Description

ONE OF TIME’S 100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2024
LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION 2024 FIRST NOVEL PRIZE

Rookie lawyer Grace Zulu does not give up easily. She escaped an arranged marriage to put herself through university. Now she’s got her first case.

Her client is young Willbess ‘Bessy’ Mulenga, who has been arrested for offences ‘against nature’. Bessy works in a men-only bar, loves to dance, to wear dresses and live freely. But in 1990s Zambia, following your own identity can get you beaten, jailed or even worse. Grace is determined to get Bessy out of custody. Then her terrified, bruised client goes missing without a trace. She knows something bad has happened and that someone is trying to cover it up. Along with the most unlikely group of allies, Grace must take on powerful enemies at the highest levels – even risk her own safety – to get to the truth. The whole truth.

A debut novel that soars with passion and humanity, The Lions’ Den is a moving story of prejudice, corruption, injustice, courage and solidarity. It shows us that no cause is ever a lost one.

Publisher Review

A vibrant and pacey legal thriller with a big-hearted heroine you’ll be rooting for from the very first page — PAULA HAWKINS An evocative, touching, and – in multiple senses – moving portrait of Zambian life and politics at a moment of great transformation — NAMWALI SERPELL A refreshing, spirited debut [that] would appeal to anyone interested in modern African history, the collision of religion and tradition, progressive movements and the entanglement of power and corruption * * Booklist * * A smash of a debut . . . Iris Mwanza has taken it all on, from the original reverberating assault of British colonialism to what happened next, to a sideswipe at contemporary Zambia, and she’s done it with literal grace — ALEXANDRA FULLER A brave tale, written with compassion and a keen eye for detail . . . Memorable, insightful and compelling — FEMI KAYODE Iris Mwanza’s first novel is an evocative journey into the sinister side of Zambia, a country which tries to tell you who to love, a journey into forced marriage and homophobia — PETER GODWIN The Lions’ Den is a brave and necessary book . . . An impressive debut — GABRIEL BYRNE Searingly well-crafted . . . Humbling, illuminating and enrapturing! — RICK COSNETT A cracking thriller . . . Mwanza jolts and dazzles — JENNIFER MAKUMBI The Lions’ Den is a brave and scathing probe of Zambia’s justice system. Grace is complex and compelling – the perfect advocate for all the Bessys of Zambia that go undefended — MUBANGA KALIMAMUKWENTO