To The Lions is just my kind of book, strong realistic characters, a tense and thought provoking story with perfectly immersive writing and a page turning quality that grips you throughout.

Investigative journalism sits at the centre of Holly Watt’s considered thriller as Casey Benedict, our main protagonist, stumbles into a dark possibility. Instincts kicking in, she sets out to expose the truth, but danger lurks around every corner.

There are some heart breaking truths ingrained into the narrative, the journalism backdrop is entirely fascinating and there is a huge dose of authenticity to boot making To The Lions a classically absorbing read that works on every level.

A snapshot view behind the scenes of those big breaking news stories, intelligent and intriguing from first page to last, I have no problem highly recommending this one. Quality fiction, the type I read for, right here. I’m very much hoping there is lots more to come.

A young investigative journalist follows a lead that suggests some unscrupulous rich people are hunting the forgotten humans – refugees, for kicks. The trail leads Casey and her fellow journalist Miranda to North Africa, to discover the truth.

This is a high octane, political thriller full of action and violence. The investigative journalist aspect of the story is realistic. The events Casey uncovers are disturbing.

The writing style is factual. The first part of the book is hard to read, but the second half is more dynamic and faster paced.

This story authentically explores the human cost of this tragedy and poses the journalist with believable moral dilemmas.

I received a copy of this book from Bloomsbury Publishing - Raven via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Not a bad story,just found the style it was written in very disjointed and hard to read. Two female leads was unusual.

“Remind me - who are we throwing to the lions today?” - Ross, News Editor in ‘To the Lions’.

My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books for an eARC via NetGalley of Holly Watt’s debut novel.

Overhearing a snippet of conversation in a crowded London club Investigative Journalist Casey Benedict realised that it may lead to an explosive expose. She manages to convince her editor to back an undercover operation in North Africa. She is teamed with Miranda, another reporter at The London Post, and Ed, a former Royal Marine with whom Casey almost had a relationship some years previously.

In order to get the evidence they need to run the story they place themselves in mortal danger. Given that this is a dark political thriller I am not going to say too much about the plot. Watt, herself a former investigative journalist, confidently taps into contemporary global issues.

The narrative combines the economical style that I find is often a trait of journalists who turn to novel writing with beautiful descriptions and in places a quite poetic quality. Casey’s humanity shines through even when witnessing horrific events.

Part of me wondered whether any story would be worth risking so much. Yet I recalled not that long ago watching CNN journalists going undercover to expose the underground slave trade in Libya, a location that features here. So yes, journalists do risk their safety in war zones and to expose human rights violations.

On a side note I liked that a number of times lions were used as metaphors and that the hunting of lions in ‘canned hunts’ was also mentioned, highlighting that deeply cowardly practice.

A powerful, well plotted and fast paced thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. A very promising debut and I was pleased to read that a sequel is expected in 2020.

This is a romping story of an investigative journalist and her mission. Set in London and North Africa it centres around Casey who is determined to get to the root of a story she’s fallen upon, despite the dangers that surround it. The writing is of varying pace – sometimes I wanted to leave the book, other times I couldn’t put it down. There is an awful lot of swearing which is meant to portray the way things are dealt with in the newsroom of The Post (and probably does) but initially it was a bit over the top. This calmed down to the odd word here and there later.
I think To The Lions would appeal to readers who enjoy adventures and hard-nosed fictional journalism.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read it.

To the Lions, the first novel in the Investigative Journalist Casey Benedict International Thriller Series, has some original and interesting features to it. I am a strong believer that a good thriller can excite but also contain more substantial topical issues and explorations as it did here. The major talking point of immigration was broached, as well as commentary on the political sphere and the underhand goings-on that likely takes place within it, doing things for the greater good, journalistic ethics, privacy vs public interest, all of which intrigue me a great deal, but we're only touched on lightly and symbolically than with any real merit.

It stretches credulity quite a bit and has some minor editing, formatting and plot hole problems, but it explores a lot of the buzzwords and hot potato topics of our time - conflicts, mercenaries, proxy wars, deceit, abuse of power, powerful and ruthless secretive groups, and moral and ethical dilemmas. I felt Casey was a realistic character with Watt deciding to write what she knows, being an investigative journalist for The Guardian herself. It's fast-paced, fun and entertaining, and does try to highlight weightier themes but should be taken with a pinch of salt perhaps. Overall, a mixed bag which grips you and keeps you reading. I look forward to the second instalment.

Many thanks to Raven Books for an ARC.

Holly Watt’s first novel has an interesting plot with the main character Holly being an investigative journalist.
It is fast paced, maybe too fast as it can be confusing at times and seems to have inconsistencies.
She seems to have an endless budget and little control over what she does which I did not find believable.
Neither Holly or Miranda are particularly likeable or sympathetic characters which detracts from the story.
Her character varies from a spoilt school girl to international spy and as such comes across somewhat unrealistic.
The second half of the novel is better than the first but I had to struggle to get to the second half.
This is a pretty good start for a first novel so would read subsequent ones.

