Eat or be eaten—The Safari delivers high-stakes drama in the heart of South Africa. Jaclyn Goldis, the queen of armchair travel thrillers, drops readers into a lush, locked-room mystery where wealth, secrets, and betrayal simmer under the sun.

When fashion mogul Odelia Babel dies just days before marrying her much-younger fiance, everyone is a suspect. Her children, best friend, and even the staff all have motives, and the perilous safari setting turns the tension up to ten.


This was a slow burn and I found the start of the book complex, with a lot of characters. Each had their own secrets or shady backgrounds so it was hard to wrap my brain around everything. At times, I thought any of the characters could have done it. Let's just say this is a VERY toxic family with a lot of money on the line. The end was incredibly shocking- I didn't see it coming and all the tangles in the story came together well.

Perfect for fans of atmospheric, multi-POV whodunits with morally messy characters, The Safari is a fun summer read—just don’t trust anyone. Thank you Netgalley and Atria for my earc.

On this safari, the real danger isn’t from the animals!

Odelia Babel, the CEO of a sustainable fashion empire, is getting married to a much younger man. To celebrate this occasion she wants her family and her best friend to go to Leopard Sands for the wedding. Odelia owns Leopard Sands, a luxury safari retreat, and everyone who works there is employed by Odelia. Over the years the family has had a wonderful time at Leopard Sands but this safari is very different.

Tensions are running high over the wedding and her four children aren’t exactly thrilled about it. When Odelia is found dead on the wedding day, everyone is a suspect and when another member of the group disappears, everyone is frantic to find her. Soon secrets are revealed and the twists and turns keep coming. I loved the safari setting and learning about some of the animals. In this tense family drama, everyone seems to have something to hide and the ending really took me by surprise. The Safari will be published on May 20, 2025.

Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.

Read this if: you're into locked-room mysteries, rich people with secrets, and high-stakes drama in an exotic setting

This one was a classic whodunit setup—remote safari lodge, limited suspects, and a murder that cracks open all the carefully hidden family secrets. I’m a sucker for a “rich people behaving badly” mystery, and this one delivered with just the right amount of scandal and tension.

What really worked for me was how well-developed the characters were. Everyone had layers, messy histories, and believable motivations. Even when they were being awful, they felt real—which made it easy to stay invested as the mystery unfolded. There’s a lot of family drama simmering under the surface, and it all comes to a boil in the most entertaining way.

It hits all the beats of a locked-room mystery but still feels fresh thanks to the unique setting and the emotional complexity of the characters. A solid, satisfying read if you like your thrillers with a little luxury and a lot of dysfunction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the chance to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

💰ARC REVIEW⚱️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Goldis’ storytelling and narrative enchant readers with a vivid setting, while cleverly pulling back the curtain on familial dysfunction and secrets that simmer just beneath the surface. 🔥 I felt the sizzling African heat and heard the distant roar of lions, but suspected that the real beasts might be human!🐅👨👩‍🦰

"The Safari" is a glamorous, murder mystery whodunnit dripping in family drama and deadly secrets. Set at an exclusive safari lodge in South Africa, it's luxurious and magical until the shattered echoes of murder.🔪🩸

At the center of this glamorous storm is Odelia Babel, a savvy CEO whose audacious wedding plans ignite a wildfire of tension among her already tense family. The contrast between the luxurious surroundings of the exclusive safari lodge and the bitter rivalries within her family creates a deliciously ironic backdrop for the ensuing chaos! Who doesn't love to watch rich people behaving badly!?

She's tightening the purse strings and announces an upcoming change in her will. Tensions simmer, egos clash, and then—boom—on the morning after a vicious fight with her son Sam, and hours before the vows—Odelia is found dead. 🪦 Sam is the prime suspect, and her daughter Bailey vanishes into the bush. This wealthy and dysfunctional family is a hot mess of suspicion and betrayal, and so entertaining!

The author's tightly wound plot delivers twists at every turn. With extravagance, poison-tipped gossip, and a finale that will make your head spin, "The Safari" kept me hooked from page one to its jaw-dropping reveal.

