Sex, betrayal, and intrigue: A dream vacation on a luxurious yacht turns deadly in this pulse-pounding beach read “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 … 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.
Sex! Intrigue! Jealousy! Betrayal! Secrets! Batten down the book clubs, Katherine St. John is on deck! This dazzling novel is chock full of delicious characters, who flaunt their sins and peccadilloes, like the latest Birkin bag. Come aboard for a fabulous read, pure escape, beautifully written. Loved it!
Plenty of twists and turns, this book is sure to draw you in and excite you right from the start. This book kept me on the very edge of my seat and I can’t wait to read the next one.
This cleverly-written book is addictive and hard to put down! A five-star highly recommended book.
The Lion’s Den is Katherine St. John’s debut novel. This thriller definitely begins a bit slow, moving from past to present every other chapter. It eventually gets going and you can’t help but want to keep on reading and figure out what really is going on aboard this luxury yacht. The relationship between these groups of friends is definitely a toxic one that takes some getting used to. This is especially true for the two protagonists Belle and Summer.
Summer is in many ways a toxic friend that makes sure she gets what she wants at whatever cost. Belle is just along for the ride, happy to be in Summer’s orbit. The two are going through a rough patch when Summer invites Belle to join her on her billionaire boyfriends yacht in St. Trope. This trips leads to lies, sex and betrayal. Untangling a number of webs created by Summer and revealing a dark side Belle wasn’t sure she was capable of. Belle is finally ready to confront her toxic friend and fight for what she knows is right.
This story is a depiction of greed and the lengths people will go to portray a certain image and live a life of luxury. Money makes people show how ugly they can truly be.
With a pandemic keeping most of us at home, why not while away a weekend with some backstabbing among the rich and famous and the wannabe rich and famous. The Lion’s Den turned out to be a terrific little escape from reality for me. I kind of expected a lot of fluff but the story got suspenseful pretty quickly. And I’ll just add here that there were some twists I did not see coming, which doesn’t happen all that often, so it was super fun to be surprised. The book is well written, fast-paced, and perfect for a summertime binge read.
I pulled an all-nighter reading The Lion’s Den. Yes, there’s some over the top drama and questionable character choices, but it’s deliciously addictive. I have the dark circles under my eyes to prove it. I would not have guessed this is Katherine St. John’s debut novel.
Belle puts aside her strained relationship with her best friend, Summer, to enjoy a free week-long girls’ trip to the South of France on a luxury yacht—courtesy of Summer’s über rich boyfriend. There’s an undercurrent of tension in the small group of friends from the start and it only grows stronger as the story progresses.
The chapters alternate between the present and past. It’s a storytelling device that can be tricky to pull off without losing the reader’s attention. In this case, the author handles it deftly and it highlights the complex dynamics between the main characters while adding more mystery and suspense to the plot. The uncertainty engaged me from cover to cover.
One downside is that there are some issues between characters that are still left unaddressed by the end of the book. I missed a feeling of complete closure that perhaps an epilogue would have satisfied.
Filled with greed, danger, betrayal, jealousy, wealth, and mystery, this book is like a thrilling soap opera on the sea. If you’re looking for an escape and don’t mind some melodrama, I recommend The Lion’s Den.
*I received an early copy from the publisher to voluntarily read.
TITLE | The Lion’s Den
AUTHOR | Katherine St. John
PUB DATE | 6/30/2020
Engrossing
Lavish
Deadly
Belle and Summer had been long time friends since high school, with a shaky history. When a sudden call to Belle for a birthday getaway to the Mediterranean aboard ‘Lion’s Den’, Summer’s billionaire boyfriend’s yacht, struggling actress Belle could not resist the invite for a week long lavish getaway.
Aboard the yacht, The guests realize that nothing is free, and the week long vacation is now turning into a nightmare as they are treated more like prisoners rather then special birthday guests.
Told in two time lines, starting from when Belle and Summer meet to the present, aboard the yacht, St John’s writing style fully envelops and immerses the reader into the luxurious world of the uber rich who are used to getting everything they ever want.
St. John’s writing was completely addicting and thrilling, with characters you will love to hate. I enjoyed the pacing and the unfolding of the mystery. The writing was clever, well thought out which made this book a fantastic summer thriller!
I really enjoyed this book and I recommend this for a fantastic thriller read.
The Lion’s Den by Katherine St. John is an entertaining and addictive page-turner set in the world of wealth and privilege. Belle’s best friend Summer invites her to spend a week-long Medeterrenian vacation on her sugar daddy’s yacht. But what promises to be a vacation of a lifetime turns into a nightmare. This book has everything: a glamorous setting, drama, betrayal, romance, and murder. I am so glad I had a chance to read this book because I loved it! I cannot wait to read more books from this author. If you like destination books and enjoy reality shows about rich and famous, you have to read The Lion’s Den!
Salacious, mysterious, and addictive!
The Lion’s Den is a passionate, alluring tale that takes us into the lives of the rich, glamorous and famous and their not so wealthy friends, and reminds us that not everything is always as it seems and as well as having designer clothes, expensive cars, and fancy yachts they also seem to have an abundance of power, temptation, jealousy, scandal, sex, rivalry, jealousy, deception, tragedy, violence, and murder.
