Thanks Netgalley for the ARC. I bought it for the library and it was thorough enjoyable for my patrons and still being taken out.

I loved the plot of this book and the setting was so interesting!!! Aside from the violence it made me want to go on a safari! This author writes such different books every time and I love it!

The novel takes place in 1960’s Africa, the Serengeti. Katie Bastrow, a Hollywood star, decides to celebrate her wedding by taking an entourage of guests on an African safari. This will be a “photo” safari for most of them. They are settled into their home base and spend an enjoyable few days watching the wildlife and taking photos.
The summary blurb extensively gives the story plot away...“A kidnapping gone wrong, their guides bleeding out in the dirt, and a team of Russian mercenaries herding them 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” unfortunately not much more happens past this blurb.
Thanks Net Galley and publisher for an advanced copy.

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian is not my favorite novel of his, but that means it is still a powerful novel that others will enjoy. While I understand that it is set in an earlier time when such things were de rigueur, I struggled with the idea of these wealthy Americans coming to an African safari expecting to remain living in the lap of luxury. Again, I know that is just one of the many points Mr. Bohjalian makes throughout the novel, but it made me not want to read the story. The inanity of most of the dialogue before the action starts is cringeworthy.

Once the kidnapping occurred, I would like to say I started to enjoy the story a bit more, but I can't say that I did. Sure, things take a much more serious turn, and more than one character surprises me with their selflessness. Yet, I still struggled with the entire concept - that people from Hollywood have enough power and wealth to influence the political situation in Africa. The part of my brain that kept telling me that the attitudes and speech fit into the era in which the novel is set kept fighting with the other part of my brain that was disgusted by the ignorance and racism the characters embody. Maybe this means that Mr. Bohjalian accomplished exactly what he set out to do, but that didn't stop me from doing a little happy dance when I finished The Lioness and moved on to my next book.

Wow. This book was.... unexpected
Let me start out by saying that I found the book engaging, fast, and intriguing. I will echo what I read in another review. It was like the action started.... something happened...the BAM, new chapter, new POV. I think this was done to keep the reader on the edge of their seat, which it did, but the repetitiveness got to me after a while. I didn't mind the multi POV, as I like getting in to all the character's minds. I also enjoyed the newsey tidbits at the beginning of each chapter.

I will say, it takes a LONG time to finally get to the reason for the kidnapping. A REALLY long time. There were a few times I wanted to toss this book for teasing me. All over, a well written historical fiction thriller that I really enjoyed.

One thing I like about this author’s writing is that each of his books is so uniquely different. One might be a mystery. Another a thriller. One might be a story of perseverance or about family. The one guarantee is that the reader will get a beautifully written story and one that will hold the reader’s attention.

Such is the case with The Lioness. An American actress and her entourage go on an African safari in the early 1960s. What should be an idyllic outing soon turns into a horror story. This is a story about survival. It is well told and quite the page turner.

ARC from Netgalley.

The year is 1964 when nine Hollywood celebrities go on a safari in the Serengeti. When a group of men attack their camp, a range of events occurs. This tale is told in various voices which enables one to have the backstory, but also the current events. There is death, missing, betrayal. Who are these attackers? Who are the betrayers?Who survives?
Read for the answers. The author describes the landscape, animals of this section of Africa beautifully.

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian is one you don't want to miss this year. Rising Hollywood star Katie Barstow and her new husband are topping off their honeymoon by taking seven of their closest friends on an African safari. What starts out as an idyllic trip quickly turns in to a nightmare not even Hollywood could dream up. When the group is kidnapped by Russian mercenaries, they must all do what they can to survive but not all will make it home.

The story takes place in 1964 and I liked the way Bohjalian pulled in real people and events in the world and Hollywood at that time. Each chapter is told from a different character’s POV and this is how you get to know the characters and their background story. There is a lot of violence but also lots of beauty as he describes the animals and the natural beauty of this majestic wilderness. The charters are very relatable and the story line so intriguing you won’t be able to put it down. I would strongly recommend this novel to all fans of thrillers or historical fiction.This may be my favorite Bohjalian novel to date.

It's 1964, and America's sweetheart, actress Katie Barstow, has just wed her childhood friend, the gallerist David Hall, in a lavish Hollywood ceremony. After honeymooning in Paris, the newlyweds meet an entourage of their nearest and dearest -- a glamorous group including fellow actors, family, and employees -- in Tanzania for a safari across the wilds of the Serengeti. But the luxury safari they'd anticipated explodes into violence when their camp is invaded by a group of Russian mercenaries, who kidnap them at gunpoint and herd them into Land Rovers, placing them in perilous circumstances in a land where humans are both predator and prey.

I can understand why The Lioness has mixed reviews from readers, so the first thing you need to know going into this book is that it's not the propulsive thriller that the blurb makes it out to be. Instead of classifying this as a historical thriller, I'd call it instead a literary character-driven historical suspense novel. Chris Bohjalian very deliberately controls the tempo and pacing of this story, balancing the events on the Serengeti with the backstories of each member of the safari party. It's probably about a 50/50 split between current-day and backstory -- a bold choice that not many authors could get away with, but I mean, this is Chris Bohjalian. He can pull off anything, and in my opinion, he pulls off this structure -- and anyway, the backgrounds of these characters are incredibly important in relation to their current circumstances. His characters are vivid and interesting, and the kidnapping plot and events on the Serengeti are riveting and intense and atmospheric. So I found myself equally invested in both the present and past parts of the narrative.