Thank you to the author and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for this gifted eARC provided via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately I did not vibe with the writing style of this book.

I tried my hardest and pushed through as much of the book as I could (66%), but it really did not click with me. I found the characters unlikable and I really, really wanted to like them because the storyline was interesting.

Definitely look out for the reviews of those who did like the style, because I bet this book is still pretty good despite me not meshing with it well!

Big thanks to the publisher for the e-arc!

My thanks to NetGalley and Emily Bestler Books/Atria Books/Simon & Schuster for the ARC of "The Safari" in exchange for an honest review.

Now here's a set up no mystery lover could possibly resist. A large dynastic family, filthy rich and nursing no end of deep dark secrets and hatreds, come together at their very own South African Safari lodge. Their trips into the bush are only for hunting the wild animals with cameras, but at least one person (or persons) among them has set their sights on human prey.

The Babel family, headed by iron-willed Matriarch Odelia, runs a fashion empire that's built its reputation on conservation and planet-saving. as it churns out top-of-the-line couture.. But there's a rumble in the jungle brewing inside their lush lodge surrounded by lions, elephants, leopards, monkeys, rhinos and hippos. Widowed Odelia has brought along her much younger boy-toy fiance Asher, himself a renowned designer for the company.. This doesn't sit well with her three grown children, Sam and twins Joshua and Bailey.. Also in the Bable orbit are characters harboring their own long held set of scandals and secrets - Odile's life-long companion-secretary Gwen, safari guide Markus and lodge manager Violett.

We all know that sooner or later, this Tower of Babels (sorry, couldn't help myself) is going to crumble like a herd of elephants T-boned it. And how much a reader will enjoy this book comes down to when author Jacklyn Goldis will get down to business and start sprinkling the landscape with some dead bodies. As in....murder victims.

Prepare yourself.......cause the author forces you to spend an inordinate amount of eventless time with this bulging nest of unlikeable people until you're ready to cry out, "Enough already! We get it, they're all terrible, dysfunctional and suspicious......time for one of 'em to go belly up before I bail out!"

Here's the good news. When a murder and disappearances start poppin', the book goes into overdrive with more twists and reveals than the several barrels of monkeys hanging around the lodge. And these twists never stop coming at you right up to the very final pages.

I loved the exotic setting, which shows the author's enormous amount of research (and affection) for the magnificent wildlife and scenery of South Africa. For those willing to hang on (as I did) for the impressively large pile-up of genuine surprises, 'The Safari' finally does deliver a solid entertaining mystery read. Looking for a dangerous getaway? You can't beat a place with a river full of crocodiles.......and some land-based human predators.....

I love reading books that take place in Africa! The description of the safari drives were wild (pun intended). However, there were WAY too many characters. It led me to reading the book and just hoping each chapter had enough context clues to remind me of whose perspective it was. Some things were moved past a bit too quickly too.

It would make a great vacation read though. Maybe just not if you're traveling with your family.

Odelia is a powerful woman, about to marry a man 20 years her junior. She invites her family to join her in South Africa to celebrate the upcoming wedding with an all expenses paid luxury safari. Things start off fun, but as tensions rise, arguments begin to escalate. And after a huge fight with her son, Sam, Odelia is found murdered. Sam claims he has an alibi- he was with his twin, Bailey. But Bailey is also missing...

This was my second book by this author and I will certainly continue reading what she puts out. The book was a slow start, but the last half was crazy! I love reading about dysfunctional families and this one was next-level! That said there were no likable characters so it was tough to root for anyone.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

𝗠𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 3⭐️
THE SAFARI
🤍𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: thriller/mystery
📖 320 pages
𝗘𝗺𝗼𝗷𝗶𝘀: 🇿🇦🛩️✉️🐅🕎🦒😱💍💰🌅🔫🦬🎴🔪
𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: 5/20/2025

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
◽️ multiple POV
◽️ lots of red herrings
◽️ safaris
◽️ tarot cards
◽️ slow burn mysteries/family drama

🧡𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲🧡

Thank you @simon.audio @atriabooks @librofm for the #gifted copy!

