Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips

Doubleday | June 2017 | 288 pgs

Source: Library

A visit to the zoo one day has become a nightmare for Joan and her four-year-old son, Lincoln, when two teenage boys go on a shooting spree. A regular visitor to the zoo, Joan is familiar with every nook and cranny of the place but it still pose a challenge hiding with her son, Lincoln. Like any child of his age, Lincoln is a curious and an imaginative boy who likes to question things and creates stories with his toys. Under the circumstances, Joan has to think of ways to distract her son as well as to plan ahead to escape from the zoo in one piece. 

Fierce Kingdom is one taut read that will keep the reader (especially a parent) on edge. The first half of the book is a slow burn though and focus much on the bond and conversations between Joan and Lincoln. Despite the action-less scenes in this part, it still made a captivating read as it shows a strong maternal side of Joan and I'm sure many parents would be able to relate to her love as well as her frustrations in raising a young child. Her husband, Paul, doesn't take much of an appearance in the book since he isn't with them at the zoo, though he does communicate with Joan via phone texts and question about their safety. Although there are some perspectives from the shooters and two civilians who are also on the run, it was a pity that there wasn't much characters development and the motives of the shooters remain vague. 

Fierce Kingdom may be classified as a thriller but in my opinion the focus was more onto the maternal bond between mother and child and what she would do to protect her child under dire circumstances. The book has a promising premise but the execution part was a little disappointing. I'd expected to have more intense moments and more actions between the shooters and the victims who are trapped in the zoo but this wasn't the case; and even if there are they were minimal. I think what bothered me most was some decisions made by Joan; I can understand that a person may not make the best decision under stressful circumstances but what she did was totally beyond me (I won't mention the issues [least the ending] since I think it isn't fair to readers who want to find them out themselves). Overall it was an average read to me but I wished there was something more aside from the bond between Joan and Lincoln, which I think was beautifully described.

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