When the Babel family descends on their family owned safari property for the matriarch's second wedding to a much younger man, things go awry quickly with a murder, a disappearance, another murder, and even a kidnapping of sorts. There are so many twists in this book it kept me on my toes and guessing throughout.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Odelia and her 3 adult children, daughter in law, grand daughter and best friend gather at the family's safari resort in South Africa for her wedding to Asher, who is significantly younger than her. In the middle of the night before the wedding, Odelia is found dead and all of the family are pointing fingers at one another.

4.5 stars.

I was offered this ARC and accepted because I thought the setting sounded very interesting, and it was. It took me awhile to get into the book because it was a lot of setting the stage and introducing us to the characters and all of the drama amongst them. Also, the chapters were from the points of view of several of the characters and sometimes I would forget whose point of view it was. Once I got past those issues I really got into this book. There was a lot of lying and deception going on and everything tied up nicely at the end. The setting added to my enjoyment of the book. I would read more from this author.

Review of eGalley

As Joshua moves along the path in the South African jungle, he’s headed for a meeting with his sister, Bailey. The family has come to Leopard Sands for Odelia Babel’s wedding to Asher Bach. Bach, some twenty-five years her junior, is madly in love with Odelia. The grown children have some conflicting thoughts about their mother's upcoming nuptials.

But everything changes when, after an argument with her son, Sam, Odelia is found dead.

Who is responsible? And why was Odelia targeted by her killer?

=========

Told from several points of view, the unfolding story is richly populated with believable characters. A strong sense of place anchors the telling of the tale: readers will feel like they are on safari with Odelia and her family. As might be expected, there are a plethora of lies, each capable of bringing chaos and unrelenting turmoil to the safari. Misdirection is the order of the day.

The characters are flawed; all are holding information unknown to the others. The strong sense of place anchors the telling of the tale; the multiple points of view slowly reveal long-held clues as the twisty plot unfolds. Of special note is the inclusion of the South African culture, establishing realism and enhancing the setting.

Readers who enjoy twisty mysteries filled with unexpected revelations will find much to appreciate in this unputdownable tale that will keep readers engrossed until the final page is turned.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Atria Books / Atria / Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley
#TheSafari #NetGalley

I received a free copy of this eBook from Atria Books / Atria / Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley
#TheSafari #NetGalley

The last 35% of this book was wonderful. Everything tied together very nicely and it was a twist I did not see coming! But I felt like the author spent too long establishing that all the characters had motive for the murder. The beginning of the book dragged on because of it.

Odelia Babel, soon to be Odelia Babel-Bach, has decided to host her wedding at the Safari resort she owns in Africa with her family. The soon to be husband is 25 years her junior and is a designer at the Babel company that creates sustainable, luxury clothing. The entire family packs up to celebrate their mothers marriage, even if they aren't all that happy about it. The morning of the wedding, Odelia is found murdered and the family members are the prime suspects.

3.5 stars

The first half of this book lagged. There were a lot of different perspectives and a lot of background character information. I almost DNF’d at 40%, and while I’m glad I didn’t, it shows the slow pace of the beginning of the novel.

If you have difficulty with mega-rich, entitled characters, this book isn’t for you. The Babel family are insanely rich, and each of them have their sordid pasts and secrets they keep from each other. I loved the South African setting and the South African-isms that were woven throughout. I wonder if it would be hard for folks who haven’t been there to decipher some of them, though.

There are a lot of twists, a lot of broken people, and a lot of sordid stories that make up this tale. While I didn’t particularly like any of the characters, I think it was meant to be that way.

The Safari follows the wealthy Babel family who are visiting their South African safari resort for the wedding of matriarch Ofelia to Asher Bach, a much younger designer at the family fashion business. We know in the first chapter that Ofelia is dead, brutally murdered inside the resort that is protected by an electric fence. The danger here comes from within. It seems that everyone has a motive to murder Ofelia so solving this crime will be difficult, especially since torrential rains keep the police away. Is the killer Asher, her fiancé, who may inherit her business and vast fortune? Could it be one of her children: Joshua, the insecure son or one of the twins; Sam, always in debt, or Bailey, his somewhat disturbed sister? It could be Davina, Joshua’s wife, mocked by Ofelia because she is no longer a plus size model. Perhaps it is an employee of the lodge? This character driven mystery, told by multiple narrators, gives us different views of the past and present. Ofelia’s death is not solved until the final chapters.

The South African setting is atmospheric and unique but it plays only a small part here. Family dysfunction is the star and the Babels go to the top of the dysfunction list. The characters are all very well described and the writing is very good. The problem I had is with the length of the book and what I thought were repetitive actions. This slowed down the pace of the mystery but I think that tighter editing would solve the problem. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Jaclyn Goldis for this ARC.

I'll start with the things I liked about this book: cool setting, interesting characters, and a unique story.

