loved everything about this book and already pne of the best books I’ve read this year and an extraordinary example of how sophisticated and meaningful a thriller can be

Two Nights in Lisbon follows Ariel as she deals with her husband’s kidnapping whilst she accompanies him on a business trip to Lisbon. Ariel initially struggles to get the local police and the American Embassy to take the kidnapping seriously, but once some CCTV footage is found and a ransom demand is made they take a closer look. The story goes back and forth between current events and Ariel’s past, learning a little more of Ariel’s history each time and building more of a picture of why she is in the current situation, or so you think. The story takes place over 3 days and the pace keeps you engaged with twists that have you guessing. The handling of contemporary political and #metoo issues is consistent with the world today. It’s difficult to say too much more without spoiling the plot. Not my favourite Chris Pavone but a good read nonetheless. #TwoNightsinLisbon #NetGalley

It's early morning in Lisbon when Ariel Pryce wakes up and quickly realizes her new husband, John, is not laying next to her. At first Ariel thinks he just stepped out for a moment and will be right back, but, as time passes, Ariel gets a gut-wrenching feeling that something is terribly wrong. Within hours, Ariel has contacted hotel security, the Lisbon police, and the American embassy asking for help finding John. But everyone Ariel talks to is apprehensive to help considering John has only been "missing" for a handful of hours. Moreover, these agencies are curious as to why Ariel is convinced that her husband is in danger - especially since he's been to Lisbon on business several times prior to this trip. Ariel is brand new to Lisbon and John's work world: She doesn't know much about John's work at all as they've only known each other for a little over a year before eloping. As suspicion of Ariel's hysteria mounts, she gets a phone call demanding a ransom of three million Euros in exchange for the safe return of her husband. Suddenly, everyone, including Ariel, is asking: Where is John and why on earth do they think Ariel can obtain that much money?


Two Nights in Lisbon was an up-and-down read for me: There were a lot of parts I enjoyed and a lot of parts that made me skim the pages. Two Nights in Lisbon is marketed as a thriller, but it's not just a regular who-dun-it: it's a political thriller with high-stakes players and an international setting. Since I didn't know this book was going to get political, I was happily surprised by that development and immediately became more invested. While the plot was inherently interesting, I felt like I was reading a lot of fluff each chapter and not a lot of action. This book follows a lot of characters, and each of them has a story that only gets about half-developed (I'm talking about George, Persephone, Bucky, the Lisbon cops, etc.), so the book got incredibly messy at times and drowned in details that ultimately didn't matter. Overall, though, I did like the plot and Chris Pavone's tone - I just didn't like its execution. I can't say I would recommend this book, but I don't think it's a poor read.

I have read most of Chris Pavone’s books and enjoy his ability to tell a complicated story while keeping the action going. His latest novel, “Two Nights in Lisbon”, continues in the same vein.

The premise is gripping right from the start: a woman, Ariel Price, wakes up in a hotel room alone in Lisbon, her husband is nowhere to be found. This is just the first layer of the onion, there are many, many more to peel back. It 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 her husband’s client. Or the firm’s name. Or what he really does. She goes to the police, almost immediately, who have a hard time believing anything is wrong. She goes to the US embassy, they also can’t really help her.

But suspicions are aroused. We learn that Ariel has changed her name for some reason. She left her husband under mysterious circumstances. She has a son, but who exactly is the father? 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.

When Ariel is given a ransom demand, it turns out her worries were well-founded. Now she has to turn to a person from her past for the money, someone she has avoided at all costs. But if she wants to rescue her husband, this is her only choice. And so begins a game between Ariel, the Portuguese police, the CIA, and even an intrepid journalist who smells a story.

I really enjoyed the main story, it was well-plotted and moved along at a great pace. Like Mr. Pavone’s previous books, the plot was complicated but if you’re smart and pay attention you will be rewarded in the end. The only drawback to the book was the flashbacks: they were very numerous, way too long and detailed, and also had a tendency to come off as preachy. They also seemed to come up right in the middle of an action sequence, breaking the flow of the story. I understand the need for the backstory and exposure, I just wish they could have been shorter and more to the point. Once we got to the backside of the novel and the flashbacks were done, that’s when the story really took off.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Farrar, Straus and Giroux, MCD via NetGalley. Thank you!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sharing Chris Pavone’s upcoming title. Wow is all I can summarize it as. I’d read his other books and not been so wowed, but this one rises above. I found it amazing how a male author could inhabit the space of the female protagonist, I actually went and verified that the author is a man and I hadn’t been mistaken all these years. So very timely in its view and politics, with a strong point of view. The icing on the cake was a great plot and mystery that I couldn’t quite figure out until it was revealed to me. Highly recommended.

Nominally a thriller/ mystery but so much more. The main character is Ariel, a 45 year old woman, who awakens in her hotel room early one morning in Lisbon to discover him missing. What follows is a long and detailed search to find him , with many twists and surprises. In the process, other themes are addressed-power, money , politics, international and domestic security, sexual exploitation, revenge, modern technology-I could go on and on. Most surprising to me is how well Pavone writes from a woman’s point of view, about her emotions and feelings , her fears and her strengths. It is essentially a “ book within a book”, and has to be read carefully to catch all of the twists and turns (I admittedly missed a key one😂). It is a long read but I think extremely well done.Kudos once again to Pavone.

