A CRIMEREADS BEST DEBUT CRIME NOVEL OF 2024 ONE OF TIME 'S 100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2024
LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION 2024 FIRST NOVEL PRIZE 'A great read' NUALA McGOVERN
BBC WOMAN'S HOUR 'A smash of a debut' ALEXANDER FULLER 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.
