The Lions of Hollywood
Doubleday
May 10, 2022
Advance reader copy
336
Free from publisher via NetGalley
Tanzania, 1964. When Katie Barstow, A-list actress, and her new husband, David Hill, decide to bring their Hollywood friends to the Serengeti for their honeymoon, they envision giraffes gently eating leaves from the tall acacia trees, great swarms of wildebeests crossing the Mara River, and herds of zebra storming the sandy plains. Their glamorous guests—including Katie’s best friend, Carmen Tedesco, and Terrance Dutton, the celebrated Black actor who stars alongside Katie in the highly controversial film “Tender Madness”—will spend their days taking photos, and their evenings drinking chilled gin and tonics back at camp, as the local Tanzanian guides warm water for their baths. The wealthy Americans expect civilized adventure: Fresh ice from the kerosene-powered ice maker, dinners of cooked gazelle meat, and plenty of stories to tell over lunch back on Rodeo Drive. What Katie and her glittering entourage do not expect is this: 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 time. A blistering story of fame, race, love, and death set in a world on the cusp of great change, The Safari is a vibrant masterpiece.
My review:
I am one of the biggest fangirls of this author's work through the years. I appreciate so much the fact that each of his novels is completely different in scope, he literally never writes anything remotely resembling the same story twice (and this is book 25?). His books are engaging and compelling, his characters are amazingly crafted, and his writing is superb. Having said all that, I did have a major problem with this book. Before I get into that however, I do want to mention how wonderful it was to read about the animals on the Serengeti. The descriptions of them was such a highlight for me. I will warn you that there are a lot of characters to keep track of in this one, and once they get separated into three groups, it's hard to remember who is traveling together. This does get better as the novel progresses, so it becomes less of an issue. I think old time movie buffs will love all the references to great Hollywood films and actor/actresses. My biggest issue with the book was that it was just too violent and graphic for me. One or two scenes I could take, but it was repeated over and over, and it was just too much. I'm someone who doesn't watch any tv shows or movies that contain violence, so if this is something that doesn't bother you, you will likely be fine.
This was a great story that unfortunately I could not appreciate because of the extreme violence. I'll also be keeping my safaris to those in a controlled environment at Disney, this book freaked me out that much! A great book if you are not squeamish like me 🙂