This one, unfortunately, fell flat for me. Despite being billed as a thriller, it read more like a slow moving family drama for much of the story, with very little action or suspense until the halfway mark. I found myself pretty bored through the first half, waiting for something to truly hook me.

That said, there were some elements I appreciated. The unique setting in Africa was refreshing, & I enjoyed the descriptions of the wildlife & landscape. The story is rooted in revenge, with several character connections slowly revealed through layered twists & red herrings. While I didn’t predict the ending—which added a bit of excitement—the second half finally leaned more into thriller territory. Still, the slow buildup & lack of lasting impact make this one a forgettable read for me 🤷🏼‍♀️

𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁: Odelia Babel, the powerful CEO of a sustainable fashion brand, is set to marry her much younger designer, Asher Bach, in South Africa. She gathers her family for a lavish safari celebration, but old resentments & buried secrets threaten to unravel everything. When Odelia is found murdered the morning of her wedding, her son Sam becomes the prime suspect—yet his only alibi, his twin sister Bailey, has mysteriously vanished. As tensions rise & danger creeps in from both humans & the wild, it’s clear the killer is still among them. The Babel family must confront their past before they become the next victims.

Book review 📖

📜The Safari
✍️Jaclyn Goldis
📠Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books
📚Mystery/Thriller Fiction
🗓️Pub date: May 20, 2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨Thank you @NetGalley and @atriabooks @atriathrillers for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✨Odelia Babel is worth billions as the CEO of a fashion empire. So what a better way to celebrate her impending nuptials to her much younger groom and fashion designer, Asher Bach, than to fly her family to their home away from home in South Africa. The trip was supposed to be met with all-expenses paid and luxury, or as much luxury allows for being on an African safari. Instead it is met with death.

✨Family drama knows no bounds and follows the Babels on their elite vacation. Not everyone in the family is happy for the couple, especially Odelia’s grown children. Amid game drives, elaborate dinners, and bonfires, the simmering tension is near boiling.

✨The morning of Odelia’s wedding, and mere hours after she is heard fighting with her son, Sam, she is found on the preserve murdered. Sam is the number one suspect, although his only alibi and twin sister, Bailey, is nowhere to be found. It quickly becomes clear that the deadly bite of a lion, stampede of an elephant, or locking jaws of a crocodile are the least of their concerns.

✨I loved the unique voice of Jaclyn Goldis, particularly the storyline with the fun and scorching backdrop of an African safari. This definitely started with a brewing turmoil (both in human and animal form) from page one, leaving me on the edge of my seat. There were parts that felt a little repetetive and started getting difficult to keep my attention (the back and forth between all the family members), however I did enjoy it. Interesting twist about 80% in.

#netgalley #thesafari #atriabooks #emilybestlerbooks #jaclyngoldis #advancedreadercopy #arc #bookreview #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #springreleases #thrillerfiction

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.

A multi POV family drama set on a safari?! I've never read anything like this. Really enjoyed this one and the way the book unfolded. It took me a bit to get into it, but once I did, I could not put it down.

I love the setting of this book and how vividly is was described - it felt like I was on Safari with all these rich people. It’s not the fastest paced thriller but it is a fun read - you learn a lot along the way as there are many educational details (which I think impacted pace to an extent)

The moment I came across the premise of The Safari, I knew I had to dive in. The promise of a lush African safari, a privileged and dysfunctional family gathering, and secrets bubbling beneath the surface had me instantly intrigued. I’m happy to report that this story, which feels like a wild blend of The White Lotus and a classic murder mystery, absolutely delivered from beginning to end. With its vivid setting, simmering tension, and rotating perspectives, I found myself completely absorbed. Every character seemed like a potential suspect, and the shifting points of view only intensified the suspense.