I am sorry this is not my type of book. It was too light hearted for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is a dark thriller featuring Casey an investigative journalist. She uncovers clues which lead her through people rafficking to the horror and I hope purely imagined, ultimate hunting trip, hunting people. The ultimate thrill, apparently for those who have done everything is to kill another human being.
There are trying scenes set in refugee camps in Libya which I imagine are based on the writer's experience.
On the whole a good read with some tense moments and hopefully original ideas.

This book is a must read. So many twists and turns it really is unputdownable, read until the early hours. Some of the characters are utterly ruthless, you can easily see how journalists are hungry for the stories they print. You really feel for Ed and Cassie being stuck with those monsters. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

A more than decent debut novel and I liked the heroine Casey Benedict and the descriptions of the atmosphere in newsrooms was totally accurate.

The plot was original if a bit shocking and I enjoyed the thrills and spills as she and her colleague got to the bottom of the mystery.

Not great but pretty good.

In the end I’m afraid I found To The Lions pretty hard going. Holly Watt is a fine investigative journalist, but doesn’t really manage to make the transition from journalism to fiction.

It begins very well as Casey (an investigative journalist) overhears something very disturbing while in a nightclub following another story and decides to follow it up. Watt is excellent in her descriptions of the process of investigative journalism and I was very involved as the process began. However, other aspects of the book were far less successful and, sadly, crammed with cliché both in the story and often in the prose – something I would expect an experienced journalist to avoid like the plague. :o) Things began to go wrong for me when Casey’s love interest becomes involved, which I found thoroughly unconvincing both in content and description. At around the same time, the book starts to get bogged down in worthy journalistic exposition. Watt makes very serious and important points...but she doesn’t really do it as a novelist and it doesn’t make good reading.

I found myself less and less involved. I wasn’t convinced by any aspect of the storytelling and found the style increasingly off-putting. It’s a pity after a promising start, but this one wasn’t for me.

(My thanks to Raven Books for an ARC via NetGalley.)

The best word to sum up this book is fascinating, or is it intriguing, or horrifying or......, you get the picture, many words come to mind to describe what I have just read
The basics are that Casey and Miranda are investigative journalists for The Post, Casey stumbles ( while on another job ) upon what she thinks is a story.....the story turns out to be very rich and powerful people, worldwide, going on ‘human safaris’ to refugee camps, I did say horrifying!
But it is so much more than that short synopsis, the author has ‘previous’ as a journalist and this shows in the wonderful descriptions of life in a major newspaper’s newsroom, what happens, who does what, the ‘politics’ and the lives of the journalists are truly brilliantly written about and it built a clear picture in my mind the whole way through
The characters ranged from the determined pair above to the evil, shadier than shady men who ran and ‘enjoyed’ these activities
Much of the book was based in Libya where the refugee camp was based and again the descriptive writing had me believing I was in the Sahara and travelling through these hideous yet beautiful landscapes, the history on Libya and Gadaffi and what went on after he was deposed was again just fascinating and factual
The story, in its nature, is dark, you dont want to believe it and yet I did and felt at all times I was in the battle with them to pursue this evil
and help stop it, the writing ‘involved’ you at every stage
There was, surprisingly but welcome, humour, often dark but just the odd sentence of Casey’s thoughts that brought a wry smile, I thought that was very clever to add to the book
I loved the end being set in my area and being able to visualise step by step what was happening and the ending was an ending and a great one,but I wonder if we will see these 2 again...?
Outstanding
10/10 5 Stars

This was a very good thriller, with a plot that it is horrific and too believable. It is well written and fast paced with multiple global locations. Recommended

This book is difficult to review for me. I've given it 4 stars mainly on the tense, gripping second part of the book. However I did have difficulty getting to understand Casey, the primary character. I failed to find much humour, feeling or emotion in her yet she acts like a 14 year old schoolgirl and runs off when Ed appears on the scene! The story line is good and moves at a brisk pace. With the book title and opening chapters I expected the book to concentrate on the main characters being chased and used as targets in a game of human safari but this was not the case. Nevertheless the book is worth a read.

I think there are two ways to review this debut novel. You could dissect each chapter, pointing out the plot inconsistencies and the sheer unbelievability of many of the set pieces. Alternatively, you can suspend reality for a few hours and indulge yourself in a high energy roller-coaster of a novel. I chose the latter and was very pleased that I did because below the surface, lurks a well-written book which in between the action, touches on a number of complex moral dilemmas.

The basic plot is pretty simple. Following up on an overheard conversation in a nightclub, Casey and Miranda, two star female investigative reporters from a national paper, aided by an ex-marine with a bit of history with Casey, set up a complex undercover ‘sting’ operation to expose an organisation which enables wealthy clients to indulge their fantasises in a disturbing and morally repulsive manner. The sting requires the team to set up base in a village in the Algerian desert. Like me, you may question whether a national newspaper would allow two attractive young women to swan off to the Sahara with no back up. You might also ask why the locals didn’t seem that suspicious and why the leaders of a very well organised criminal organisation, are gullibly taken in by these ladies and their flimsy cover story. However putting that to one side, what follows is a series of very tense and genuinely exciting set-pieces which follow on at a breakneck speed as the book hurtles towards its conclusion.

The book is full of contrasts – between the lives of the very rich and those who have nothing, between the camaraderie and buzz of a newspaper office and the squalor and emptiness of refugee camps. The author doesn’t preach – she simply paints pictures and allows us to draw our own conclusions.

This book isn’t going to win prizes. But then I don’t suppose it was meant to. At it heart is an old-fashioned thriller which at the same time raises some difficult moral issues. Reading it was a guilty pleasure, but a pleasure all the same and I have no hesitation in recommending it.

One piece of feedback for the publishers. I expect advance copies to contain flaws in the formatting, but this was by far the worst one I have had. Trying to read it on my Kindle was at best difficult and at times almost impossible. I hope this can be addressed in future.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

To the Lions, Holly Watt's debut novel, stars Casey, an investigative journalist working in close collaboration with her friend and colleague Miranda. When Casey gets wind of an undercover operation that allows wealthy men to travel to Libya and shoot refugees for fun, she knows she must track down the truth - for the sake of the story, but also for justice. However, her pursuit takes her into some very dangerous places, as well as into the path of people from her past that she thought she'd never meet again. Ultimately, Casey is faced with a moral dilemma that will define who she is as a person - is she a witness, a watcher, or a martyr?

To the Lions is unevenly paced, taking some time to get going, largely due to the constant intercuts and shifts in its first half. Once the plot gets going in its second half, it becomes a gripping thriller, presenting some genuinely interesting questions - although the time-wasting in the first half means that it doesn't have enough space to explore the aftermath of events, and the novel feels weirdly unfinished. I liked Casey, though she's a bit 'not like other girls' - this is counterbalanced somewhat by her partnership with Miranda, though the balance is still tipped towards Casey simply because Miranda doesn't have a lot of personality of her own. Watt's writing is always serviceable and occasionally distinctive, with some great turns of phrase. I loved the satirical bits on working in a newspaper office, although they jarred rather with the overall tone of the book. I'd happily read what Watt writes next, even though this didn't blow me away. Three and a half stars.

‘To The Lions’ is everything a thriller should be. It’s a gripping, convincing thriller and mixes a dynamite plot with believable detail. Holly Watt has delivered an extremely impressive first novel that I struggled to put down.

The plot is simple, but powerful and effective. Journalist Casey, who works for fictitious London paper The Post, overhears a conversation in a bar that suggests that rich businessmen are committing murder for kicks. The book follows her investigation as it crosses continents and, inevitably, puts her own life in danger. It’s a brilliantly paced book and heart-stoppingly exciting at times, whilst never using cheap gimmicks to achieve its thrills. The prose is distinctive and punchy, with a sometimes aggressive rhythm that suits the subject matter perfectly.

What impressed me most, though, was the human angle. This extends both to the cast of believable characters and to the excruciating dilemmas Casey has to face as she tries to uncover and document the truth. She’s an easy character to identify with, facing the classic modern quandary of having to balance her career with her private life. Her determination puts her in horrific situations, but I never found myself doubting her motivations. Whilst the villains of the piece are far from sympathetic, they are similarly convincing. So too are the rich cast of lesser characters, Casey’s colleagues at the post and the innocents whose lives are touched by her investigation.

That investigation is itself fascinating. Watt is a journalist by trade and it shows. The book is packed with fascinating detail on the tricks of the trade. Much of it is incidental to the plot, but I found every titbit a delight.

At its heart this is a book about the nature of human evil in the modern world. Watt spends time covering the vast gulf between rich and poor, but the book never feels preachy. Instead it’s powerful and effective and made me think more than a thriller has for a while. Make no mistakes though, this is a thriller. It’s a page turning tour de force told with passion and conviction and one of the most impressive debuts I’ve read for a while.

Enjoyed this book as a exiting page turner. A great story to take on holiday read on the plane or train. Not a literal masterpiece but has its moments.

A novel about two investigative journalists , Casey and Miranda who follow a story for a newspaper the Post about a rumour of a refugee camp in Libya . A little far fetched with little characterising with little depth. But,overall a decent read with a poor ending.

Had I picked this up in a shop I’d have probably put it back on the shelf as not my thing. But as it turned out it is my thing.

A great book that had me gripped and that left me wondering do things like this really happen?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.