The Lions' Den

Reviews / Votes

A vibrant and pacey legal thriller with a big-hearted heroine you'll be rooting for from the very first page -- PAULA HAWKINS A great read -- NUALA McGOVERN * * BBC Woman's Hour * * An evocative, touching and - in multiple senses - moving portrait of Zambian life and politics at a moment of great transformation -- NAMWALI SERPELL Such a good thriller . . . I loved this book -- NATALIE JAMIESON A beautiful read - short, gripping and full of intriguing characters. It blends legal procedural and activism . . . Mwanza gives us characters who show us why the stakes are way too high for us to sit on the sidelines * * Brittle Paper * * A riveting legal thriller set in the corrupt and homophobic political world of Zambia in the early 1990s . . . Mwanza brings her experience as both a former lawyer and a native of Zambia to this provocative page-turner * * TIME * * [A] stellar debut mystery * * Washington Post * * An angry and heartrending novel, told with verve and a deep understanding of systemic cruelty . . . Compelling * * Foreign Policy * * A refreshing, spirited debut [that] would appeal to anyone interested in modern African history, the collision of religion and tradition, progressive movements and the entanglement of power and corruption * * Booklist * * A smash of a debut . . . Iris Mwanza has taken it all on, from the original reverberating assault of British colonialism to what happened next, to a sideswipe at contemporary Zambia, and she's done it with literal grace -- ALEXANDRA FULLER