The Red Lotus
Fiction
Doubleday
2020
E-book
400
Publisher via NetGalley
The first time Alexis saw Austin, it was a Saturday night. Not in a bar, but in the emergency room where Alexis sutured a bullet wound in Austin's arm. Six months later, on the brink of falling in love, they travel to Vietnam on a bike tour so that Austin can show her his passion for cycling and he can pay his respects to the place where his father and uncle fought in the war. But as Alexis sips white wine and waits at the hotel for him to return from his solo ride, two men emerge from the tall grass and Austin vanishes into thin air. The only clue he leaves behind is a bright yellow energy gel dropped on the road.
As Alexis grapples with this bewildering loss, and deals with the FBI, Austin's prickly family, and her colleagues at the hospital, Alexis uncovers a series of strange lies that force her to wonder: Where did Austin go? Why did he really bring her to Vietnam? And how much danger has he left her in?
Set amidst the adrenaline-fueled world of the emergency room, The Red Lotus is a global thriller about those who dedicate their lives to saving people, and those who peddle death to the highest bidder.
My review:
I have been reading this author's work ever since one of his first novels (Midwives) was chosen by Oprah for her book club. Bohjalian lives in Vermont (where I was born and lived for 35 years), and this was a very big deal for our tiny state! I may have missed a couple of his 21 novels, but I've devoured most of them. The Red Lotus was no exception. What worked for me in this thriller? First of all, I used to work in a hospital lab, so he had me at the protagonist being an ER doctor. Second, without giving too much away, suffice it to say that today's pandemic has an eerie connection. Third, the creepy facts I learned about rats.....yes, rats! Lets just say I like them even less than I already did! As always, Bohjalian has a way with words and every story is very different from the ones before (pretty hard to do when on your 21st book!). I will say that you had to pay close attention in this one as there were a lot of characters to keep track of (especially who was on whose side). Despite this, I had a much easier time following this one than last year's book The Flight Attendant (I was so lost with the spy stuff I'm still not sure I ever figured it out by the end). Despite the fact that the ending may have been a bit rushed, I did feel it delivered a good conclusion. While I love that this author can write in many different genres, his last few books have been of the thriller type. I can only hope that at some point he will slip in a book like Midwives and Close Your Eyes Hold Hands, which are my two absolute favorite Bohjalian books!
An excellent thriller with a large cast of characters, set partially in Vietnam, with lots of medical stuff thrown in for junkies like me. Definitely put it on your spring reading list.