A woman, recently married for the second time, wakes up to find her husband missing from their Lisbon hotel room. She's sure something is wrong, though he hasn't been gone for long, and nobody seems to take her concerns seriously. She finds out soon enough that her instincts were correct: she gets a ransom demand. A demand she can only meet if she contacts the wealthy man who derailed her lears earlier.

This is a twisty thriller with a heroine who rises to the occasion with panache, but who is also touchingly vulnerable and human. Pavone also slips in commentary about politics and the careless damage done by people with extreme wealth. Very enjoyable - I think this is my favorite of his books, all of which feature strong female leads.

This was a fun and engaging read. Ariel Price wakes up in Lisbon only to find her husband missing. As she starts searching for him, going to the local police, the American Consulate, skeletons from her and her husband’s past tumble out. One moment you are sure the husband is scamming her while on the other you realise something terrible must have happened in her past. And you can’t help follow her through Lisbon, trying to solve this mystery. I quite enjoyed reading this. Perfect read in-between intense book.

My first book by this author and I enjoyed it. after a slightly confused start the storyline evolved into an interesting story with identifiable characters. I had not anticipated the ending. So in summary a good and enjoyable read down on the beach. I thank the publisher and netgalley for an advanced copy for the purposes of a fair review. I will be seeking out other books by 5his author.

What a wild ride. This deeply layered, intense thriller serves up an engrossing tale of international intrigue, societal privilege and overcoming physical and psychological trauma. I devoured this book in a day. Some of the backstories were a little long, but the ending was completely unexpected and did not disappoint!

The premise sounded great, so I had to give it a go. I had never read any of Chris Pavone's books before, but I kept reading good reviews about them, especially about The Expats.

This was such an interesting story with a solid ending. However, I started losing interest in the second half of the book. The constant flashbacks that interrupt critical moments of tension can be distracting, and they are too long too. Additionally, going back and forth with the US embassy and the Portuguese authorities made me lose interest in the story while reading these particular parts.

Apart from that, this was an entertaining read with lots of twists. Also, it turned out to be a political thriller, which I did not expect.

Two Nights in Lisbon seems like it's going to be a taut thriller. It's not. The book opens with a newly married Ariel Price. She divorced her first husband 14 years previously and now lives on a farm and owns a bookstore in small town New York with her 13 year old son.

The new husband, John Wright and Ariel appear to be on their honeymoon in Lisbon. The morning after, Ariel remembers great sex and the topsy turvy bed and clothes support this. But she can't find her husband. She asks the hotel staff and then goes to the police and then the Embassy. This is all within a few hours, and her actions seem premature, a reader can sympathize with the new wife.

Then a ransom demand for 3 million euros arrives. Ariel and John do not have that kind of money. It is at this point or even before that a reader has to wonder what the hell is happening. Past lives for both Ariel and John are hinted at but never explained until the end of the book. Ariel has to get the money from some "monster" from her past, the only one she thinks can get the money together on this July 4th.

There is lots of interest from the police, the US embassy and a newspaper reporter. A reader can't figure out why everyone is so interested. We are given a reason, but it's full of holes.

Will the ransom be paid? Will Ariel's husband be freed unharmed? Will the reader be annoyed by the end of this book. Answer to all three--YES.

This was a perfectly serviceable thriller. I felt like you had to suspend quite a bit of disbelief in regard to some of the character actions, but overall a good read.

Chris Pavone’s new novel, Two Nights in Lisbon, is a brilliantly written depiction of a woman who awakes in a hotel room in Lisbon to find her husband missing. He has not left any note and does not answer his cell phone.
In an attempt to discover what happened to him, she contacts the police, the American Embassy and reviews videos from the hotel security cameras.
The book is replete with flashbacks which inform the reader of some of the secrets and hidden pasts of many of the characters in the novel. There are also subplots relating to Senate confirmation hearings, non-disclosure agreements and rape - which all come together in a satisfactory manner. Mr. Pavone’s prose is not only fascinating but it is also masterful.
I highly recommend this book to any reader who will not mind missing hours of sleep - once started, I could not put the book down.
My thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus & Giroux for the advance reader copy and to Chris Pavone for writing an unforgettable novel.

This Chris Pavone’s detective story begins in Lisbon, where an American couple just has arrived for a business meeting. When the wife wakes up on Monday, the first morning, and does not find her husband anywhere at the hotel, she rushes to the police station to claim his disappearance. The police staff prefers to believe in a wife's misunderstanding rather than a criminal fact: “This woman does not know her husband as well as she believes”. However, the wife does not give up easily as “this is really not like him” and goes to the US embassy, where she encounters for forty-three min the same indifferent reaction. The reader must not believe in easy appearance. Do you think you will learn about the main sites of Lisbon? Do not waste your time because each minute counts to follow these characters. They are determined: the wife will search for her beloved husband, the police and the embassy will try to prove the wife is hiding important information, and finally, the husband will fight for his life and those he loves. Are you ready? Take a long breath and go! Each word and, each movement are worthy. The reader will be an astonished witness as this 21st-century multi-layer history evolves, deep in emotions and empathy. At last, I appreciated much that one person's decision should change the course of some human behaviors forever because “justice is truth in action.”

Pavone is an obviously talented writer, but this plot really needed some work. It was fun, Pavone writes compelling characters, the plot just fell flat several times throughout the novel for me. I was constantly expecting something more.