The Lion's Den

By: Katherine St. John

Narrated by: Christine Lakin

Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's Summary

Sex, betrayal, and intrigue: A dream vacation on a luxurious yacht turns deadly in this pulse-pounding beach book "chock full of delicious characters who flaunt their sins...like the latest Birkin bag" (Adriana Trigiani).

Belle likes to think herself immune to the dizzying effects of fabulous wealth. But when her best friend, Summer, invites her on a glamorous getaway to the Mediterranean aboard her billionaire boyfriend's yacht, the only sensible answer is yes. Belle hopes the trip will be a much-needed break from her stalled acting career and uniquely humiliating waitressing job, but once she's aboard the luxurious Lion's Den, it soon becomes clear this jet-setting holiday is not as advertised.

Belle's dream vacation quickly devolves into a nightmare as she and the handful of other girls Summer invited are treated more like prisoners than guests by their controlling host — and in one terrifying moment, Belle comes to see Summer for who she truly is: a vicious gold digger who will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

Belle realizes she's going to have to keep her wits about her — and her own big secret closely hidden — if she wants to make it off the yacht alive.

©2020 Katherine St. John (P)2020 Grand Central Publishing

Critic Reviews

"Once the story gets going, clever twists abound...Fans of Liane Moriarty and Jessica Knoll will devour this story of beautiful people with horrible secrets." (Booklist)

"Katherine St. John's thrilling debut, THE LION'S DEN, gripped me from the first page. A breathtaking romp through the glamorous and decadent world of billionaires on the Riviera, this riveting tale of friendship and betrayal is sure to be the breakout hit of the summer. It is irresistibly wicked . . . I couldn't put it down!" (Kathryn Stockett, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Help)

"[A] title to watch." (Library Journal)

Merci “boo-coe”?

I got this as an Audible Daily Deal: $2.95. About right for a beach read. It was fun, though highly implausible. But, like I said: $2.95 beach read. I just couldn’t get past how the narrator butchered any foreign words. Whether French, Italian, Spanish— she managed to get it really wrong. At least 5 times: “merci boo-coe”. If you’ve been contracted to read a book that includes languages you aren’t familiar with (merci beaucoup, really?): go online. Every foreign line would be in the most basic phrase book— with pronunciation. Lazy. On both the performer’s part and editing.

Meh

Meh. I can't pinpoint it precisely, but I found this book a drag to get through. I wanted to give up, but honestly, I wanted to see if the ending was worth the slog. It wasn't.

That wasn't to say that this book was all terrible, I mean, there were moments where the plot held my interest.

However, despite the high reviews, I believed that the reveal was mediocre at best, and I found that the manipulative and controlling nature of the characters to be genuinely triggering for my anxiety.

Ultimately, I would not likely recommend this book to others.

Great, until the third act

Such an entertaining book...until the third act when the coincidences and implassibilities took over. What a disappointment after the great buildup. So, (5) stars for most of the book, but (-1) star for the third act.😣 Excellent narrator !

take a chance

I was on the fence a while about getting this book after reading some of the reviews. I'm so glad I took the plunge and got it! The characters are brought to life! It is not a physocoligal thriller but it does have some mystery. Just a really refreshing read that is not dark, not about missing children, or a bad husband and dumb wife. Those are obviously great books too haha, this is just different.

Great Summer Read

I listen to about 3-4 audible books a month but this one definitely stood out, I loved it! I listen mostly to mysteries, and suspenseful thrillers. I wouldn’t say this falls completely under those categories but they did have all 3: mystery, suspense, and with enough thrills and twists to keep me listening all day long. Set against the backdrop of the Mediterranean coast on board a luxury yacht, its a story of love, and friendship both old and new and teaches us the lesson that not all that glitters is gold.

sooo good

Ok, at first this book just seemed like a bunch of petty girls on a yacht and that was it. But then it got LIT. You think you know what's happening and then it does a complete 180. This exceeded my expectations.

Who needs to sleep?

Loved this book! Very few books make me want to skip sleep and stay up all night listening… This is one. Can’t wait for another one by this fabulous author!!! So fun

Awesome Summer Book

It took me just 2 days because I could not put this down! It was fun and entertaining, Mediterranean Yacht cruise full of mystery and juicy secrets the perfect summer read.

WOW-BRAVO!

Narrator ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Story ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So well organized- plot flowed perfectly. Couldn’t stop listening. This would be an excellent NETFLIX OR PRIME series. PLEASE write more! SOON😆

5 STARS!

ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! One of my favorite reads this year! Devoured it in 24 hours.