The Lioness

About the book

A Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post

A deadly turn takes place during a luxurious African safari for a Hollywood starlet and her group in this thrilling historical novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant.

In Tanzania, 1964, Katie Barstow, a top actress, and her newly-wedded husband, David Hill, choose to host their Hollywood friends in the Serengeti for their honeymoon. They envision giraffes gracefully munching on leaves from the tall acacia trees, masses of wildebeests crossing the Mara River, and herds of zebras racing across the sandy plains. Their glamorous guests, which include Katie's closest friend Carmen Tedesco and Terrance Dutton, the renowned Black actor who stars alongside Katie in the controversial film Tender Madness, spend their days taking photographs and evenings enjoying gin and tonics at camp, while Tanzanian guides prepare hot water for their baths. The affluent Americans anticipate a refined adventure: ice from the ice maker powered by kerosene, dinners consisting of cooked gazelle meat, and numerous stories to share over lunch on Rodeo Drive.

What Katie and her dazzling entourage do not anticipate is a botched kidnapping, their guides bleeding out on the ground, and a group of Russian mercenaries forcing them into Land Rovers at gunpoint. As the scorching sun sets and darkness falls, the gunmen push them into deserted huts, with Hollywood royalty Katie Barstow praying for something simple: to witness the sunrise once more. In a world on the brink of significant change, The Lioness is a searing tale of fame, race, love, and death, presented by one of our most talented storytellers.