The Red Lotus

A Novel

By: Chris Bohjalian

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman

From the New York Times best-selling author of The Flight Attendant comes a twisting story of love and deceit: An American man vanishes on a rural road in Vietnam, and his girlfriend follows a path that leads her home to the very hospital where they met.

Alexis and Austin don’t have a typical “meet cute” - their first encounter involves Alexis, an emergency room doctor, suturing a bullet wound in Austin’s arm. Six months later, they’re on a romantic getaway in Vietnam: a bike tour on which Austin can show Alexis his passion for cycling, and can pay his respects to the place where his father and uncle fought in the war. But then Austin fails to return from a solo ride. Alexis’s boyfriend has vanished, the only clue left behind a bright yellow energy gel dropped on the road.

As Alexis grapples with this bewildering loss, she starts to uncover a series of strange lies that force her to wonder: Where did Austin go? Why did he really bring her to Vietnam? And how much danger has he left her in? Set amidst the adrenaline-fueled world of the emergency room, The Red Lotus is a global thriller about those who dedicate their lives to saving people - and those who peddle death to the highest bidder.

©2020 Chris Bohjalian (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"[An] intricately plotted thriller...a diabolical plot reminiscent of a Robin Cook thriller. Each character, including secondary players, is carefully drawn, and Bohjalian keeps the tension high all the way to the surprising finale." (Publishers Weekly)

"Abetted by shifting points of view, seemingly disparate elements eventually converge to create a burgeoning sense of dread.... Tantalizing...Bohjalian manages to keep us guessing and turning pages until the very end." (Kirkus Reviews)

"In this tightly drawn, steadily hair-raising thriller, Bohjalian once again demonstrates his keen affinity for strong, capable female protagonists, while his masterful merging of setting and plot delivers a cerebral and dramatic dive into what happens when love turns to agony." (Booklist)

Non stop surprises

I was initially drawn to the storyline because I have been to Vietnam. So good I have already downloaded another book by this author.

The Red Lotus

I enjoyed this book immensely. In this day, I got further insight about our pandemic. Chris Bohjalian is a fine writer. I look forward to listening to another of his novels.

Great disturbing book

Enjoyed the narriation, very clear. l listened twice to revisit the clues. Easy to picture every scene.

Every Woman Should read this book

I liked everything about this book, especially the story...not anything I've experienced but knowing this is true, it can happen at any time to any woman or girl... mothers of daughters please read this and take heed...

Stunning

Chris Bohjalian is a genius. I've loved nearly every book I've read by him but this one did me in. No extraneous details and beautifully written. I was in tears through parts of this. If you are on the fence about this book, don't be. Put it at the top of your TBR list and dive in.

Great pandemic story

Loved this book from start to finish. Great character development, and you truly come to despise the bad guys. The story flows nicely and has a secondary story with a cast in Viet Nam. The narrator has a smooth voice that can keep you focused on what she’s saying, snd within a chapter or two you understand her vocal nuances so you know which character she is at that moment. It took me a while to get through because I myself got sick during the pandemic, but once I picked up where I left off, I was right back in the drama unfolding. Good twists and turns along the way.

Not his usual great story

Book was good. Some of the unexpected twists were there, which is always great. Reader was very good.

A gripping ending (just get through the first 2/3 of the story)

I’m not sure if I disliked most of this book or just the narration that went with it. The main character was unlikeable until the end when the mystery began to unravel. The narration is terrible, and it sounded like the reader was bored 80% of the time. It was almost impossible to distinguish the character voices. Personally, I recommend just reading the book for an unbiased view of the story.

It’s fine

It just goes on FOREVER. It’s fine. Not my favorite by far. Narrator is ok.

Just ok

Interesting to read a book about a fictional pandemic during a real pandemic. The story was good. There was just too much superfluous storyline for me.