The writing is smooth and fluid. The characters are self-indulgent, secretive, and ambitious. And the plot is a sinister tale that’s humorous, clever, unpredictable, suspenseful and incredibly absorbing.
Overall, I would have to say that The Lion’s Den is a scintillating, enjoyable, outrageously entertaining treat by St. John that’s perfect for anyone who loves a story with a little backstabbing, glamour, gossip, sexual hijinks, and revenge.
A fast-paced, clever thriller that will draw you in from the start. St John keeps her cards close to the vest and keeps you guessing until the very end. A must read, summer thriller.
4.5 stars
Trashy and shallow. Summer invites her friends on. Mediterranean cruise on a private yacht. Belle, friends with Summer since they were 15, quickly realizes that there is something sinister going on. The guests must hand over their passports, they are locked into their rooms at night, they must sit in assigned seats. Summer’s boyfriend, John, is manipulative and a ruthless businessman.
This was nearly a DNF for me, but I put the audio on at 3x speed and wasted only about 5 hours of my life.
I really enjoyed reading this wonderful debut novel by Katherine St John. She has done an excellent job in creating an engaging story with great characterization and using the beautiful French Rivera as the setting. The story mostly takes place on a yacht and has enough twists and turns to keep the readers engrossed. I will highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fun fast paced read. Thank you Katharine St. John for your giveaway @reading With Robin. I am looking forward to reading more books by you.
**Caveat: I do not at all mean this in a negative way.** I despised everyone. I suspected everyone. I had all the cringey feels for everyone. These strong feelings are indicative of how great Katherine’s writing is. It’s brilliant and I loved it!
Belle is not the belle of the ball. Her best friend invites her to go play “rich man’s” beauties on an extended business trip and the fun is on board his fancy yacht with his fancier friends. With periodic stops at European ports, all is not as it appears to be.
I don’t want to say much more in order to avoid spoilers, but I can’t get over how much I enjoyed this thriller. I anticipated the outcome but it did not deter from my enjoyment and I love to be right.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the gifted copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.
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: 06/30/2020
: (4.5 stars)
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This is the debut novel from Katherine St. John. The cover is stunning and really draws you in. Thank you Grand Central Press for my #gifted copy.
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So Belle was invited by her best friend Summer on a glamorous getaway to the Mediterranean on her billionaire boyfriend’s yacht The Lion’s Den, and once on, things aren’t as advertised.
This story was fantastic. I loved feeling like I was on The Lion’s Den as everything unfolded. There were secrets that I didn’t expect. For a debut novel, Katherine did a phenomenal job writing a story with secrets, thriller aspects, and some great reveals. I will definitely read any book she writes in the future. If you want a psychological thriller on a yacht with secrets, and survival then make sure to pick up a copy today!!!!!!
This book was WILD. Like, off-the-charts crazy, wild ride of a story.
Belle, our heroine, is going on a week-long yachting trip in the South of France with her friend(?) and her friend’s 60+-year-old boyfriend. But once on the yacht, Belle begins to wonder if this is really a vacation or something more sinister is afoot. Locked in their rooms at night, cameras everywhere, monitored computer access… being a guest on a mega yacht is starting to feel more like being a prisoner.
The story alternates chapters between two different timelines–present, on the yacht, and the past. It’s a great way to show the relationships between the characters evolve and slowly unveil to us that there’s more than meets the eye. There were clear headers indicating the timeline, so it wasn’t confusing at all. I found this method of storytelling really compelling and appropriate for this book. The story itself was INSANE. It’s not a scary thriller, more of a psychological suspense, and it DREW ME IN. It was the perfect blend of summer fun and kind of creepy. And, I’ll admit, I may have skimmed the last few pages and I still didn’t see the twist/ending coming??? It was that clever? I think the book felt a little long, but otherwise, it was stellar–a can’t-put-down kind of book.
5 stars – 10/10
Thank you Grand Central Pub for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Lion’s Den
By: Katherine St. John
REVIEW
The Lion’s Den is a delightful escapist read. The amazing places these girls visit are just wow, but they didn’t get to properly enjoy things. I can’t imagine spending any time with such a crazy control freak. Despite the darker moments and underlying threat that something bad is happening here, the story is fun. Humorous, ridiculous, dramatic, shocking-it has everything you could want. I read it quickly because I was obsessed with getting some answers. I was sorry when it was over because I could have kept reading. Maybe a sequel with less crazy? Seriously, if you like women’s fiction, this is the ideal choice for you. Such a fabulous story!
Excellent book! Love thrillers. One of the best I’ve read recently!!
Thank you Grand Central Publishing for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summer invites Belle and a few of her other friends along with her sister and mother to her boyfriend’s yacht (her sugar daddy) for a week to celebrate her birthday. As soon as these girls board the yacht they realize that they are not guests but treated as slaves or prisoners.
Belle and Summer have been friends since they were teenagers and since then their friendship has been a little on and off.
Belle is a strong, intelligent, and a great friend. I loved the flow of this book. It depicted the current scenario and the events of the past one by one. Each chapter adds a different layer to the characters.
If you are in a slump this is one of the best books to pick. It is an absolute page-turner and a great debut novel. The author’s writing is very clever, addictive, thrilling, and it kept me on edge during the entire course of the book. The end was satisfying for me.
I cannot recommend this book more.