The atmosphere was especially captivating. Lush landscapes, luxury tents, and the danger of both wildlife and human nature loomed at every turn. The narrative gave off strong locked-room thriller energy with a modern, slightly chaotic twist that felt like a high-drama homage to Agatha Christie. Just when I thought I had it figured out, another twist would pop up and leave me reeling. The slow build early on gave way to a full-throttle finale, with the last stretch of chapters practically reading themselves.
The moment I came across the premise of The Safari, I knew I had to dive in. The promise of a lush African safari, a privileged and dysfunctional family gathering, and secrets bubbling beneath the surface had me instantly intrigued. I’m happy to report that this story, which feels like a wild blend of The White Lotus and a classic murder mystery, absolutely delivered from beginning to end. With its vivid setting, simmering tension, and rotating perspectives, I found myself completely absorbed. Every character seemed like a potential suspect, and the shifting points of view only intensified the suspense.

The atmosphere was especially captivating. Lush landscapes, luxury tents, and the danger of both wildlife and human nature loomed at every turn. The narrative gave off strong locked-room thriller energy with a modern, slightly chaotic twist that felt like a high-drama homage to Agatha Christie. Just when I thought I had it figured out, another twist would pop up and leave me reeling. The slow build early on gave way to a full-throttle finale, with the last stretch of chapters practically reading themselves.

The characters were gloriously messy, each one manipulative, self-absorbed, and hiding their own set of secrets. Every character was as unreliable as the next, which made it even harder and more entertaining to figure out who was guilty. It’s the kind of book where you can’t help but revel in the family’s dysfunction while watching everything implode from a safe distance.

That said, there was a point toward the end where it felt like just a bit too much was being thrown into the mix. Plot threads and secrets came fast and furiously, and although this added to the intensity, it sometimes made it difficult to keep track. Still, I was so wrapped up in the drama and suspense that I was more than willing to go along for the ride.

In the end, this was a whirlwind of betrayal, scheming, and scandalous revelations that I devoured in less than a day. If you're into stories featuring wealthy people behaving badly, relationships full of tension and secrets, and settings that feel as dangerous as the characters themselves, The Safari is definitely for you. This twisted family drama hits all the right notes.

THE SAFARI is a gripping family drama with a locked-room thriller vibe that centers on a wealthy, dysfunctional family. The widower Odelia Babel, set to marry a man 25 years her junior, plans a lavish wedding on a South African safari, with her three children, Joshua, Bailey, and Sam, and her best friend, Gwen. However, the anticipation is shattered when Odelia is discovered murdered just hours before the ceremony.

THE SAFARI tells the story from the perspectives of each character. The plot unfolds gradually at first, then accelerates. After Odelia’s murder, the deceptions intensify, and the story takes a darker turn as we discover that every single one of the character harbors secrets. The truth becomes a slippery concept in this family drama, keeping the reader guessing until the very end.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy of THE SAFARI in exchange for an honest review and to J Goldis for another great hit!

Welcome to the most dysfunctional family vacation since the Donner Party. In The Safari, Jaclyn Goldis drops a fabulously wealthy (and deeply petty) fashion dynasty into the South African wild—and naturally, someone doesn’t make it out alive.

When the glamorous matriarch ends up mysteriously dead before her wedding (to a man half her age, naturally), the luxe safari turns into a murder mystery where secrets fly faster than bullets. It’s Knives Out meets The White Lotus, but with actual lions and fewer moral compasses.

Packed with twists, backstabbing, and designer luggage, The Safari is a wickedly entertaining ride through greed, grief, and family drama with teeth. And no, you can't trust anyone—especially not the ones wearing linen.

The Safari by Jaclyn Goldis is quite an adventure! The setting in South Africa in the Safari really adds texture and gravity to the novel. Much more than it would have if it were set in the US. The novel centers around a very rich family, the Babels. The novel explores wealth, loyalty, and family secrets. This family is SO dysfunctional, and while sometimes that is fun to read, in this novel it felt a little over the top by the end.
The beginning of the book is pretty slow. It took me a very long time to get through the first 35% - there are a lot of characters and different POVs to sort through. After the 60% mark though, the action picks up and we are thrown twist after twist. Overall I enjoyed this book. I think fans of her previous book The Chateau will also enjoy this one. I also think anyone who likes rich people behaving badly would enjoy this story.

