The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian

Chris Bohjalian seems to be channeling Agatha Christie in his latest novel, The Lioness, in which a party of nine travelers to the Serengeti dwindles down in this mystery-thriller-historical fiction all rolled up into one fast-paced book. Hollywood actress Katie Barstow is getting married, and just for fun she wants to take special people in her life on an after-honeymoon photo trip to Africa.

The expedition is hardly underway when the vacationers are overtaken by Russian mercenaries. The political climate in 1964 was such that Moscow was meddling in Africa as it was believed that Africans would embrace the Russian model of socialism as part of a plan for modernization. But what did that have to do with a group of people whose lives were involved in acting, writing, and publicizing in Hollywood? Just who was the target of this attack?

Each chapter is introduced with a gossipy blurb about one of the safari bound, be it about Katie, her psychologist brother, her actress friend, or her recent co-star. Bohjalian builds suspense throughout the mystery by bringing one chapter to a close in the midst of high dramatic tension and plunging into the next chapter from a different character’s point of view.

A trip to Africa is treacherous enough with all the things that could happen such as animal attacks and snake bites without confrontations and threats by ruthless Russian thugs.  The number in the vacationing party diminishes  as the tension builds toward a climax of betrayal and more killings. Those who survive will never be the same.

Chris Bohjalian is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 24 books. His books have been translated into 35 languages. A few of his books have been made into movies, and his The Flight Attendant became a big series hit for HBO. His books have been chosen as Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Hartford Courant, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, BookPage, and Salon.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting February 17, 2022.

I would like to thank Doubleday Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.