Book description:
Lincoln is a good boy. At the age of four, he is curious, clever and well behaved. He does as his mum says and knows what the rules are.
‘The rules are different today. The rules are that we hide and do not let the man with the gun find us.’
When an ordinary day at the zoo turns into a nightmare, Joan finds herself trapped with her beloved son. She must summon all her strength, find unexpected courage and protect Lincoln at all costs – even if it means crossing the line between right and wrong; between humanity and animal instinct.
It’s a line none of us would ever normally dream of crossing.
But sometimes the rules are different.
************
‘Fierce Kingdom is a bold exploration of the ferocity of a mother’s love – riveting and beautiful, and all too real. You’ll find yourself asking, what would I do? It’s brilliant.’ Shari Lapena, author of The Couple Next Door
‘Unbearably tense and yet beautifully written, Fierce Kingdom demands to be read in one sitting. After finishing, I pulled my loved ones a little closer.’ Paula Daly, author of The Mistake I Made
‘I was absolutely captivated by this book. So, so tense, but wonderfully written. The perfect book.’ Gillian McAllister, author of Everything But The
My Review:
Fast paced, realistic and at times terrifying Fierce Kingdom is a real roller coaster of a read!
The first remarkable thing about this book is how intense the tension is. I’ve never read anything quite like it before. There were times, whilst reading, that I felt like I couldn’t breath for fear over what might happen next. The author cleverly manages to achieve this not by describing what is happening but rather what is not happening which often left me in agitated anticipates as I imagined what on earth could happen next. I did find this tensions a little too much at times and had to skip ahead to find pout what happens before resuming reading. There were a few incidents that were a little difficult to read and that have stayed with me since.
The other thing that makes this book really stand out is how real it feels. Unfortunately, as we know from recent events, incidents like this can happen. The author never pushes the action or the dialogue, letting the story unfold seemingly naturally, gradually increasing the pace and the tension. It would have been easy to go for a more action packed book but that wouldn’t have seemed as realistic and therefore not as hard hitting.
I couldn’t decide whether I liked the main character Joan or not. On one hand it was touching to see the love she had for her soon and her willingness to fight for him. However I didn’t like some of the choices or decisions she made. Granted she was in a very difficult and stressful situation and none of us know how we’d react in a similar situation, but I just found her to be a bit cold and unfeeling towards the others housing in the zoo. Maybe this is what happens when human instinct kicks in, that you go very insular and only protect those you love but it did make four uncomfortable reading at times.
The story is told from the points if view of each of the people trapped in the zoo, including the gunman which I found fascinating as you got to learn a little more about them, what makes them tick and their motivation for doing what they are doing.
This is definitely a book everyone should read as it’s very topical and does raise a lot of interesting discussion points. It really makes you think about how you would react in a similar situation. It also makes you realise what is important to you and what you would fight to protect. I hugged my sleeping kids every night after reading this book which is surely a sign if powerful storytelling! It would make a brilliant bookclub book as there would be lots to discuss.
Fierce Kingdom is Gin Phillips debut thriller and I look forward to reading more from her. If you like hard hitting, tension filled books that make you think then you’ll love this book!
Rating: 4/5 stars
About the author:
Gin Phillips grew up in Montgomery, Alabama. After earning a degree in political journalism, Gin worked as a freelance magazine writer for nearly a decade. She’s lived in Ireland, Thailand, New York and Washington DC. Fierce kingdom is her debut thriller.
‘As the mother of a five year old, I realised that every story I considered writing seemed to lead back to motherhood. No other subject seemed quite so compelling or complex. No other subject had the power to move me, terrify me or make me laugh quite as much. Four me, the novel is ultimately about what it means to be a parent. More than that, it’s a look at the ways we are bound together, whether we are strangers or family.’
Fierce Kingdom is out in eBook and hardback on the 15th June 2017.
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Great review this! I keep reading fab things about this book so it’s already on my tbr! 🙂
LikeLike