The Safari by former attorney Jaclyn
Goldis, to be released on 20 May 2025, takes place in a South African resort
owned by the Babel family, as wealthy as they are dysfunctional. Odelia Babel,
CEO of the family fashion dynasty she inherited from her older and domineering
first husband, has decided to re-marry. Her choice of a second husband is the
much younger clothing designer of her firm, a stylist wunderkind in his own
right. She collects her fiancé, her three adult children, all of whom have
roles within her corporation, her daughter-in-law, grandchild, and best friend
to celebrate their marriage at the family compound in Africa.
The younger son Sam is trying
to break away from the firm and keeps asking for money to start his own company.
Odelia maintains a tight hold on the fortune that she generated from the
corporate expansion she spearheaded after her husband died. The night before
the wedding she and Sam have an especially mean confrontation during which
Odelia stated her intent to change her will.
The use of classic mystery
tropes in what is undoubtedly a contemporary thriller is intriguing. The most
obvious is the plot element in which a wealthy character who is rash enough to
say that he or she intends to change his or her will is certain to be murdered
before the aforesaid changes can occur. And sure enough, Odelia is found dead
the next morning. Sam is the obvious suspect but he insists he was with his
twin sister Bailey. A dizzyingly complicated investigation with a large cast of
characters ensues. More classic mystery tropes are the threatening letters
Odelia has been receiving as well as the puzzling hold the best friend has over
Odelia.
The African setting is
fabulous. Most of the characters, however, range from unpleasant to downright
psychopathic. Each chapter is narrated by a different member of the group,
creating a disjointed story line and emphasizing the unreliable narrator nature
of the characters. One plot twist follows hard on the heels of another until I
thought all had been resolved, and then a completely unexpected curveball was
thrown in. Another reviewer pointed out that a score card to keep track of the
characters and the plot seemed necessary and her point is well taken.
A clever and well-constructed
plot with deeply flawed characters. Starred review from Library Journal.
·
Publisher:
Atria/Emily Bestler Books
·
Publication
date: May 20, 2025
·
Language:
English
·
Print
length: 320 pages
·
ISBN-10:
1668066955
·
ISBN-13:
978-1668066959
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/457B1D2
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
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