Thank you to the author and the publisher for the e-ARC.

Liked: South African safari setting for a mystery / thriller

Disliked: The writing honestly felt pretty lazy with a multitude of tropes. Wealthy white family in SA with little to no POV from the local population. Generally felt a bit problematic and definitely not my speed. Characters were all boring and awful - rich people behaving badly - not my scene.

I've enjoyed the author's other books, so was excited to get my hands on The Safari early! I was immediately drawn in by the title and description of the book. A rich family on safari for the mom’s wedding to a much younger man and she’s found murdered the day of the wedding. Yes please! If you're looking for a hot mess of a dysfunctional family, you will find it here. Every single character was unlikeable in some way, which made it hard to root for anyone. The last section was insane with a lot of twists, but it took a while before I actually felt invested in the story. 3.5 stars rounded down, as it was entertaining but not my favorite. I'm looking forward to seeing what the author does next! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Excellent thriller set in a safari. The intricate family relationships made for great suspense who dun it. Thanks for ARC

The Safari is a tense, page-turning thriller that effortlessly blends family drama with a murder mystery. Set against the stunning backdrop of a South African safari lodge, the story follows the wealthy Babel family as they gather for a lavish wedding—only for the matriarch, Odelia, to be found dead just hours before the ceremony.

Goldis does an excellent job of peeling back layers of family secrets, rivalries, and hidden motives, keeping you guessing who could be behind the murder. Each character feels fully realized, flawed, and intriguingly complex, which makes the suspense all the more gripping. The setting adds its own flair, offering both breathtaking beauty and a sense of isolation that heightens the tension.

This is a book that pulls you in from the first page and doesn’t let go. If you enjoy thrilling mysteries with a mix of luxury, drama, and unexpected twists, The Safari is an absolute must-read.

I love a fast-paced "bad vacation" thriller, especially when it has a rotating POV. Unfortunately, Jaclyn Goldis' latest, The Safari, is neither fast-paced nor thrilling. Like The Chateau, The Safari focuses on "poor rich people" problems that the characters take so seriously as to make said characters completely unrelatable (except, I assume, to other rich people?). Everyone is a jerk with an agenda, and the plot twists are so ridiculous that they make the whining about designer clothes seem almost palatable.

Complaints out of the way, the unbearable characters and the slow-moving plotlines are somewhat offset by the atmosphere. I felt the same about The Chateau: Jaclyn Goldis has a definite flair for plopping the reader directly into the middle of a setting. So, while I certainly would not have wanted to join the Babel family on their wedding/safari, I very much felt like I had.

A good summer read, especially for other fans of the bad vacation or dysfunctional family tropes. Just brace yourself to stomach the absurd.

Honestly, I really struggled to get through the first 70% of this book. While I really enjoyed the amazing setting, African Safari, with all the animals and just being out in the wild like that. The characters were mostly unlikable, there were some really nice redemption arcs in the end but, idk I just couldn’t forgive some of them. I think the most amazing thing was the Jewish information and references in this story, the author is Jewish and having the mention and reference to the Holocaust survivor teacher and then learning that she is a real person that influenced part of the author’s life was beautiful. I think a lot of people will and have enjoyed this one, so I’d still recommend it, especially if you enjoy isolated/locked room mysteries because the isolated setting was really great!

Interesting premise but I was SO BORED. It took me forever to finish this one

Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy!

Womp womp. I wanted to love this one, but since you know who was killed at the beginning it left a little to be imagined. The setting was 10/10, but the chapters were long and it just felt like it went on and on and on. Not my favorite.

