Breakaway Books

Authored by Chris Pavone; Published 2022; Thriller

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️

I devoured Two Nights in Lisbon in barely more than a day. As the story unfolded, I found my shoulders rising closer and closer to my ears. The heroine’s anxiety became my anxiety, and I couldn’t help but think: what would I do in her situation?

When Ariel wakes up in Lisbon, she finds the bed empty. Soon comes the demand for ransom for her husband, John, and the clock starts ticking. Desperately trying to get the assistance of local police, Ariel seems to be willing to do whatever it takes to get John back—but doing so may reveal more about him than she is comfortable with. The twisty thriller of John’s disappearance is only the top layer of this novel. As you learn more about Ariel, the questions grow: Is she who she says she is? The author masterfully unravels her backstory along with the mystery of her husband’s disappearance, and every reader will have to figure out what’s real and what’s not. 

Suffice it to say: Ariel has a dark history, and that element was one of the most challenging for me in reading the story. This novel really leans in to how little women are believed in American society, and as a woman in America, that was depressing. The book was well-paced, and I certainly never wanted to put it down, but, in the end, it left me feeling mildly queasy about the state of American society.

The ending, while a little rushed, did stick the landing and provide a satisfying conclusion. Only then did I feel relief from the tick of the hypothetical clock hanging over John’s ransom demands; I could only relax when Ariel did. When the perspective switched from Ariel’s to the investigating authorities’ perspective, the tension eased just a little bit and allowed the reader a wider perspective about how one person’s actions can affect larger geopolitical events. 

Two Nights in Lisbon is a great, quick read—just don’t read it if you’re already feeling down about how women are treated in America today.