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A review by thebookishlass
Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5/5 stars
I enjoyed the premise of this book. It's a well-done mystery/thriller with all of the right twists and turns. What keeps it from being a solid 4-star read for me is the non-linear timeline that isn't well differentiated in the book. In general Ariel was a likeable character. The impact of her traumatic past was front and center, even if the reader wasn't fully aware of the extent and nature of that trauma in the beginning. The author slips back to Ariel's past in the middle of chapters, and it makes it difficult to know when that was happening, especially in the audio edition. I think it would have been better done if they were separate chapters. Content warning, there is a great deal of violence against women in this book, so if that is a difficult subject for you, proceed with caution. Narrator January LaVoy did a great job, as usual.
I enjoyed the premise of this book. It's a well-done mystery/thriller with all of the right twists and turns. What keeps it from being a solid 4-star read for me is the non-linear timeline that isn't well differentiated in the book. In general Ariel was a likeable character. The impact of her traumatic past was front and center, even if the reader wasn't fully aware of the extent and nature of that trauma in the beginning. The author slips back to Ariel's past in the middle of chapters, and it makes it difficult to know when that was happening, especially in the audio edition. I think it would have been better done if they were separate chapters. Content warning, there is a great deal of violence against women in this book, so if that is a difficult subject for you, proceed with caution. Narrator January LaVoy did a great job, as usual.