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Library Journal Review
Joan has brought her four-year-old son -Lincoln to one of their favorite places, the zoo. Joan doesn't think too much about the distant popping noises she hears as she wrangles Lincoln and his toys in order to start heading out. As she nears the exit, though, she sees bodies and a man with a gun. Grabbing Lincoln and running in the opposite direction, she heads for a hiding place in the animal exhibits. Faced with multiple agonizing decisions over the next few hours, Joan tries to keep her son quiet and safe. But what about the teenagers they ran by and the baby she keeps hearing cry? Flashing back and forth among Joan, other trapped zoo visitors, and one of the three gunmen, the story sustains its intensity while also exposing the characters' inner thoughts. Phillips (A Little Bit of Spectacular; The Hidden Summer) skillfully captures the terror of the situation but also the beautiful minutiae of our everyday lives. This literary thriller encompasses three terrifying hours in the lives of some zoo visitors and the gunmen hunting them, movingly conveying much of the action through the viewpoint of a mother and her young son. VERDICT This would be an excellent book club pick. Also recommend to those who enjoy Rosamund Lupton's suspense novels. [See Prepub Alert, 1/23/17; "Editors' Spring Picks," LJ 2/15/17.]-Melissa DeWild, BookOps, New York P.L. © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Review
In this harrowing thriller from Phillips (Come in and Cover Me), set at a zoo in an unnamed city, one second Joan is pressing her four-year-old son, Lincoln, to pack his action figures so that they can get out by closing time, and the next gunshots ring out-turning their pleasurable afternoon routine into a parent's worst nightmare. Over the next three hours, Joan struggles to keep her tired, cranky preschooler quiet as she attempts to find a safe hiding place or escape route. She discovers that others are similarly trapped, and that there are apparently multiple shooters, who regard their prey-both human and animal-with no more compassion than if they were targeting Lincoln's plastic heroes and villains. In passages of unexpected beauty, Joan flashes back to earlier moments in her relationship with her son. In one poignant scene, a colobus monkey seemingly mourns its slain comrade ("standing so close that its long white fur mixes with the fur of the dead one, and Joan cannot tell where one stops and the other starts"). A searing exploration of motherhood at its most basic, this all-too-plausible horror story may haunt even readers with steely nerves and strong stomachs. Author tour. Agent: Kimberly Witherspoon, InkWell Management. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Readers will likely be unable to put down this literary suspense novel from Phillips (Come In and Cover Me, 2012). Joan and her four-year-old son, Lincoln, are at the zoo near closing time. As they approach the exit, she sees bodies on the ground and a man with a gun entering a bathroom. Retreating into the maze of the zoo and its myriad of exhibits and enclosures, Joan finds a, hopefully, perfect hiding place. But as time passes and Lincoln gets hungry and restless, Joan must become proactive to protect them both. The time starts each chapter, with the whole book taking place over the course of three hours. Joan's voice gives shape to her and Lincoln's lives, but readers also get other perspectives, including one of the shooters. Phillips manages to combine beautiful imagery with heart-pounding, nerve-fraying intensity. Although there is very little description of actual violence, the premise alone means the squeamish (and animal lovers) should probably skip this one. Those who want a tidy ending will also be disappointed. But fans of literary page-turners, like Sunil Yapa's Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist (2016), won't want to miss this.--Sexton, Kathy Copyright 2010 Booklist
Kirkus Book Review
A deadly game of hide-and-seek is set inside a darkened menagerie.Joan and her 4-year-old son, Lincoln, are playing with action figures in the Dinosaur Discovery Pit when several small explosions echo through the zoo. Joan is puzzled by the noise, but it's nearly closing time and she doesn't want to get locked inside, so she ushers Lincoln toward the exit. Near the gate, dead bodies litter the ground, and an armed man is entering the women's bathroom. Joan grabs Lincoln and flees into the heart of the park, searching the shuttered buildings for a place to hide while attempting to explain the situation without frightening him. The duo hunkers down, but it's not long before stress and hunger take their toll. With at least one active shooter on the hunt and an increasingly cranky child in tow, Joan faces a series of heartbreaking decisions. Phillips' (A Little Bit of Spectacular, 2015, etc.) latest is expertly structured to maximize tension and emotional impact. The siege unfolds in real time, with each chapter noting the hour and minute. Joan's inner monologue provides the bulk of the narration, her thoughts a rolling storm of tangents that relate history and inform motivation while governing pace and tone. Phillips' characters are exquisitely rendered, her prose is artful and evocative, and the restraint she practices with regard to on-screen carnage grants weight to every shot fired and corpse discovered. Poignant and profound, this adrenaline-fueled thriller will shatter readers like a bullet through bone. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.