TO THE LIONS

The scoop of a lifetime sends an investigative reporter into the stark North African desert in Watt’s debut thriller.

London Post star journo Casey Benedict goes where others won’t to get her story. When she overhears a conversation in a nightclub about a game hunt of a very different kind, she’s shocked. Lots of digging leads to a disturbing admission by an American businessman and stories of strange injuries in North African refugee camps as well as a man’s apparent suicide after a fateful trip to Morocco. There’s no stamp in his passport for Morocco, but there is one for Libya, which Casey and her partner in crime, Miranda Darcey, suspect may be the site for the hunt, but they’ve got to get there to prove it. Well aware they may be walking into a death trap, Miranda and Casey set out for Libya with Ed Fitzwilliam, a former Marine suffering from PTSD who has history with Casey and has seen more than his share of horrors. Gaining the trust of the man in charge won’t be easy, but a bit of blackmail, some sleight of hand, and a whole lot of nerve is all in a day’s work for Casey Benedict. Readers will be on tenterhooks as Casey, Miranda, and Ed make their way to their destination in the company of stone-cold killers, where Casey will face an impossible choice. Watt thoroughly mines her journalism creds, bringing the hectic, often dangerous job of an investigative reporter to vivid life, throwing readers right into the middle of the manic inner workings of a bustling broadsheet before setting them loose in a lawless desert wasteland where human life is cheap. The crime at the heart of this tale is nothing short of horrific, and Watt’s narrative sparks and crackles with dread, leading brave readers on a harrowing exploration of unthinkable evil and what it means to bear witness.

A terrifying and unforgettable journey.