This is the first book I’ve read from this author and overall I enjoyed the story. As a wealthy family travels to South Africa for FMC Odelia‘s wedding, we are brought into a beautiful Safari setting. I have to say that this was probably the only book I’ve ever read that had such a setting. I found the beginning of the book was slow to start, but there was a really good amount of twists within the book as the story progressed. One thing for me was that I found there were too many characters and points of view to keep track of and so struggled with this at times.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and was intrigued by all of the characters secrets that came out throughout the story. I can’t say that I loved the ending as I found. It was a little bit out there, but was entertained nonetheless.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I rated this one 3.5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: I really enjoyed the wide cast of characters and interesting setting. My one complaint is that the ending gets a bit out there. Those of you who have read my reviews before, that's a big thing that I struggle with in some thrillers. If you are looking for a vacation thriller or something a bit different in terms of setting this will deliver. No major complaints about the writing or the pacing, all together a good book. I just really got frustrated by the ending and too many twists that started to get confusing and fold in on themselves (not in a good way IMO).

This book was definitely intriguing to me. I really liked the setting being on a safari. What could possibly go wrong?

Reading about rich people with secrets who make very bad decisions is a guilty pleasure and this book was full of it! I found myself really getting invested in the story and having to find out who the killer was.

This was my first read by this author and it won’t be the last!

**3.5-stars rounded up **

As Odelia Babel, successful-CEO to a fashion empire, prepares to marry for the 2nd-time, she decides to take her family on luxurious vacation for the special day. The ultimate destination wedding weekend. Her betrothed, Asher Bach, is decades her junior, much closer to her grown children's ages than her own, but nevertheless Odelia swears it's true love, and so does Asher.

They'll be staying at Leopard Sands in South Africa, a posh safari well-known to the family, as they've frequented it many times before. Even though it seems like a perfect trip, not everyone is excited for the soon-to-be newlyweds. Attending the family event are Odelia's three adult children, Joshua, Sam and Bailey, her daughter-in-law, baby granddaughter and her assistant/best friend. In spite of the closeness of this group of people, there's a ton of tension simmering under the surface. Sam and Odelia end up having an epic fight. Things are said that push the boundary further than ever before.

The following morning, a mere hours before the wedding ceremony, Odelia is found dead. Suspicion immediately falls on Sam. Everyone heard the fight. It was bad. Sam swears it wasn't him. He has an alibi. He was with his sister, Bailey. At least that's what he claims. Bailey is nowhere to be found...As the investigation starts, everyone is a suspect and the once peaceful Leopard Sands begins to feel menacing and claustrophobic. Even though there's literally endless land and space around them, this still managed to pull off a classic Locked Room Mystery feel that I enjoyed.

This is the 3rd-year in a row I've read a new release Thriller from Jaclyn Goldis, and The Safari is definitely my favorite. I was here for all the craziness, it got wild and the setting felt refreshing for the genre. It's a dramatically-messy family drama set against a backdrop of beautiful South Africa. I loved the fly on the wall experience I got with this one. It was quite entertaining. It's a straight-up popcorn read, and I was invested.

I loved the set-up, and getting to know the family. The dynamics were messy from the start. I liked getting a front row seat to all that. As it progresses, it starts to get a little manic, and I suspected everyone at one point or another. Maybe the baby did it? I honestly didn't know. Maybe they all did it. We've seen that happen before.

There were some areas, mainly involving Bailey, that meandered a bit, and sort of went a little out of focus, but that was brought around in the end and overall, I was pleased with her story arc. Additionally, towards the end, it did get a little difficult to track. There were side characters, locals to the area, that took up larger roles and some of them, and their connections to the story, started to get a little convoluted.

Overall though, this was an entertaining read. I got through it so quickly and had a lot of fun with the wildly OTT-drama. You won't like a lot of characters in this story, but you may like watching them spiral.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Each one of this author's releases have gotten stronger for me, and we love an upward trajectory. I can't wait for the next one!

Odelia, her fiancé, her family, and her best friend all traveled to South Africa to celebrate her upcoming wedding.

There were too many characters and POVs for me to remember who was who. But wow, this was a messy family.

Everyone had their secrets, their own agendas, and no one wanted the wedding except for Odelia and her fiancé.

This was a bit slow in the beginning, but it picked up in the middle, and then sped up a lot in the end.

