LISTENING TO: 'Two Nights in Lisbon' by Chris Pavone

Super-cool listening experience. An ordinary woman in Lisbon with her new husband wakes up alone. He's missing and he hasn't left a note. The night before, they'd taken sleep aids so they could get over jet lag. And yet she wakes up to find him gone. She goes to the police almost immediately, sensing that something is very, very wrong. Even though the relationship is a new one, she tells them that she knows for a fact he would never leave in the way he has.

And over two days, facing down skeptical local police, embassy staff and eventually the CIA, she goes searching for the truth and for her missing husband. Few books unfold the way this one did--literally never a lagging moment in the action, and so many misdirections, your head spins. And it's a cliche to say this, but in very few books is this true: "it kept me guessing till the very last page."

The author also included some commentary on the modern age--the speed with which information and disinformation travels across the globe, the reliance we have on how things appear rather than having curiosity about how they really are, and the limited attention span of people in the modern age. There was also a very strong undercurrent about the seemingly impossible task of toppling wealthy, powerful, morally reprehensible men. This one is listed as a "domestic thriller" and I guess? Seemed more like international suspense to me. But the genre is irrelevant --- pacing: flawless; plot: exciting and fast-paced; characters: engaging and multi-faceted. Listening experience: top-notch. Recommended, especially if you want something immersive, but not too dense.

My rating:⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

Buy the audiobook: https://amzn.to/3NosNuF