I requested this gem from Dutton because I was intrigued by the vague blurb. I think Watt did a good job in her freshman novel. Here’s my review:
Casey is a reporter for the Post in the UK, and in the midst of her undercover work, she catches a tip, people are hunting humans. Surely that can’t be what is going on, but worse things have happened in the history of humans. With the help of Miranda, another reporter that she works closely with, they set out to uncover what exactly is going on and how they can bring it to light for the world.
Watt covers quite a few things in To The Lions, including the refugee crisis, human smuggling, the starvation, the extent of sexual assault, and the suffering people endured under Gadaffi. I also think, whether intentional or not, she exposes some of the filth that is the world of reporting, the lengths people will go to “get the story”, and Ed’s character does a great job at sharing the feelings of the distaste at the fact the line is always moving, the lengths and risk always growing bigger.
The book had a bit of a slow start for me, there was a lot of groundwork to get the story in place and we were thrown a lot of characters at once. But once the story picked up, it turned fast-paced, and you found yourself anxiously turning pages. Casey and Miranda were exceptionally strong characters and this was very well-written. Nicely done.
You can read my review on Amazon, Goodreads, and Bookbub. To the Lions is available on Amazon for $13.99.
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