The Red Lotus, as does the flower in the title, unfolds slowly but surely until all the facts of this intriguing and haunting tale are revealed.

Alexis, a young ER doctor, is in Vietnam, on a bike trip with her newish beau, Austin. One day, Austin decides to depart from the tour agenda, saying he wants to see the site where his uncle was killed, and another site where his father was wounded during the Vietnam war. Austin is never seen again.

The reader, however, sees him throughout the book as the story unfolds, going back and forth until the true chain of events leading to his death are revealed.

This is one heck of a story, and a very frightening one to read while amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The characters, good and bad, are spectacularly crafted, not a detail or symbol is missed, and I basically couldn’t put the book den. It’s a story of good and evil, and the reader does not know until the very end which one will prevail. Highly recommended!

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

What I like about Chris Bohjalian is that his books always surprise me, both with their varying themes and the tremendous amount of research he puts into every single story. This was a little slow moving at first and subjects like rats and pandemics were not what I was expecting from a title as lovely as The Red Lotus -- nor what I wanted to read about at this particular time. But I love the way this man writes and I found it captivating. The characters didn't capture me as I would have liked; but this being a galley copy and the author being who he is, I am betting the final edition will show improvement with both the dialogue and some of the grammar that may have been distracting me.

For die-hard Bohjalian fans, this one is not to be missed.

2.5*
Not a favorite from this author!
Alexis and Austin are enjoying an exotic vacation in Vietnam. Austin is an avid bicyclist and during a local biking tour he’s chosen to split from the group to explore some back roads alone. Well now, who doesn’t see potential big trouble coming with this scenario? And it most certainly does when he vanishes, leaving Alexis alone and desperate to find him. But perhaps there is more to why Austin disappeared? Could Alexis also be in danger if she digs too deeply?

Oh my goodness, this book ended up to be a struggle, and seriously considered many times to DNF.
The pacing was so slow and felt too drawn out. I just couldn’t stay focused!
I loved this author’s previous release The Flight Attendant but sadly this one just didn’t grab me in the same way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for an ARC to read and review.

I'm mostly a big fan of Chris Bohjalian's books. I"ve read quite a few.
But I may have to give this one up. Though the writing is very good, he topic didn't interest me,. I was intrigued and engaged up to the place where (no spoiler alert), a big plot point turned and the story changed (for me).
I may pick it up again as I'm reading a lot these days. But for now, I have other books waiting.

Best-selling author Chris Bohjalian has 21 books published, three of which have been made into movies. Surprisingly, I had not read any of his popular books. The Red Lotus was a great introduction to his work. Entertaining and frighteningly timely, this story begins on a biking trip in Vietnam where an ER doctor and her boyfriend of 7 months are enjoying a holiday. Boyfriend Austin is returning to the country he visited the year before so that he can visit the sites where his uncle died and father was wounded during the Vietnam War. Dr. Alexis Remnick is enjoying the excursion and the chance to spend time with Austin. However as the trip draws to an end, Austin prevails upon the tour leader to be allowed to track down those war sites alone. When he does not return on time, Alexis becomes worried and sets in motion the search for her missing boyfriend. The only clue they find as they retrace his probable path are a few energy gel packs dropped on the road. Alexis scoops them up, in the hopes they will provide fingerprints or DNA to confirm they belonged to Austin. Her careful efforts begin a process which soon expands once Austin’s body is discovered, the result, we are meant to believe, of a late night biking accident.
Soon we learn along with Alexis that Austin’s cover story was based on several disturbing lies. Thus begins a fast-paced story rocketing between Vietnam and the United States, involving US consulate and police investigators in Vietnam as well as medical researchers and fund raisers in the U. S. Without giving away any of the mind blowing details, the story turns on the possibility of initiating a worldwide pandemic.
Alexis, who has some emotional baggage in the past is a thoughtful and proactive character who uses all her talents and connections to find out what Austin was involved in and find a way to stop it. The author provides an ending which is both satisfying and deeply disturbing in equal measure.
This is a great book which leaves you wondering how much is fiction.

4 Stars: 4/5 Star Rating
This book was both compelling and disturbing. The secrets behind Austin's disappearance lead Alexis to answers she never expected and more questions. I was just eager for answers as Alexis was as the story continued to unfold. Sometimes, I wished I didn't have the answers once I did though. I honestly don't know how to review some of this book without leaving spoilers. It does have some curse words in the book.
I received a digital ARC of this book from netgalley and Doubleday Publishing. All opinions expressed are my own.

Alexis is an emergency room doctor in a New York City hospital. One evening she treats Austin for injuries related to a bullet wound incurred at a bar. The two have never met before but he works in the same hospital. Eventually, they become romantically involved. Six months into their relationship, they go on vacation to Vietnam where Austin is planning a bike tour.

Austin takes a ride one morning to the area where his father and uncle served in the war. Alexis becomes concerned when he does not return and is unreachable by phone. Eventually, the local police find his body on the side of the road. They conclude that he was killed in a hit and run accident. When Alexis views his body, she suspects that his hand injuries would not have resulted from this type of collision. She returns home and decides to hire an investigator and sort out Austin's mysterious life.

The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian is a mystery full of twists and turns. As the details begin to get unveiled the story explodes into a suspenseful tale that has relevance to our current environment. I have enjoyed previous books by this author and look forward to his future novels.

