The very wealthy Babel family heads to their compound in South Africa. Joshua, Sam, and Bailey are Odelia’s grown children and at least one of them is not happy. Their mother is getting remarried to a man, Asher, 25 years younger than Odelia. Could he really love her, or does he just love her money? (I distrusted Asher at least as much as Sam did).
When Joshua finds Odelia’s body the morning of her wedding, chaos ensues. There are only so many suspects, her family or it must be someone on the staff. Tensions flare as they realize Bailey is missing. Is it related to her mother’s death or could she be guilty of murder?
Lots of secrets in this family. I guessed some but missed others. The location came to life on the pages and bumped going on Safari up a few places on my bucket list. You would think that the biggest mystery would be uncovering Odelia's killer, right, but I found the amount of skeletons hiding in this family’s luggage, amazing. The setting was incredible..

Thank you Atria Books and Net Galley for a copy of this ARC!
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I just feel like slow burn mysteries are not for me. The beginning was a little confusing with all the POVs and it was also very wordy if that makes any sense. But it did get better as it went on and things started to make sense. While I would’ve liked it to be faster a paced, this was a solid one overall!

Wow, what a great thriller. The Safari by Jaclyn Goldis was one that kept me up all night guessing what was coming next.

First thank you to the author, Simon & Schuster’s Atria books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the book. I thought the author did an excellent job of creating tension and suspense among the characters – all of whom seemed to have something to hide. The main character, Odelia Babel, a widow, is head of a fashion empire founded by her former husband, Aba. Odelia is having a relationship with and is now engaged to, Asher Bach, the company’s clothing designer who is 25 years younger than she. Everyone, especially her children, suspects the obvious – that he’s in it for the money but she has made it clear there is currently no provision in her will for the soon to be husband….yet.

The entire family troops off to South Africa for a safari vacation at the family-owned luxury resort (bought by the father years ago) and to celebrate the pending nuptials. When Odelia is found murdered, everyone is a suspect. Joshua – the oldest child, Bailey and Sam, the twins. Or perhaps it is Davina, Joshua’s wife? Markus the game drive coordinator, Violett, the resort manager, Gwen, Odelia’s best friend or Asher – the soon to be young husband. As the book proceeds, it is clear that every one of them could be suspected of the murder. At first, anyway.

Without spoilers, it would be difficult to describe more except to say that the plot twists and ultimate surprises – for which you must wait a long time as the author deftly drops clues as to who and why until the book is almost at the end. Even then there are more surprises.

Regrettably, I found it difficult to like any of the characters in the book, but did feel some empathy for Bailey. Bailey puts everyone else in the family before her own needs and desires, sacrificing her own dreams to be the family cheerleader. The first half of the book ambles along; but the second half kicks up the action towards the conclusion

Thank you for the opportunity to preview The Safari.
The story centers on a very rich woman who’s marrying a younger man. The wedding will take place in the wild.
This book starts a bit slow introducing the characters and this is helpful as this book is epically inspired.
There is family drama with mystery and suspense included. I found the novel very good once you know the plot and characters.
This is well written and suspenseful. 3.5 stats

This one is a mixed bag. The beginning starts out with a bang. Then the first 50% is an introduction of all the characters with a ton of family drama. There is little thrill during the first half. However, I did enjoy the safari description and it brought me back to the time I was on a safari in South Africa. Around the 50% mark the book changes up and becomes the thriller I was hoping for. There’s less safari description in this half, but the stage has already been set. Things really vamped up around the 75% mark with multiple satisfying and unexpected twists. Overall, I enjoyed this thriller, but getting through the first half was a bit difficult. I could appreciate the deep background on the characters and the slow character development once the twists started coming.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Multiple povs whodunits usually make my head hurt, but this one deserves a pass as South Africa played a major character as well. The family dynamics surrounding the rich matriarch marrying her younger lover was enough to lure me in to this mystery. I wish the pacing was more even because after the climax murder the plot falls into a lull that only picks up to reveal the killer and then the last parts of the book felt like an extended epilogue. Entertaining read nonetheless.

2 stars. DNF at 20%

I was sent this by Atria books and I was so intrigued at first and I did enjoy the wildlife scenes and Safari vibes of the wild. I thought this would grip me as it is about a woman who gets remarried and her grown children don't agree and there ends up being a mystery but it just didn't interest me at all with the characters and the talk of the wildlife and there is poachers involved in this too so that really made me put it down but the writing is great very descriptive, just not for me.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: May 20, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

We have a storyline with so many twists and turns and gripping moments. I spent an amazing weekend living in this book. Multiple POV, amazing characters and such a beautiful backdrop. Turn after turn of mystery, secrets and who done it. If you love a fast paced twisty murder mystery—you’ll love this!!!

Huge thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: Murder Mystery, Multiple POV, Twisty, Secrets

This had a little of everything. Family drama, love, a safari, a wedding, and a ton of secrets. Definitely worth the read.

2.75 stars rounded up

Odelia is newly engaged to a man over two decades her junior and brings her family to their Safari resort to celebrate her impending marriage. Unbeknownst to her, it's the last place any of them will see her alive. Twists and turns follow to uncover who had it out for her and why.

*****

This was a genuinely difficult book to get through. The multiple view points of unreliable narrators should have been interesting, but they all were such unlikeable characters. We got constant diatribes about the issues with Aba and Ophelia to the point that the entire book was cycling around it endlessly. By the midway point, I had put the book down so many times out of boredom that I wasn't sure I could finish it. I also found the main killers voice going from confident and secure to almost manic and immature once they're uncovered, to be extremely odd and not fit the character.

