Chris Bohjalian has become one of my favorite authors and I read each book he crafts with joy and eagerness. Oh how I loved this book. It immediately drew me in and I was intrigued by the safari setting. Set in the past, Hollywood starlet, Katie Barstow, insists on an over the top honeymoon safari trip with a large group of her Hollywood cohorts. This is a lark for them, a fun time safari and a chance to see African animals up close. The reader quickly finds that this trip will go wildly out of control and we are flipping the pages to see who will survive to the end. One of my favorite elements of Bohjalian’s books is the ethical dilemmas he introduces to the reader. It is never a simple case of good guys and bad guys, rather you must weigh it all and mull it over dealing with myriad shades of grey. In this novel, we must ponder who are the most vicious predators, the animals or the people. There is much gore and suspense. Make sure you have time to read, as you will likely not be able to put this book down. This book was very satisfying and I will be recommending it to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for providing me the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my honest review.

An eventful story taking place during a safari in Africa in 1964, you could easily interchange the Hollywood characters with any other wealthy group of people and it would just as page-turning, on-your-seat good. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read this work.

When a movie star takes her new husband, her agent, her publicist, and several friends on an African "safari", they are expecting to be shocked & awed by the beauty and wildness of the animals and environment. They are, but then everything starts to go wrong. Over the course of just a few days, with the help of multiple flashbacks, we learn about each of the characters' pasts and find out their future. A great look at life among the rich in the mid-1960s.

I have a love/hate relationship with Chris Bohjalian's books. I have LOVED some and hated some. This one is somewhere in the middle. I was completely hooked by the premise, and I could not put it down, but I don't really see what the point of the book was. I was enthralled with the details (clearly very well researched) about life in the 1960s and about the Serengeti. However, I didn't really care about any of the characters, so I didn't really care as

SPOILER

they died one by one. By the end of the book, the few survivors went back to their lives. Why? Yes, I learned a great deal about animals in the Serengeti, and a little bit about politics in Africa and elsewhere in the 1960, but
either I missed something really important, or this is just another Ho-Hum book from Bohjalian.

I really wanted to like this because I like the author. However, there were multiple perspectives of many characters and the kidnapping and was very slow moving. Most of the action does not take place till the end of the book. I think it would have been more enjoyable if the story was being told from at least two perspectives. Still, the writing is very beautiful with lush descriptions of Africa! The exotic setting was the best part of the novel! I recommend this for fans of The Sun Sister, The Ashford Affair, and Circling the Sun!

The Lioness is about a young starlet on her honeymoon with her friends in the Serengeti for a safari. It's set in 1964, so you get a real sense for old Hollywood and shifting time in history. Things start going wrong soon after they arrive in Africa when the group is abducted. There is a lot of action, which made it very captivating and I had no idea what would happen next. There are a number of characters, so it's a little confusing to keep backstories straight and it could be hard to really connect with each character. The settings are really vivid, giving me a great picture of each location and action. I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated masterfully by January LaVoy. She did a wonderful job building suspense. My only complaint about the audiobook, is that since the book switches from present-tense to past-tense frequently, it can be a little confusing. Overall, a very exciting story.

Thank you Doubleday Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Boy this one starts off strong and really never lets up until it is done. It can drag a bit at times but overall the pacing flowed well and the story kept my attention throughout. I listened to this one via audiobook and the narrators did a fantastic job, however there are quite a few characters to keep track of, and I was not as focused as I should have been and had to keep redoing chapters to catch everything going on. There are multiple POV’s (10) and two timelines, current day on the safari and the past, another point where the audio can be confusing if not paying attention is that the timelines can switch without warning. I think this might just be one where the book will be helpful to follow along with, but please don’t get me wrong, the narration is so well done that I do recommend the audio, when you can focus on it.

Chris does a fantastic job of describing the atmosphere, the characters, and setting the stage so you have the backstory leading up to the safari going horrifically wrong. He takes his time in doing so, properly developing each of the characters, and you are so vested in these characters that by the time it happens you are shocked but rooting for them even though you know it probably won’t be an easy journey from here on out.

This was thrilling, suspenseful, heart wrenching, and entertaining and I am still thinking about this one after finishing. I first read Chris’ work with The Flight Attendant, and have been a fan of his ever since.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the digital galley to review.

This was the first Chris Bohjalian title that I actually read from start to finish. I was intrigued by the synopsis of this story and enjoyed reading it.

The story takes place over various timelines and each character has their own chapter which made the story itself relatively easy to follow as we got to experience it from each character separately rather than as a collective group. I got more from the story this way, as I got to learn each character's backstory, their thoughts, feelings and experiences that brought them on the safari in the first place. Their backstories also aligned with the events that were taking place and blended nicely together. There was suspense, there was drama, and intrigue. Bohjalian proved that he is a master story teller with the Lioness.

