Book Review for The Safari by Jaclyn Goldis

 The Safari by Jaclyn Goldis 

Published:  May 20, 2025 by Atria/Emily Bestler Books 

Genre:  Mystery Thriller, Psychological Suspense, South Africa 

Taken from Goodreads: When a wealthy family goes on a South African safari, a series of shocking murders rocks their exclusive compound in this unputdownable thriller from the acclaimed author of the “rollicking good fun” (The Wall Street Journal) The Main Character. 
 
Odelia Babel, CEO of a sustainable fashion empire, is about to marry for the second time—to a man twenty-five years her junior. Asher Bach is the thirty-something designer of Odelia’s luxury clothing line, the darling of every high-fashion journalist, and madly in love with Odelia. 

My Thoughts:  The Safari by Jaclyn Goldis is a dysfunctional family drama set in Southern Africa.  The family is a hot mess, traveling to Africa to celebrate the matriarch of the family’s marriage.    

I enjoyed the drama of the book and figuring out the who-dun-it.  The book is full of clues, many of them about the character relationships, that will lead the reader down many paths. There were a lot of descriptions of family relationships and the people who worked at the safari.   There were times that it was too much description.  A few times the descriptions became repetitive, too much, and I was skimming over some paragraphs.   

Jacyln Goldis knows how to write a thriller.   

Thank you Atria Books for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.  

 

Add to your MUST-READ list read on Goodreads 

Purchase your own copy on Amazon 

 

Meet the Author (taken from her website): I have a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and a JD from NYU School of Law. I practiced estate planning law at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago for seven years before leaving my job to travel the world and write novels. After culling my possessions into only what would fit in a backpack, I traveled for over a year until settling near the beach, where I can often be found writing from cafés.  

​ 

I am the author of the locked-room thrillers, THE SAFARI, forthcoming on May 20, 2025, THE CHATEAU, and THE MAIN CHARACTER, all published by Simon & Schuster/Emily Bestler Books. I am also the author of WHEN WE WERE YOUNG, historical women's fiction published in 2021 by Hachette/Grand Central. My books have been called "rollicking good fun" (Wall Street Journal), "deeply engaging" (New York Post), "like a vacation in book form" (The Stripe), and a "cleverly constructed puzzler" (Library Journal, starred review). I am represented by Rachel Ekstrom Courage of Courage Literary Management.