The Safari is great for those who love thrillers full of twists, and extremely dysfunctional families with many dark secrets.

Thank you to Atria Books for the eARC and physical copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞’𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡.”

Jaclyn Goldis returns with a mystery set in the beauty and treachery of the South African wilderness.

The Babel family is gathering at their luxury safari resort, Leopard Sands, for the marriage of matriarch Odelia to her much younger fiancé, Asher, and no one except for the engaged couple is happy about it. Constant bickering and tension between Odelia and her children simmer until hours before the wedding, she is found murdered, and whoever did it isn’t through yet.

I love a wealthy family behaving badly mystery, and this delivers in spades. The constant sparing and friction between family members racks up the tension, leaving no shortage of suspects in Odelia’s murder. Goldis evocatively captures the majestic beauty of the South African wilderness, juxtaposing with the constant peril that also exists within nature, adding a lot of atmosphere to the closed-circle mystery. It cautiously makes me want to go on a safari someday! Goldis is clearly Agatha Christie inspired, and while Ordeal By Innocence is mentioned, I was also reminded of Appointment With Death, with its exotic location, dysfunctional family who suspect each other and live under their domineering matriarch’s shadow. The last half of the book flies, with lots of secrets are revealed, some truly scandalous. The story is a bit too descriptive in places with maybe a few too many twists, but the reveals are overall solid with well-placed clues, a few that I caught onto just before they were disclosed!

The Safari is an exotic mystery, filled with looming danger, secrets, and family drama, that has me looking forward to Goldis’ next book! Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the ARC!

I really wish the aspect of the historical links were included in the information for the book. It is really interesting, but still seemed like it was extremely out of place for me.
Otherwise, the family mystery and dynamic proved to be thrilling and kept me guessing.

I read a lot of thrillers, and it’s become kind of rare for one to actually surprise me—The Safari did. I expected a glamorous setting and family drama, but this one also brought some genuine twists and clever storytelling that kept me hooked.

Odelia Bable, the wealthy CEO of a fashion empire, invites her adult children, daughter-in-law/granddaughter, and longtime assistant to a luxury South African safari lodge for her second wedding—to a man 25 years her junior. Tensions are already running high when Odelia is found murdered, and suddenly everyone is a suspect.

This isn’t a deeply character-driven novel, but it is an adventurous ride with just the right mix of scandal, mystery, and exotic setting. The South African backdrop isn’t central to the story but adds enough atmosphere to ground the story in place. I found myself genuinely invested in the outcome, which doesn’t always happen with thrillers lately.

A twisty, fast-paced escape that delivers what it promises!

Book: The Safari
Author: Jaclyn Goldis
Format: Digital
Genre: Thriller, Mystery/Crime
Places Featured: South Africa
Review Score: ★★★★½ (rounded down)

I loved the safari setting! A unique one I haven't seen and the perfect backdrop for a summer thriller. The tension and suspense was well done, though the first half was a bit slow paced. The family drama was the classic Jaclyn Goldis that we love. Still haven't had one of her books give me quite the same feelings since The Chateau, but still a solid read.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Safari. Literally KNEW this was going to be a great read just from the synopsis - a wealthy, dysfunctional family goes to a luxurious safari setting - yes pleaseeeeeee. As a side note, a safari is on the TOP of my bucket list.

Overall, this was well executed with decent characters and an epic setting. It seemed like the perfect place for crime to occur. The twists and turns were coming at you FAST in this read (which I love) and I didn't see all of them coming.

For any thriller lover, this is a must read.

• Gives of somewhat of a locked-room vibe as the family is isolated within the resort/compound.

• There were so many secrets and tension that built through the story - which also meant many red herrings making everyone look like they had a potential motive.

• I appreciated the unique setting in this book. I don’t think I’ve read another book, let alone a thriller set in the African Safari.

As someone has just gone on Safari, I loved this thriller set on a safari. It gives Out of Africa meets Agatha Christie meets who done it. Loved!