The Lioness

A Novel

By: Chris Bohjalian

Narrated by: January LaVoy, Grace Experience, Gabrielle De Cuir

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.

©2022 Chris Bohjalian (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

One of the Los Angeles Times’ 10 Most-Anticipated Books of May

"Throughout his bloody, often shocking jumble of twists and turns, [Bohjalian] weaves life stories with such deftness, it’s impossible not to care how they end…There I was, breathlessly following these people like the hyenas who stalked—. No, no. Let’s not spoil that one for you. . .We are also likely to see at least parts of ourselves. This is the other danger lurking in the pages, and from this we cannot look away. The questions are as haunting as they are inevitable: What might I do in these circumstances? How far would I be willing to go? In our answers, we are bound to feel unease. If we’re honest with ourselves, that is.”—Connie Schultz, The New York Times

“Once all the puzzle pieces. . .are in place, the result is an adventure story of satisfying unity, with enough surprises to still qualify as a mystery. Recurring allusions to Hemingway. . .add additional literary flair.”—Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

“A bloody sprint of a read. . . Lesser writers could not tackle 10 narrators, the complexities of racism in America, African politics, violence both foreign and domestic (as in inside a New York apartment) and make the pieces fit seamlessly together. But [Bohjalian] has shown time and again that with him, you don’t know what you’re going to get, but you know that the getting is good. With The Lioness, the getting is violently good. Pulled in by the promise of thrills or the guarantee of glamour, readers will stay for the game of survivor(s), and finish the book as satisfied as a fat cat in the Serengeti.”—Karen Tanabe, The Washington Post

Safari with a different twist

This book reminds me of my own safari experience. No kidnapping or movie stars. But, the adventure was unforgettable.
The story is well told and quite believable.
I recommend this book to those that seek the thrill of an African safari and the excitement of a good crime novel.

A bit grizzlier than expected, but another quality story by Chris B.

The book was a bit grizzlier than I had expected, but it was another quality story of the authors. The multi-character narration is something he excels at, and these were well developed by n short order.

Loose threads at end

I'd recommend this to anyone who liked The Guest List. The end unraveled a little, as though the editor said 'wrap it up fast'. Little insight into what happened and why to Katie at the end.

More Than One Lioness

Exciting, fast paced, and a page turner. A quick read with lots of action. I never predicted who instigated the tragic events that happened on this African safari.

The Lioness is a classic!

Chris Bohjalian had done it again; he's a wonderful author who knows how to tell a story and keep the reader mesmerized.
The narrators were exceptional! I could not put this book down.
I listened to the audiobook all day until I finished. Wonderful story!

Suspense

Good story and read well... Adventures on a safari that turn bad. Keeps you intrigued. Good variety of characters.

Unpredictable!!

Bohjalians books are always unique. You never know what you are going to get. I felt like I was on a safari and actually had to skip grizzly parts-but thats what I love about his books. Every detail is so researched and real. Great original plot.

Fair - average in every way

Sort of like a soap opera on the Serengeti with a little KGB and gun play mixed in. Nothing to see here.

What to expect when you travel

This was not what I expected but it was an interesting read. Makes you realize we are a small portion of this big varied very different planet and we don’t count any more than other species. Africa is nothing if not challenging and humbling.

Intense with a lush setting

4/5: Bohjalian is one of my favorite authors. He has a finesse for historical fiction and using it to prick your consciousness about perhaps not well-known events or social phenomena which I value and enjoy (if that's the right word). I was mixed on how to review this one because I'm not so sure I would actually categorize it as historical fiction. It isn't fictionalizing any particular real event in history. Yes it is set during the 1960's and yes it takes place on the continent of Africa but I'm not so sure those facts alone make it historical fiction in my understanding of the genre. That aside, I don't think this is one of Bohjalian's best books. However, because he's an excellent and solid writer, he still manages to come out heads and shoulders above many other books, ergo the rating of 4 out of 5. Here's what I liked about this book: very well written as far as plot and characters go; dialogue was natural and not bogged down by unneeded details; a rich picture of Tanzania, the wildlife and the edge of danger that existed (s) when foraying into untamed areas; characters are given real depth and backstories; there's plenty of emotional reckoning that happens for nearly every character in this story; the plot is suspenseful, although sometimes violent (but not out of place for the plot it is a part of); and I didn't really come to understand all the pieces of the "why this is happening to these people" until very far into the story, which I count as a positive. What I didn't particularly enjoy: too many characters and because the story is told by flipping from present to past and back, there was often too much to keep up with so I stopped trying, potentially missing some of the nuance of the story; I was left with a slight feeling of "Why should I care about this story, i.e. these characters?" which perhaps was just me not being in the right frame of mind for this book but also maybe because the characters felt slightly hard to connect with even though Bohjalian does his due diligence in making them full people - there was just something slightly missing for me. Bottom line, however, this book is definitely worth reading, my expectations were perhaps just unrealistic because of past books I've read by Bohjalian (Sandcastle Girls; The Guest Room; The Flight Attendant).