Here's what I didn't enjoy: We are told over and over the same things about the characters. Davina lost weight after having her baby. Odelia hated her husband who died. Sam is gay and a photographer. Joshua is lame and nerdy. I have no idea why these same character traits were repeated over and over with no new information each time. Most of these things had nothing to do with the plot and didn't necessarily add depth to the characters. We are also given a ton of background on Jewish Orthodoxy, while interesting, also had almost nothing to do with the plot. I felt like there was a need to get to a page count, so random side information was thrown in and repeated over and over. I also found that the book had way too many POVs and characters. While the story ends up being complex, I don't think having the additional POVs added anything other than confusion to the book. All this additional info made the pacing feel off. It felt really slow at some points and too fast at others.

I think this book could have been shorter and a lot of the unnecessary info could have been left out in order to improve pacing and keep the reader more engaged.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

From the start, the narrative is rich with introspection, giving readers an intimate look into the minds of the characters, each of whom seems to be concealing something. This psychological depth adds layers to the tension, keeping you on edge as the mystery slowly unravels. The first half is slow-paced with detailed character backgrounds, but the action intensifies in the second half, leading to a gripping conclusion.

Such a great read. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to indulge in this advance reader copy. I couldn't put it down all night.

The Safari , while a thriller, is more about a seriously dysfunctional family. Although while it wasn't quite what I expected I did enjoy the book, the first half is character development.

I've loved Jaclyn Goldis' previous books and was so excited to see this one! I loved it! What a wild ride! It was fresh and exciting and unlike any other book I've read!

Didn’t love, didn’t hate, just didn’t necessarily love the characters? I was rooting for no one and felt like the book dragged in places

Jaclyn Goldis is back with another stylish whodunnit set in a luxury safari resort in South Africa, where the deadliest predators are not the animals...

The Safari follows the Babels a wealthy Florida family whose matriarch Odelia is set to marry her much younger fiance on her family's safari resort in South Africa. Her dysfunctional family and deep dark secrets clash amidst the dangerous African landscape where they each become the prey of a predator who has killed Odelia hours before her wedding. Everyone becomes a suspect as family secrets and money stalk the surviving relatives into turning on each other like the wild animals that surrounds them.

What I liked about The Safari was that the actions of the Babel's mirrored the behaviour of the animals helping to create a tense atmosphere full of adrenaline. Overall I thought this book was not as strong as the author's previous two destination mysteries. Something about the setting or location did not appeal to me like France or Italy did in the last books. I had a hard time envisioning the location in my head and I did not feel there were enough thrilling aspects. The mystery did not grab me and was more of a soap opera this time around. The beginning of the book lagged a bit with the stakes not high enough to get me excited for the story. There were enough twists and turns and stylish Agatha Christie inspired elements as always that will appeal to many readers. However, for me, the mystery wasn't interesting enough and the suspense only appeared in the last few chapters of the book.

Fans of locked room thrillers and whodunnits will love The Safari by Jaclyn Goldis.

This was a decent thriller but it took a long time to get to the thriller part. The first half of the book is a lot of character development and family drama. It was a little dull but the Safari aspect kept me going. The end of the book finally had the excitement I was waiting for but then the ending felt a little rushed.

Talk about a dysfunctional family. This family has secrets galore, and they are NOT ready for them to be exposed.
A lush setting of a private hotel among the safari in Africa, a new fiance and a family hell bent on getting what they want and letting nothing get in the way.

This was a great read!

I didn't know what I would think of this book, but I absolutely loved it! The writing was wonderful, and the suspense was great. I loved the plot twists throughout and was constantly left guessing!

Thank you to Netgalley, Jaclyn Goldis, and Simon and Schuster for this e-ARC.

Wow, this was quite the rollercoaster!! So much deception and betrayal among the Babel family, who own a luxury safari getaway in the South African Bush.

The family arrives at Leopard Sands to "celebrate" their mother's impending wedding to her much younger fiance. Then people start to die, and disappear, making emotions high, and very tense. Secrets are revealed, and there are a lot!! The backdrop is an amazing, but terrifying land full of predatory animals, but the humans are what's truly dangerous in this land.

The Safari is an edge of your seat psychological thriller that keeps you guessing and wanting more. Excellent read!

What an exciting mystery set to a backdrop of a safari destination wedding. There are so many moving parts in this story. Mom finds new happiness with a young man, while her adult children have difficulty accepting the loss of their father, no less accepting a new man into the position. They also each have their own personal and family issues. They all work in a family business, and money is always an issue among them. The safari itself introduces dangerous elements to the trip. What starts as family drama becomes a basket of secrets and intrigue and danger, where one peril is stacked on a clue, stacked on a puzzle. There are so many twists in this tale that you feel you are meeting a new cast of characters come the end of the book! Excellent cloaking of clues, and a masterful reveal of secrets. This book will draw you in with it's nature and beauty, and hold you tight with the cutthroat action!

This was an intense, captivating and suspenseful thriller. Its many twists and turns kept me from being able to stop reading once I began!

WOW. What a wild ride.

Join the affluent Babel family for the opulently indulgent destination wedding of their matriarch and her much younger fiancé at their 5* luxury safari camp in South Africa.....You'll soon discover that nothing is as it seems.

I devoured this book in a single day..

This masterfully crafted, thrilling tour-de-force and emotionally evocative safari is one you won't want to miss!