Because this is Bohjalian and because he is a bold, ambitious, and inventive writer, he tackles a lot of topics in The Lioness -- from fame and childhood abuse, to issues of race and prejudice, to the political climates of the U.S. and Russia and exploring both countries' involvement with the African continent. This book is impeccably researched and respectful, bringing to life the glitz and glamour of Old Hollywood and contrasting it with the fraught politics and culture of the 1960s. The Lioness is immersive historical fiction at its finest, by one of our finest storytellers.

Intriguing and hard to put down - I was particularly drawn to the descriptions of the characters and their pasts. I had previously only read The Hour of the Witch before, and man was this one waaaaay different. Except for the edge of your seat writing style, that is! Following Katie Barstow and her entourage, this novel tells the story of a honeymoon trip among wealthy Americans gone horribly wrong. The descriptions of Africa are evocative and the character development is on point.

I feel like the title of this book set me up to expect a much stronger female lead. I didn't feel like the characters were well developed nor was I able to connect with them.

This book was very plot-driven and...it was just okay. I didn't love it, didn't hate it. It was thoroughly average.

Old Hollywood plus African safari? Sign me up!

With lots of characters to keep up with, The Lioness can be hard to follow but it's well worth the effort. Bohjalian creates an immersive world in Tanzania and amazing backstories for his large cast combining glamour, violence and mystery in a throughly captivating way.

Thanks to Doubleday for the copy to review.

Chris Bohjalian never disappoints. This novel, set in Africa during the 50's, provides excitement, armchair travel, and plenty of juicy plots!

I may just need to accept that Bohjalian is not the author for me. I want so much to love a fellow Vermonter author, but... alas. This starts out immediately with far too many characters to keep track of. I do appreciate the character guide in the beginning, but still. It was a ton of info dumping with bits of action interspersed. I couldn't get through it.

Chris Bohjalian never disappoints. This one was much more suspenseful than I was anticipating. There are a lot of characters and the story is told from multiple POVs - initially I had a hard time keeping everyone straight and remembering who was who and how they were all connected, but maybe 1/3 through I had it straight. And even with this large cast of characters, they're all well developed. This is a story of survival, and it's violent and often graphic, so be warned going in. You won't want to put it down once you start. The pace and tension are kept high throughout. This would make a great movie / TV series! I loved it, but needed a stiff drink and a nap when I was done!

3.5*
Bohjalian uses a wide variety of settings in his novels. Here he tackles the world of Hollywood elites and the wilds of the Serengeti in 1964. Katie Barstow is a famous actress who takes her family and friends on an African safari. It seems like an idyllic setting for the group to view and photograph nature in its natural habitat. It was not intended as a hunting expedition, yet violence arrives when an unknown band of men attack and kidnap the members of the safari. The beauty of the landscape is marred by the ruthless brutality of the captors. Suddenly, the rich Hollywood star and her guests are the prey and their very survival is at stake.

Bohjalian doesn’t shy away from the savagery of both humans and animals. The tourist group finds they are threatened by both. The men who abduct the group may have a political agenda that adds an undercurrent to the tension. The anxiety intensifies as the group is separated and they are unaware of the wellbeing of each other.

Katie and her group are a mix of complicated personalities and egos. Chapters switch from one character’s viewpoint to another’s. But the desire to survive is at the forefront for each of them. The political drama is a bit murky which adds a little confusion. But, this is an engaging read with the wilds of nature and the ruthlessness of humans on full display.

Not long ago, I reviewed a book extolling its virtues as a comfort read. Chris Bohjalian is <i>not</i> the man to go to for comfort reads. Chris Bohjalian writes the kind of books you'll probably finish and immediately go looking for a good comfort read. In his work, perfectly ordinary people, often (not always) very nice or at least unobjectionable people, abruptly wind up in horrific circumstances, and a story unspools framed on how those ordinary people respond to extraordinary events.

It's funny - I hear all the time how Australia is the continent where everything wants to kill you. Africa, at least eastern Africa in the 60's in this book, also wants to kill you. I don't know of very many deadly trees in Australia. Africa, though? They'll get you.

But more deadly than the flora or the fauna is, of course, other people. At least the trees and lions and vultures won't lie to you before they kill you, and their motives are pretty open and obvious.

The relationships in The Lioness are fascinating, explored largely in flashbacks as the events of a violent mass kidnapping unfold. The whole adventure seems to have started as nothing more than a whim, a wealthy actress's impulsive decision to take friends, her brother, and her new husband on a luxurious photo safari. <I>Seems</i> to have ... The dynamics between abused siblings; between a huge star and a character actor; a wife making far more money than her husband; a black American actor and not only his white erstwhile coworkers and friends but the Tanzanian guides looking after the party ... it's a complicated web even before a troupe of heavily armed Russians enter the picture.

The wildly diverse settings are wonderfully drawn as well, with the safari present day and the mostly Hollywood memories. Both are equal parts alluring and terrifying in their own ways - each has its perils, be they gossip columnists or puff adders.

It's an extraordinary book, violent and unflinching. Another winner.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

This book was a great, highly addictive read! The author crafted the story with words so well chosen as to mental share the imagery of the characters, along with the wild, both natural and man made, that surround the human guests. I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable and hard to put down novel. The author, as always, creates beautifully dimensional characters and well-developed plots and subplots that you are sucked in to the book so that you feel as if you are part of the story. I suggest reading the book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Loved the idea of this book but it was incredibly hard to keep all of the characters straight. They all seemed to play a role and I kept forgetting who was who. Loved the idea of this book though, if that was better presented or easier to keep track of I think this would’ve been hard to put down.

An engaging, thrilling story set in an evocative, well-researched and well-realized setting. The Serengeti comes to life in this book in all its beauty and mystery and danger; the characters that populate the landscape are well-drawn and interesting. I love a historically set book that is rich in context and period detail, and this delivers.