Huge shoutout to Netgalley and Atria Books for an early copy of Safari in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

Unfortunately, this was a read that didn't hit the mark at all and one that will be one of my least favorite reads of the year. From the outset there really wasn't anything to pull me into the overall story and there wasn't a single character that made me gravitate towards them. As the book moved forward it took so long to get to the portion of the read where there was a whodinut to sus out but by that time a barely cared enough to get to the bottom of that mystery. I was really bored at times and I felt like there were tons of repetitive dialogue throughout. The climax of this book was a real drag and there was no real sense of completion or payoff when it came to that whodonit. Plus I have to mention that the actual Safari aspect of this plot was really offputting as the animal info thrown in every now and again was pretty worthless. Had no real use for it as far as the plot was concerned. This is a book I really wanted to like but the writing and overall story made that extremely difficult to accomplish.

Chef's kiss. I loved this book.

I thought about it throughout the day. I couldn't wait to get to it each night. I didn't want to sleep.
The characters were interesting and annoying. I loved the pacing of story. Something was constantly happening but it didn't feel dramatic or fantastical. I also enjoyed the layers of secrecy.

The twist caused me to make this face 😱

It gave me Knives Out with safari resort vibes.

4.5/5 stars. Excited for this to be released.

I have some book related drawings on my blog if you are someone who likes book related art :)

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This entertaining novel has all the ingredients of good escapist fiction -- an exotic setting (South Africa), a look inside a glamorous world (a fashion empire with an environmental slant), a wealthy family torn by animosity and jealousy, and a twisty mystery. Take this one to the beach!

📚 E-ARC BOOK REVIEW 📚

The Safari By Jaclyn Goldis
Publication Date: May 20, 2025
Publisher: Atria Books | Emily Bestler Books

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded Up To 5⭐)

Thank you to Atria Books, Emily Bestler Books, and NetGalley for this #gifted e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

📚MY REVIEW:

The Safari was an atmospheric slow burn that really took its time to build the story into a suspenseful whodunnit mystery, but in the end, the shocking revelations in this thriller made the journey completely worth it!

This story took place at a resort in the savannas of South Africa, and the rich descriptions of the landscapes and the animals within it were beautifully written.

Told through multiple POVs in alternating chapters, this is essentially a whodunnit murder mystery, involving a wealthy family of people who at best, distrusted one another, and at their deepest truths, may hate each other. The family travels to one of their resorts in South Africa in preparation for the matriarch 's second marriage to a man 25 years her junior. None of the 3 adult children seem happy about the marriage, her best friend seems tired of always being the lesser-than sidekick, and some of the resort staff seem to be harboring ill-will of their own toward the entitlement of the family's demands.

This book started out with an immediate hook when the matriarch's brutally-murdered body is discovered at the resort, but then the story took a few steps back to provide background and context about the family and the history of its tumultuous dynamics. The first half of the book was a very slow burn, but the mystery started deepening around the halfway mark, and from there, the pace picked up. The suspense became more tension-filled, as I tried to make the pieces fit and figure out the whodunnit -- and the WHYdunnit.

The twists in this one left me breathless, as I didn't see most of them coming. Just when I recovered from the shock of one twist, another surprise dropped -- and they just kept coming, until it felt like everyone and everything I thought I knew about this family had completely unraveled. The brilliant twists and turns from Goldis had me absolutely captivated and utterly gobsmacked as I read the last page. You'll love this fantastic read if you enjoy a really good whodunnit mystery, complicated family dynamics, lush descriptions of exotic settings, and twists that'll make your head spin. This book comes out May 20th and if it's not on your radar yet, it definitely should be.

#TheSafari #JaclynGoldis #EmilyBestlerBooks #AtriaBooks #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARCs #thrillerreads #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #whodunnitthriller #booklover #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrecommendations