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Title details for The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian - Available

The Lioness

A Novel

by Chris Bohjalian
January LaVoy
Audiobook
3 of 5 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
3 of 5 copies available
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • A Washington Post Best Book of the Year • A luxurious African safari turns deadly for a Hollywood starlet and her entourage in this riveting historical thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant.
"The best possible combination of Hemingway and Agatha Christie — a gorgeously written story about the landscape and risks of Africa, whose edge-of-your-seat plot makes it impossible to put down.”
—Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wish You Were Here
Tanzania, 1964. When Katie Barstow, A-list actress, and her new husband, David Hill, decide to bring their Hollywood friends to the Serengeti for their honeymoon, they envision giraffes gently eating leaves from the tall acacia trees, great swarms of wildebeests crossing the Mara River, and herds of zebras storming the sandy plains. Their glamorous guests—including Katie’s best friend, Carmen Tedesco, and Terrance Dutton, the celebrated Black actor who stars alongside Katie in the highly controversial film Tender Madness—will spend their days taking photos, and their evenings drinking chilled gin and tonics back at camp, as the local Tanzanian guides warm water for their baths. The wealthy Americans expect civilized adventure: fresh ice from the kerosene-powered ice maker, dinners of cooked gazelle meat, and plenty of stories to tell over lunch back on Rodeo Drive.
What Katie and her glittering entourage do not expect is this: a kidnapping gone wrong, their guides bleeding out in the dirt, and a team of Russian mercenaries herding their hostages into Land Rovers, guns to their heads. As the powerful sun gives way to night, the gunmen shove them into abandoned huts and Katie Barstow, Hollywood royalty, prays for a simple thing: to see the sun rise one more time. A blistering story of fame, race, love, and death set in a world on the cusp of great change, The Lioness is a vibrant masterpiece from one of our finest storytellers.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 10, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593589380
      • File size: 302835 KB
      • Duration: 10:30:54

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 28, 2022
      In 1964, Hollywood star Katie Barstow and her Rodeo Drive gallerist husband head to Tanzania for a safari honeymoon, along with an assortment of family and friends, in this devastatingly cunning suspense novel from bestseller Bohjalian (Hour of the Witch). The group includes Katie’s psychologist brother and sister-in-law, an agent, a publicist, an actor and her screenwriter husband, and Katie’s costar in a scandalous film. Shepherded by a private guide in Land Rovers in the Serengeti, they take photos of giraffes, elephants, lions, and wildebeests, while a slew of porters and cooks provide such amenities as waterproof canvas bathtubs, a kerosene-powered ice maker, and a sufficient supply of gin and tonic. The idyll for Katie and crew comes to an end after they become the target of Russian mercenaries, who hold them captive in abandoned huts. Worse follows, including fatal snake bites. Bohjalian does a superb job of judiciously rolling out information of how past transgressions may have led to the heart-stopping episodes of chaos and carnage as the shocking, twist-filled plot builds up to the revelation of “the real reasons for the safari nightmare.” This brilliant whydunit is not to be missed. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary.

    • Library Journal

      Starred review from September 1, 2022

      Set in the tumultuous Africa of the 1960s, this book tells the story of a safari gone horribly wrong. The guests are a Hollywood star and her new husband, along with her brother, sister-in-law, and some famous friends. Katie Barstow, the star bankrolling the Serengeti trip, expects a fantastic photo safari filled with as much luxury as is possible camping in the wild. It starts out a lovely experience, with giraffes, wildebeests and bucolic sights of other grazing animals. But then, the group is kidnapped by a team of Russians. The party is separated. The guards are gone, and each member of the safari must confront their personal demons in the attempt to survive. Bohjalian (Hour of the Witch) also tackles serious topics of then and today, including homophobia, racism, animal cruelty, and East-West politics. Narrators January LaVoy, Grace Experience, and Gabrielle De Cuir do an excellent job voicing the large cast of characters. VERDICT This is a good read, full of adventure and with twists aplenty.--Cheryl Youse

      Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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