I had a rough time connecting with this authors writing style but overall I did like this fresh story. And the animals!! Safari gone wild. There were too many characters but that’s a personal preference. Satisfying resolution and memorable plot.

Katie, an A-list celebrity, her husband, and a group of their friends safari in Africa. When their party is taken hostage, the group does everything they can to survive. Although I thought this was an interesting premise, the book itself just didn't work. There were way too many points of view, which slowed the plot down. At times the book felt completely stagnant. Perhaps if the author focused on 2 or 3 points of view the story would have felt more lively and dynamic. Overall, 2 out of 5 stars.

While I've really enjoyed many of Bohjalian's previous books and thought they stood out, this one was decidedly fine and not one I will remember down the line. The setting was super interesting, but the sheer number of characters one read the perspective of and needed to keep track of their backstory was a bit arduous. It did help that the cast was slowly winnowed down by the end through the ridiculous number of deaths throughout the tail, but I didn't know why I was supposed to care about some of them when they immediately died. I will still keep reading future works by the author as I've really enjoyed several of the past books he's written, this one just left me wanting more.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been a fan of Bohjalian since he wrote “Midwives.” Once again, he has written an entertaining, well-developed book. There was a good plot and the characters were mostly likable. There were a lot of characters to follow, so that was a little confusing at times.

3.5

Chris Bohjalian knows how to write a good story! And I am always so impressed with the variety of his writing. He has written a large number books and yet each one still feels unique.

The Lioness is an especially interesting book-- a mashup of historical fiction, thriller and action/adventure. It's about a Hollywood starlet in the 1960s who takes a group of her friends on an African safari. Things go awry when their group is held at gunpoint and kidnapped. Some manage to escape but escape doesn't equal freedom when stranded in the African plains at night with hungry animals on the prowl. It's hard to say which is more dangerous-- the kidnappers or the wild animals?

This was such a fun story to read! I would describe it as Agatha Christie meets Jurassic Park. There is an element of mystery/suspense and a lot of death. It reminded me a bit of And Then There Were None with the characters slowly being killed off one at a time. And yet the murders aren't all at the hands of men...enter the Jurassic Park element. The wild animals that roam the African Serengeti at night are likely suspects as well. I really loved the suspense that was created using both human and animal predators in this story. It's not for the faint of heart, but I thought it was a great adventure!

The Lioness starts off like a horror movie where the main character and her entourage get kidnapped while on an African safari and every few chapters one of the members gets killed. And then it becomes a survival story for the remaining characters and later the secrets and Russian mercenaries and the connections to these mercenaries come into play. They are also the back stories of each character and some characters were really remarkable as to how they entered Hollywood and flourished in it, in spite of all the blockers but Katie, who is a major Hollywood star is definitely the main character. The author also indicates another heroine who could be considered really a lioness for her sheer grit and the way she faces both Hollywood and this disastrous safari.

The author manages to get the readers hooked into the plot and I for sure was eager to know if there were any survivors and if yes, how they managed. Initially I felt that there were too many characters and I wasn’t sure who was doing what. But things do get clearer after a few chapters and I associated them more by the character than by their names. It had varied characters and the whole African setting really added another dimension to the plot because it was as important as any character in fact. It was not a page turner that I expected it to be as it felt really lagging midway but overall it was an interesting read for sure and an interesting premise.

I loved this book. It's written so vividly with amazing details. That it feels like your really there. I did struggle with how many characters there are and keeping track of them all my mind was a struggle at times. Even chapter was told by a different character. It was a slow burn read with multiple point of views. I loved the combination of the Old Hollywood Glamour and the suspense of a survival story. Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday for an ARC for honest opinion.

Thought I would really enjoy this book from the description but unfortunately I did not. Slow moving, discursive a just jumped around too much. Although I prefer my novels fairly linear, I can deal with some jumping around in time but this was just too much. More of a melodrama than I prefer. Think that the book would appeal to Bohjalian’s fans but failed to convert me.

Last year Bohjalian's historical novel Hour of the Witch was a delightful surprise. I didn't know I was longing for a novel about the Puritans until I picked it up—and couldn't put it down! Bohjalian delivers another atmospheric story laden with danger and mystery in his new historical thriller set in the Serengeti, where Hollywood starlet Katie Barstow and her husband have invited a crowd of A-list friends to join them on an African safari for their honeymoon. The guests expect to enjoy pampering, glamour, and exploits that will make delicious cocktail conversation at Hollywood parties, but their lavish getaway becomes a waking nightmare when they're kidnapped by Russian emissaries. This stylish mystery has serious Agatha Christie vibes, but I can't say I found the ending satisfying.

