Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone took all of my energy this week. It is a long thriller and I could see how this book could be turned into a movie, not sure if it would be a movie I would watch though.

𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒆: May 24, 2022

Synopsis:
Ariel Price wakes up in Lisbon, alone. Her husband is gone and he life with no warning or note. He is not answering his phone and Ariel knows that this is strange and something has to be wrong. She starts asking hotel security but with no answers, she must go to the police and the American embassy.

There are so many questions that Ariel cannot answer. She is not really sure why her husband, John, is in Lisbon and isn’t really clear on many factors of her husband’s life. Ariel knows there is only one person who can help her, the person she wants the least to do with. Will Ariel go to this other person for help? Why can’t Ariel answer these questions? Where is John? And what’s up with him!?!?

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
-This is a long thriller. At almost 450 pages, some parts of this book drag.

-There are many twists and turns that keep you guessing.

-Within the chapter we get flashbacks of Ariel’s life. This was hard to pick up on with the audio and I found myself going back to delisted to parts once I realized it was a flashback.

-We also have the police officers POV at times which again is hard to follow with the audio. I’m sure it is much easier to follow with an e-book or physical book.

Three stars for this thriller that is interesting but confusing, for me, as an audiobook. Perhaps if I read a physical book this rating would go up.

Is this a thriller or a book about a rape, or about revenge? The premise is good, but the execution fell short. The book needed a good editor. The narration is all over the place, and it is very disorganized. Author builds momentum and then moves on to a long, very long explanation, sometimes preachy, leaving the reader hanging. It is at times painfully slow. I know Lisbon very well and a couple times was left wondering if the author took the time to learn Lisbon geography and city map. The audiobook narrator, could have spent sometime learning some of the Portuguese names and words. For example the name Jorge in Portuguese is not pronounce like in Spanish, but sounds closer to English with a soft J. This is just an ok book. It was my first by the author, and I probably will not read his previous books. Thank you to NetGalley, FSG, and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy.

Two Nights in Lisbon
by Chris Pavone
Narrated by January LaVoy
4/5 Stars

Ariel Price awakes in a Lisbon hotel and can’t locate her husband. From that point the suspense begins and does not let up. I’ve read other reviews and can only conclude that audio is the way to go with this one. I listened at 2.0. The narrator, January LaVoy, did an excellent job of ramping up the tension and keeping my interest high throughout the story. Normally, I would say I don’t enjoy a male-written female lead but that wasn’t true here. I would definitely recommend the audiobook of Two Nights in Lisbon.

Thank you to NetGalley and McMillan Audo for this Advanced Listening Copy.

I was interested in listening to this book based on it being so well reviewed as well as plot descriptions. I was disappointed overall in the slow pace and uninteresting story. I didn't form any sort of connection with the main protagonist and I felt like that was really missing. I wish there was a richer look at the location, food, etc. To me that helps to really visualize and feel the story in more than one sense. I will still recommend this to my readers.

This is a nice mystery that builds. Some of it was a bit unbelievable but didn’t take away from the story. It was nice how the story took something horrible that happened and didn’t let it take control. The strong female lead with a number of weaknesses was nice to see. The scenery of Lisbon could have been a bit more descriptive.

Review of Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What can I say? I loved this book. The audio was fantastic and I listened in less than two days. I was totally engrossed in the story. It was fast paced and there was never a full moment. I admired the main character and the ending absolutely blew me way. One of the best endings in a book I’ve read in a long time.

Quick synopsis: Ariel is visiting Lisbon with her new husband John who is there for business. She awakens one morning to find John gone. It turns out he’s been kidnapped and she needs to gather a large ransom quickly. I won’t post more for spoiler reasons but there is so much more.

Thank you so much to @netgalley for the advanced listening copy. This one is out May 24!

I really enjoyed this book! It had me hooked from the first chapter, and kept me on my toes the entire time!

John and Ariel, a newlywed couple, are in Lisbon for a few days for the husband's business. The morning after their first night in Lisbon, Ariel wakes to find her husband gone. She's convinced that something terrible has happened to him. She goes to the local police, who tell Ariel it is too soon to be worrying that something is wrong. But Ariel knows that something isn't right and goes to the U.S. embassy, where she is told once again that she is needlessly worrying. When Ariel learns that John has been kidnapped, she must find a way to come up with 3 million Euros in 48 hours for the ransom. What follows is a compelling and intriguing mystery and thriller that will take the reader on an exciting adventure. I highly recommend Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone.
#twonightsinlisbon
#chrispavone
#netgalley

Audiobook received for free through NetGalley

Oh my goodness! Halfway through I kind of estimated what would happen and it’s so awesome. Absolutely love this book, the characters, and the entire story!

Ariel Pryce accompanies her new and much younger husband, John Wright, on a business trip to Lisbon, Portugal. After a wonderful night, Ariel wakes up to find John gone - no note and he isn't answering his phone. No one at the hotel has seen him so she gets the local police and the American Embassy involved.

Later we learn that John is being held for ransom (3 million euros) and there are only (2) days to come up with the money.

This is a book were the characters have something to hide, Ariel doesn't know much about John's line of work and both of them have changed their names in the past. Ariel's past was interesting and I liked her back story. I thought that the details about John, his past, and his business a bit sketchy at times but, perhaps deliberate on the author's part as well. There were quite a few secondary characters and some felt bit under developed.
I was in the mood for an international thriller and this one fit the bill. The Portugal setting was a bonus and even though this thriller was longer than it needed to be in IMO, I liked the high stakes aspect to the story and found that it really held my interest. Its unexpected twists and turns added to my enjoyment. I also thought that the author did a good job with the big reveal. Readers who enjoy international thriller with a political bend should give this one a try.

http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2022/04/book-review-two-nights-in-lisbon-chris.html
RATING - 4/5 stars

NOTE: The audiobook download was provided by the publisher Macmillan Audio and NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.

This tense mystery built its way to a high rating from me and then tore itself down.

The good:

There are moments of comic relief.

There's some timely political and social commentary.

The plot kept me engaged and uncertain for much of the book (though the ending was not a complete surprise to me).

The in-between:

Characters, location, and timeline change frequently. This may be intended to portray things happening simultaneously or in real-time. It was sometimes confusing.

There are several unreliable narrators.

I am left questioning the author's motives on several plot points. He'll make a bold comment on the status quo, and then write a character or situation that seems to invalidate that point.

The bad:

Sexual assault is alluded to many times from early on in the book. Ariel thwarts an attempted attack fairly early on (not the first attack on her), but the violence against women is so pervasive in the book that it's hardly a victory. There is one rape that is so brutally and graphically depicted that it truly gave me pause. What is the value of presenting this extreme violence in such detail? Are readers going to change their viewpoint or understanding of rape because of this description? If so, will they change their behaviors or act in some way to change our culture and legislation? Is this entertainment? Does this add to or distract from the main plotline of John's kidnapping and Ariel's quest to gain his release?

So, I am faced with a rating conundrum. . . . Much of the story would put my rating at *at least* 4 stars, but the gratuitously graphic rape scenes and the excessive length (leading to some repetition or unnecessary filler material—somewhat surprising in light of one character's well-deserved dig at Charles Dickens early in the book) significantly diminished my overall enjoyment.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review. Publication is expected May 24.

Two Nights in Lisbon is a suspense/thriller about a woman, Ariel Price, who has accompanied her new husband on a business trip to Portugal. He goes missing shortly after their arrival, and from there nothing is as it seems. How well does Ariel really know her husband? Who will pay the ransom to get him back? How much of her past is relevant to her current situation? How many lives will be affected by the time she gets her husband back? Will she get her husband back? She ping pongs between the American Embassy and the local police trying to get help and get answers, while attempting to avoid the discrediting labels like "hysterical" and "over-wrought" in order to be taken seriously.

Every time you think you know what's happening, there's another twist. I maybe guessed a little bit of the ending, but there were definitely aspects of the plot that I did not figure out in advance. I did struggle to keep some of the names of the investigators at all of the agencies straight via the audiobook, but I thought the narration was well done.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of Two Nights in Lisbon.

The premise of this book drew me in, however I had to DNF. The actual story did not catch my attention in the beginning and I didn't want to struggle through it.

I enjoyed many aspects of this kidnapping abroad meets Catch and Kill style thriller but overall I did not feel comfortable with the way rape and women in general were written in the book. While I think his intentions were good, it just felt off to me. Writing about rape is difficult and I think this missed the mark.

At times it seemed the author was trying to prove how much he #believeswomen with constant mentions of how afraid we are and how horrible powerful men can be. And while I fully agree that men are generally trash, it bothered me that all of the people behind exposing what happened were men. Without spoiling too much, it always ended up being a man that was turned to for help and to step in the save the day while the secondary female characters were either antagonistic, belittled by the author, or completely undeveloped stereotypes. This books screamed #NotAllMen

In a book the seems to be trying to make a point about the rampant sexual assault of women, I was also annoyed to see many passing remarks about the frivolous and vapid nature of women and girls. This type of dehumanizing language often plays into the misogynistic culture that sees women as objects to be possessed or won.

The author also seems to be making some kind of stand against social media and the current climate of rapid new cycles and the distrust of the media but it came off very preachy and to be honest (lol) I found my self thinking ok boomer fairly often. It wasn't just that Ariel didn't like social media, she was better than everyone because of that dislike. She came off very self righteous and judgemental and it made it hard to follow along with her inner monologues where she often went off on tangents about the horrors of modern life.

While a lot of this sounds negative, I didn't dislike the writing style or general plot structure, I though it was well written with a pretty good balance of suspense and predictability. Readers are in the dark at time but also know there is something they're not being told so it leaves that feeling of constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Twisting thriller that reads that could easily be a movie script. Some plot points were predictable, others not so much. My biggest barrier to enjoyment is that I didn't find any of the characters interesting enough to root for them. Audiobook narration was good.

Audiobook ARC from the publisher via NetGalley but the opinions are my own.

I had a hard time getting into this one. It just didn’t pull me in like I wanted it to and I ended up giving up about half way

The plot of this story was very interesting. There was just too much dead time in the middle of the book. And as a mother, some of the main character's decisions, particularly near the end, didn't feel very authentic. Overall, a so-so read but it could have been great.

A gripping, fast-paced novel. Pavone does not disappoint! This novel is ready-made for the big screen.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to an ARC of this book.
The best thing about this book is the title. I found it enticing and was looking forward to listening to it. The risk of listening to a book is the listener is dependent on the narrator's interpretation of the story. It is a performance like any other spoken performance. This narrator was dramatic. Her voices were good but I found myself wincing at times with the drama quality of her interpretation.

The second best thing about this book was the premise. It is definitely a thrill ride with twists and turns worthy of a good beach novel. The reader has to suspend a lot of belief as there are too many things that don't make any sense at all. For example, in the beginning, all sorts of alphabet agencies get involved in the missing person's case and It doesn't compute why they would be so interested so early in the case. It is easier to suspend belief with really good writing. This isn't. It's a great premise with great characters and not so good writing. But for a summer beach thriller, who really cares. Unless you are the type of reader, as I am, who does appreciate a well written mystery a la Val McDermid.

So judge for yourself. If you want a very long, twisty-turny thriller this book may be for you.
If you like a well-written mystery novel, there are many. There are too many really good books to read at the moment to spend so much time on this very long book.

TL/DR: A slow boil mystery/thriller, with a knack for leaving you still not knowing who you can trust even after being told point blank who you can trust.

Is Ariel Price a victim, or a bad guy? Is her husband really her husband? Is her child really hers? Is she involved with the mob? Which Hampton’s socialite did she push in the proverbial pool?

These are just a sampling of the questions running through my head from almost the first chapter, after the actress-turned small town bookshop owner wakes up to an empty hotel bed in Lisbon. She’s an ocean away from home, on a business trip with her new (and younger) husband. Even though their relationship is new and it’s unusual for her to accompany him on such trips, she just knows something isn’t right. Queue up whirlwind visits with the police, US Embassy, and CIA. Personal and national politics pulling puppet strings in various directions, sometimes overlapping but other times stealthy sliding by one another.

As a mystery/thriller of the “unreliable narrators” genre made popular by Gone Girl and the like, Two Nights in Lisbon delivers terrific nuance at a fast pace, and just enough nuggets to let you think your guess may just be right before tugging the rug from under you. Throw in well-placed snippets of Ariel’s backstory and timely attention to current social issues, it’s a multi-layered story that hardly misses a beat.