Although I've enjoyed many of Bohjalian's books, this one was strange, confusing and filled with rats. Yes, the ones with four legs and scrounge for food in dumpsters. The story began innocently enough in Vietnam while Alexis and Austin were on a bike tour through areas of battles his father and uncle fought during the Vietnam War. And then he disappears. The rest of the story introduces multiple sketchy characters that we spend so much time figuring out if they're good or evil. This just wasn't my kind of book.

This is a fantastic thriller by Bohjalian, fast paced, nerve wracking and absolutely frightening. To be honest I wish I had read it when I first got the ARC, before the pandemic launched. Now, this thriller just seems all too real.

I love Chris Bohajalian and this book did not disappoint. It was full of suspense and I didn't want it to end. Thanks for a great read!

It was a little surreal reading about someone wanting to develop a virus to create a pandemic, while actually experiencing a pandemic! I had no idea what the book was about when I started reading it, it had been on my TBR for a while!

The story basically begins with Austin and Alexis in Vietnam. Austin is there to go on a bike ride, Alexis is along as his girlfriend. They have only been dating six months. Alexis, an emergency room nurse, met Austin when he showed up at the emergency room with a gunshot wound.

When Austin doesn’t return from a solo ride, Alexis contacts the local police and eventually the FBI gets involved. At first the only clues they have are some gel packs of his found on the road where he was supposed to be riding.

The story unfolds, in one nail biting tease after another. Twists and turns, secrets revealed.

This was a good solid mystery. The character development rang true, everyone a bit flawed in their own way. Some a little more flawed than others.

It was also interesting to read about viruses and how they spread and rats. Rats, rats, and more rats.

All in all, an enjoyable read.

I received an ARC of the book.

His writing just gets better every year. What a fun book. If you enjoy a good thriller, look no further than Bohjalian.

If ever a book was relevant to the time, it would be this one. You'd think that would make it a gripping story, but sadly, this one was too slow to be considered anything close to gripping. I prefer less slow burn in my thrillers, so that was a problem from the start, then you have that prevalent storyline. In most cases, I would say that would give it that bit of oomph to make me want to keep reading despite the slow pace, but in all honesty, with everything we're seeing on the news of late, this is the last thing I wanted to read about. I will add here that I started this book before all the scary virus stuff happened, and the slow pace had me setting it aside several times. Honestly, the only thing that made me pick it back up is my own determination to push through and finish a book when I start it. In the end, this isn't one I'd recommend.

Is this author prescient, or what? The week that this novel was released was the first full week of America’s “social distancing” recommendation due to what is becoming a global pandemic. Is this coincidence or just good literary karma for Bohjalian?
The Red Lotus is the name given to a plague on steroids that has been developed in the research facility of a major New York City hospital. Rogue administrators at the hospital offer the strain for sale to North Korea. You can imagine where this story goes from there. Bohjalian has crafted a diabolical tale that features lots of rats: both the four-legged kind that scurry among the alleyways and subterranean infrastructure of NYC and the two-legged ones that value money over humanity.
If you need a pandemic book to entertain you when you tire of watching the news, you may want to try this one. Just remember to keep your distance, particularly from the rats.
My thanks to Doubleday and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another good read from Chris Bohjalian! Thank you for the opportunity to preview this title. I know many of our customers will appreciate this work and plan to hand sell.

Chris Bohjalian is an author that I always read and have nearly all of his books. He doesn’t disappoint with this very timely novel. A budding couple go to Vietnam for a bike trip when the boyfriend vanishes and is later found dead. But did he die from the bike injuries pr was something more sinister at play? Was a bike trip the real reason for the trip? Chris Bohjalian tells this story in a way that only Chris can. I definitely recommend this book!

This is probably one of the most timely books I've read. Austin and his girlfriend ER Doc Alexis are on a bike trip in Vietnam. Austin has spun a story of wanting to visit the places that his dad and uncle were shot in the war but when Austin goes missing on his solo journey the truth starts to come forward. His Uncle and dad were not injured anywhere near where they are in Vietnam and when Austins body is discovered after being hit by a truck there are strange wounds on his body.

Alexis unable to reconcile the lies and the strange way Austin died lead her to investigate his death once she is back in the states. Unbeknownst to her the danger she is in is mounting and if she doesn't figure out what Austin was up to things could go from bad to worse.

I don't want to say too much but if you think COVID-19 is bad just know things could always be worse. As usual Bohjanian delivers a very readable novel of betrayal and our willingness to let go and grieve. The characters are well developed and relatable. Definitely a great read.

I’m honestly glad I read this one before our current situation as it hits a little too close to home right now so you may wanna keep that in mind before picking it up. This is a slow burn with a very smart heroine which was refreshing as SO many thrillers seem to be filled with weak women, so I loved that aspect. My biggest phobia/fear in the world is rats, I can’t even type the word without shivering and there was a lot of rat talk so I did struggle a bit with that. But overall I’m glad that I read this one as it was definitely a unique read that was incredibly well written.

Another solid tale of international intrigue from Chris Bohjalian. I found the twists in this one to be a bit too predictable, but maybe I’ve just read too many of his books at this point. ;)

On a bike tour of Vietnam, Austin disappears, leaving his girlfriend of 6 months to unravel what happened. As she persists, she finds lies and mysteries, and she can't leave things alone until she gets some answers. This book was definitely a slow burn, and we get several points of view and a LOT of unfolding events. Sometimes I would read the current world-news then read a chapter of this book and some things were very similar. One thing I liked is that while the bad guys were certainly evil, they had specific motives and they weren't all-powerful. This was a good thinking-persons thriller - it wasn't action packed, but I stayed interested and I thought the ending was especially good.