I have heard of this author, but this is my first book. Oh my, edge of your seat, can't put it down book! Young starlet and her future husband and their guests have such expectations of their wedding and time in Tanzania. They couldn't be more wrong. A kidnapping and the hardships and terror than follow are not in their expectations. I loved the African setting, I have never read a book taking place there. Highly recommend.

I was hopeful for this book from it's description. When I delved in though I encountered a confusing and extremely gory story that didn't really grab me with it's characters. I wish there was a little less description of the gory events of the kidnapping and more character development.

"But the worst of the wild animals...the humans."

Be prepared to feel completely exhausted during and after reading the tension filled graphically violent historical fiction thriller The Lioness by gifted author Chris Bohjwlian.

Most of the action takes place in 1964 in the Serengeti area of Africa. Beloved movie star Katie Barstow (think Audrey Hepburn) is on a photo safari honeymoon with her art gallery owner new husband David and has brought along eight of her closest friends; including her psychiatrist brother and his pregnant wife.

At first the writer entertains us with glorious descriptive prose of roaming wildebeest, galloping zebras and colorful free flying birds. Suddenly the beauty of the land and the words are shattered by exploding bullets as Russian mercenaries invade the safari camp killing and taking hostages.

What follows is a harrowing kidnapping where not everyone will make it out alive. There will be much self preservation, prayers and bravery. As the terror unfolds we learn the history and secrets of the hostages and, for one in particular, their shocking betrayal.

There is a great deal of social and political commentary dispersed throughout the story; including the backlash of the on screen (and off screen) chemistry between Katie and talented black actor Terrence Dutton.

The one thing you will take away from this extreme action thriller is the unwanted and unnecessary involvement of other countries in Africa's history impeding their development, destroying their land and abusing their wildlife and people.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Bestselling author Chris Bohjalian says his inspiration for The Lioness was movies. He loves them. One day in 2019 he found himself wondering why he had never written a Hollywood novel or a book set in the era in which he grew up, the 1960's and 70's. He had to think of a locale to which he could transport Hollywood people and put them in jeopardy. In the 1960's, the Simba rebellion was unfolding as East Africa sought to escape from colonialism, so he decided on the Serengeti with a simple premise: "The biggest star in Hollywood finally gets married and decides to bring her entire entourage with her on a honeymoon safari" which quickly goes horribly wrong.

Bohjalian and his wife were lucky to go on safari in the Serengeti to conduct research in October 2019, a trip he describes as "life-changing for me as a human being and as a novelist." Far from civilization, he watched the wildebeest cross the Mara River, and observed instances of natural predators conquering their prey. He also had the opportunity to pose numerous, frequently macabre, questions to his knowledgeable guides, who assured him that the key to remaining safe on safari is following the directions provided. The guides explained that exiting a vehicle or leaving a tent at night can prove deadly because "there are so many animals (including snakes) and trees that will kill you." Bohjalian deftly incorporates those tangible dangers into The Lioness, making it terrifyingly suspenseful. Some of his characters fail to heed the guides' warnings, while others find themselves in the wild without their guides by their side through no fault of their own. Regardless, many of Bohjalian's characters are forced to use what knowledge they possess about nature in an effort to stay alive. Not all of them succeed.

The Lioness is a masterfully crafted, engrossing story of a thirty-year-old actress, Katie Barstow, who is a major Hollywood star. She and her older brother, Billy, are the children of acclaimed stage actors who were abusive. They grew up on Central Park West in a sprawling apartment and Billy bore the brunt of their mother's toxicity as their father mostly just went along with her actions. Katie has just married Billy's lifetime best friend, David Hill, whose family resided in the same New York City apartment building. David owns a struggling art gallery in Beverly Hills, and insists that his father works for the CIA but is a 'paper-pusher" laboring in the agency's personnel department. Billy is married for the second time to Margie and they are expecting their first child.

Accompanying them on the safari are Felix Demeter, a screenwriter, and his wife, Carmen Tedesco, an actress who has appeared in films with Katie in supporting roles; actor Terrence Dutton, Katie's co-star and good friend; Reggie Stout, Katie's publicist; and Katie's agent, Peter Merrick. Charlie Patton, renowned for leading hunting safaris with Ernest Hemingway, among others, leads the expedition.

Four days into the safari, the group is kidnapped by evil Russian mercenaries and Bohjalian takes readers along with his characters on a harrowing journey. They are transported in two groups by armed captors led by an intriguing and intermittently charming leader "with ice-blue eyes and a nose that a casting director would kill for if he ever needed a boxer." As the characters attempt to discern the motive for their abduction, they witness and are subjected to appalling violence. Individually and collectively, they assess whether they can outsmart and overpower their kidnappers, and make their way to freedom. But, of course, they are far from civilization with no idea how far they might have to travel to enlist help. And they are in the Serengeti, surrounded by wildlife including leopards, hyenas, and venomous snakes, so they are forced to weight the risks, including the very real possibility that they might evade their abductors only to perish in the wild. The setting is inarguably one of Bohjalian's characters, and he vividly describes the landscape, making readers feel the remoteness and isolation, and looming presence of those things that will kill you. He unsparingly details the dangers his characters encounter. "Character and geography intersect in all of my books," he notes, but they are inextricably and palpably intertwined in The Lioness.

The narrative structure of The Lioness is creative and highly effective. The Prologue, related via a first-person narrative from, presumably, the Lioness, declares, "We went there and (most of us, anyway) died there in 1964." Each successive chapter focuses on a specific character. Bohjalian reveals both the character's history and relationship with the other characters, as well as his/her expectations for the trip and what they are experiencing in Africa. Readers learn about the characters' Hollywood careers and alliances. Bohjalian propels the story forward at a steady pace, but his deftly-timed respites from his characters' fraught circumstances allow readers to understand, relate to (or not), and develop emotional attachments to the characters so that they become invested in the characters' fates. Some of the characters are innocent victims who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. And for some of them, the horror they are experiencing dredges up painful memories. For instance, Katie and Billy's mother used to lock him in a large closet in their home for hours at a time. So when, with his hands and feet bound, he is tossed into a dark hut where all manner of creepy, crawly things might attack, the abuse he sustained as a child intensifies his fears and anxiety. Bohjalian acquaints readers with Benjamin Kikwete, a porter and guest liaison, who proclaims that he'd "rather die charging like a rhino than bleating like a goat." His story is nothing less than heartbreaking, if inspiring. Some of the characters harbor dark secrets and scandalous pasts that, if brought to light, would cause relationships to fracture and derail careers. Some are betrayers . . . some have been betrayed, but may not know it.

The Lioness is a cautionary tale about fame. Like the Serengeti, Hollywood is a critically important character in the book. At the beginning of each chapter, Bohjalian includes blurbs -- some actual, some invented -- from a magazine or newspaper that was published in 1964, among them The Hollywood Reporter and Movie Confidential. To do so, he researched the popular movie magazines of the era, dubbing them "Twitter's ancestor." Much the way social media does today, those magazines influenced the public's beliefs and perceptions about actors and actresses, often exploiting but sometimes keeping performers' secrets, and spreading fake news. Bohjalian also weaves pop culture history into the story, including references to stars of the day. For example, famed Caucasian film director Otto Preminger dated Dorothy Dandridge, a Black actress, but their relationship was "only alluded to" in the magazines and trade publications. As the story progresses, Bohjalian cleverly unveils how fame plays into his characters' predicament, paving the way for the horrors they experience.

And Bohjalian also explores racial tensions. Terrence Dutton, a successful Black actor, recently co-starred in a film with Katie. They have been great friends for some time, but their relationship has remained platonic, in part, because if a romance became public, Katies observes, Terrence would never again work in Hollywood. The movie they made was controversial and one particular scene stopped short of their characters kissing. Bohjalian examines how Terrence's experiences and complex emotions as a Black American visiting Africa differ from those of the other members of the group. He interacts not only with his traveling companions, but also with the African guides and porters who work for Charlie Patton. For example, Benjamin is thrilled to be serving the group and notes how down-to-earth Terrence is. He can't wait to tell his father that Terrence, who is only the third Black man from America Benjamin has ever met, told Benjamin to address him by his first name. Will he get the chance?

Reminiscent of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and, more recently, Peter Swanson's Nine Lives, characters are eliminated, one by one, in various dramatic and horrific ways. Simultaneously, Bohjalian reveals who organized the kidnapping and why, pulling together various story threads and clues dropped along the way, and again demonstrating what an adept and creative storyteller he is.

The Lioness is an engrossing, entertaining, and wildly inventive mystery populated with fully developed, compelling characters. It's a page-turner -- an adventure set in the most exotic location imaginable -- filled with plenty of themes to keep readers both guessing and thinking about the price of fame and glamor, and how well anyone can really ever know those closest to them. What might they do if faced with similar threats? And what about the title character? Who is The Lioness? Does she survive? Once again, Bohjalian has created a strong female character who exhibits bravery, determination, and resolve she did not even know she possessed until faced with unimaginable danger. By the end of the story, she confesses, "I really do see myself in my mind as a lioness . . ."