Thursday, August 17, 2023

The Lioness

 Chris Bohjalian is a prolific writer and I have read many of his books over the years.  The Lioness is one of his newest and it was a thriller and mystery.

Written about a historic time period in Hollywood it was a entertaining story about the social hierarchy in the movie industry and the stars of the time.  But that is not the main thrust of the story.  This is a plot about intrigue, spies and corruption.  Famous movie starlet, Katie Barlow wants to travel to Africa on a safari. She invites friends along on her honeymoon with her husband David Hill.  Joining the trip to the Serengeti  include Katie’s best friend, Carmen Tedesco, and Terrance Dutton, the celebrated Black actor who stars alongside Katie in the highly controversial film “Tender Madness”.

Along with guides they set out to see giraffes and other animals in their natural surroundings.  All seems peaceful until a group of Russian mercenaries kidnap them killing the guides and taking them off in different jeeps to abandoned huts.  

This is when the reader sees the different reactions to the situation by each character.  How does one react in dangerous situations, is it the way you would expect or do some rise to the occasion and act bravely and others cowardly.  

Of course this is a mystery and the ending delivers some twists and turns to create a satisfying ending.

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