Thankfully, the last 25% or so, the story picked up, and we had some mystery and intruige. However, it had layers and layers of secrets and twists that it almost felt nonsensical in their excess. Literally, every character had some deep, dark secret or quiet betrayal aside from one (two if you include an actual baby). It dragged the conclusion out to just be too much in all and pulled this book slightly under 3 stars for me.

If you like a more drawn out mystery and lots of mental diatribes, with surprises over and over, this one could work for you. It just wasn't for me!

*****

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Like a luxury safari, Jaclyn Goldis’s enormously entertaining new novel takes readers on a thrilling ride through terrain as brutal as it is beautiful: an imperiled ecosystem of secrets, manipulation, and murder that will leave you breathless. With characters as richly realized as its sub-Saharan setting, The Safari is a transporting page-turner with surprises around every corner. I couldn’t put it down.

aclyn Goldis’ The Safari is a masterfully crafted thriller that transports readers to the lush, untamed wilderness of South Africa while unraveling a tangled web of family drama, secrets, and murder. With its gripping plot, multi-dimensional characters, and vivid setting, this novel is an exhilarating ride from start to finish.

At the heart of the story is Odelia Babel, the dynamic and larger-than-life CEO of a sustainable fashion empire. As she prepares for her lavish second wedding to a much younger man, she gathers her fractured family for a luxurious safari at Leopard Sands, a place rich with memories—and buried tensions. The stunning backdrop of South Africa is not just a setting but an active participant in the story, with its beauty and danger amplifying the suspense.

Goldis expertly captures the Babel family’s dysfunction, weaving together their secrets, rivalries, and betrayals. Odelia’s adult children, her designer fiancé, her loyal assistant, and even her grandchild all have complex motives and hidden agendas, making it difficult to determine who can be trusted. When Odelia is murdered hours before her wedding, the story takes a chilling turn, transforming the safari into a claustrophobic, high-stakes game of survival.

The novel is as much a family drama as it is a mystery, with characters who are flawed, vulnerable, and achingly human. Goldis peels back their layers, revealing deep-seated grudges, unspoken resentments, and forbidden desires. Sam and Bailey, Odelia’s twins, become the focal point of the investigation, and their bond—strained yet unbreakable—is both heartbreaking and fascinating.

The pacing is pitch-perfect, with the story moving seamlessly between the present-day murder investigation and flashbacks that illuminate the Babel family’s troubled history. The twists and turns are relentless, and the tension is palpable as the killer’s identity remains elusive until the final pages. Goldis also explores themes of privilege, ambition, and the consequences of long-buried sins, adding depth and nuance to the narrative.

The Safari is a taut, atmospheric thriller that will keep you guessing until its explosive conclusion. Jaclyn Goldis has delivered a richly layered story that combines the glamour of high society with the primal intensity of the African wilderness. Fans of family dramas and twisty mysteries won’t want to miss this captivating tale of betrayal, survival, and the dark side of love.

[ 2.5/5 stars ]

DNF @21%

The premise about a series of shocking murders set in South African Safari involving a wealthy family intrigued me.

I enjoyed the wilderness of Safari and the mystery behind it - I think that's the highlight of this novel. Then the story dives deeper dive the characters of an unhappy and messy family, into their past and possible motives. The relationships are often intoxicating yet real and it's expected to see some character study.

Yet, this feels like a family drama going nowhere, focusing on their privilege and hypocrisy. Don't get me wrong, these can be very real and I would to read about sustainability x profit and also (re-)marriage, that being said, I found meandering both the plot direction and character development. I want more than past grudges and selfish/privileged characters.

While transported at times to the setting, the characters lost me.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

I very much enjoyed this book. The writing was great and the characters were well developed. I hope to read more from this author in the future.

This book is insane... and I loved it. The way it was written was semi-unsettling, but it propelled the plot forward because I had to know what happened. It reminded me of being inside of some kind of escape room, and gave off shades of The Veldt, which is one of my favorite short stories ever. It's hard to write a summary without giving anything away, but if you're looking for a unique thriller with a killer setting... this one is for you! Highly recommend! (I need to do a re-read now, knowing what happens!)

I will share more on my YouTube, Instagram, and other social media on release day!

The star of this book is really the setting. The plot works, but the pace is slow enough that the reader gets to learn more and more about a little-understood part of the world.

The setting really makes this book! There are lions and elephants (and ivory hunters -- but they kind of get their dues by the end) in a South Africa setting. The characters are quite unlikeable, but in a way that makes you want to keep reading as opposed to giving up. Most of the twists are unexpected, even if not especially original (spoiler alert: a lot of people are related). I appreciated the different perspectives offered and the multiple motives added to the uncertainty of who could be the murderer. I would recommend this for fans of Lucy Foley, Hannah Richell, and Caro Carver.

Perfect for fans of armchair travel and locked room mysteries.
The setting is a character in its own right in this book and the author did a great job describing the animals in thier habitat in the safari...the crew gets their own POVs and their voices felt authentic to me....

This was such a good read. It started off really dull for me but I ended up addicted a few chapters in and couldn’t put it down. It had a family of perfectly cast characters (super flawed and classically relatable) and a lot of mysterious secondary characters I didn’t figure out until literally the last page (a pleasant surprise). There was lots going on in the plot which I loved, and lots of twists I didn’t see coming. I found there were some parts that languished a bit long but truly a pleasure to finish.