Book Review: Fierce by Gin Phillips

The zoo is nearly empty as Joan and her four-year-old son soak up the last few moments of playtime. They are happy, and the day has been close to perfect. But what Joan sees as she hustles her son toward the exit gate minutes before closing time sends her sprinting back into the zoo, her child in her arms. And for the next three hours—the entire scope of the novel—she keeps on running.

Joan’s intimate knowledge of her son and of the zoo itself—the hidden pathways and under-renovation exhibits, the best spots on the carousel and overstocked snack machines—is all that keeps them a step ahead of danger.

A masterful thrill ride and an exploration of motherhood itself—from its tender moments of grace to its savage power—Fierce Kingdom asks where the boundary is between our animal instinct to survive and our human duty to protect one another. For whom should a mother risk her life?

My Review: 
This is one of these books that really frustrated me because the plot was such a great idea and the execution of the story was sadly lacking. Joan and Lincoln are enjoying another afternoon at the zoo, and have to hurry towards the zoo exit to get out before it closes. As they come towards the exit Joan sees a man with a gun kicking in the door to the toilets and dead and dying bodies on the ground outside. She decides to flee back into the zoo, hopeful that she can hide and avoid the shooter long enough for the police to get the situation under control. She remembers that there is an empty exhibit in the primate area that used to house a porcupine and they climb into it, hiding behind some boulders in the centre of the enclosure. Able to briefly connect with her worried husband a couple of times, she takes up the challenge of getting Lincoln to keep quiet and hide.

This was where the book started to go wrong for me. The idea that Joan had was solid-hide out of sight and wait for help to arrive. What it turns into is a bunch of chapters with Lincoln whining and having tantrums because he isn't getting his own way, Joan endlessly thinking of everything 'cute' that Lincoln ever did, the games they played, how amazing her child is, and it got very bogged down in detail that really didn't interest me. Add in the stupidity-Joan texts her husband Paul about them hiding from multiple gunmen so he decides then to phone her to 'hear her voice' which could have alerted the bad guys to her position! Joan doesn't call the police herself, letting Paul, who isn't there and knows nothing, do it for her. She loses the chance to tell the police where the gunmen are, their approximate age etc which would have alerted them to exactly what they were facing. Then she worries that the glow from the screen might give her away so instead of y'know, switching it off, she throws it away! Oh good one! There are countless times later that she could have used the phone to update her position and get the police to her quicker but dumbass throws it away. Good one.

Lincoln drives me mad because he just never shuts up. Joan has explained that bad guys want to kill them about a hundred times but he still continues to whine, shout, yell, sing and I just wanted to tell him to shut up and go to sleep! When he is awake he just yaps about nothing and asks questions all the time. When he finally does stop talking which is good for their survival, Joan thinks he is too quiet and starts getting him to talk again! She goes to all the trouble of getting him to a safe place and because he keeps acting up, decides they better go hunting for a vending machine. Yes sugar is exactly what this kid needs! Not! I also have to question why she let her four year old watch Predator and her claims that he wasn't bothered by the violence and gore yet tries to hide his eyes from the dead bodies in the zoo. I also wasn't convinced that he can't tell the difference between scars and scarves but can use words like apprehensive. Hmm.

We get one brief chapter on Kailynn, who works at the park and had her phone confiscated by her mother for continually sleeping in. She is hiding inside one of the buildings. Outside is retired teacher Margaret who enjoys listening to audio books as she walks around the zoo for exercise. She is heading for the exit when she realises that something bad is going on. But we don't see these people again until about halfway through the book or beyond, which is frustrating! I wanted to know what they were doing and if they were ok. I'd rather have seen what was happening with them instead of Joan endlessly thinking about everything Lincoln did or being subjected to his constant whining and tantrums. Yes I get that kids would be like him under similar circumstances but it really was not fun to read about and it became very repetitive and annoying.

We also get a brief look at the thoughts of Robby, one of the gunmen and following him would also have been more interesting especially when they were still hunting the few remaining survivors. That would have ramped up the tension more seeing him trying to find Joan and the others. Think how interesting it would have been having POV of the killers and the various people stuck inside the zoo like Kailynn, Margaret and the mother of the baby! I'd have also liked the POV of Paul, frantically waiting outside for news with the cops trying to decide what to do about the crisis. That would really have been really good and it would have kept the story moving along at a good pace and kept it exciting. Instead I just felt the plot kept dragging in between the odd interesting event.

I also found Joan annoying. I can understand why Joan left the safe hiding place to get Lincoln food to keep him quiet. I understand her trying to leave a false trail for the killers but throwing away the phone when it was charged and could be used for updating Paul and the police about the survivors, where the killers are etc. It was crazy to just throw it away the way she did and I doubt anyone else in her position would do it. Just keep it turned off until you need to use it and you'll be fine! Duh. I also find it annoying that she berates Kailynn for her nervous chatter yet thinks it is fine for her son to constantly do it. Her attitude to the other survivors bugs me, she judges the baby mother yet then has to make the same choice, she is ungrateful for help and of course her annoying child puts them all in danger.

My biggest annoyance with the book is not getting a fully resolved ending. We are left unsure about what happened to everyone including Joan herself. What happened to the baby and its mother? What about Margaret? Is the groundhog ok? I HATE not having all the answers at the end of the book! Especially the fate of the groundhog-I want to know!!!

Overall I'd say that this book had a good idea but the pacing was poor with too many chapters bogged down by irrelevant details and not enough focus on the actual situation at the zoo. I wanted to see less repetition and more of the other characters. It just dragged a bit too much for me. I'm not sure I'd read anything else by the author.

Read October 2019
2 stars.