"A vibrant and pacey legal thriller with a big-hearted heroine you'll be rooting for from the very first page." --Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train "The themes of this compelling story (set in 90s Zambia) --the malign forces of intolerance and ignorance, the blind fear of the other--are still sadly extant in many parts of today's world. The Lions' Den is a brave and neccessary book. The two protagonists Grace and Bessie are powerfully drawn creations and propel this page turner to its profound conclusion. An impressive debut." --Gabriel Byrne, Actor and Author of Walking with Ghosts "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, author of Mukiwa "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, author of Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight "The Lions' Den is a brave and scathing probe of Zambia's justice system. The language is precise, the plot, tantalisingly tense, and the protagonist is more courageous than the spare prose suggests.

Grace is complex and compelling, naïve but with her heart in the right place--the perfect advocate for all the Bessys of Zambia that go undefended. What lingers with me most, though, is the author's talent for blending nostalgia with the truth. Iris conveys hope even in the face of devastation and does the necessary work of shedding light on what continues to be an invisible part of the human rights advocacy movement in Zambia." --Mubanga Kalimamukwento, award-winning author of Obligations to the Wounded and The Mourning Bird "Searingly well-crafted. Humbling, illuminating and enrapturing!" --Rick Cosnett "A cracking thriller that looks back into history to record Kenneth Kaunda's Zambia of the 1990s. Taking on the despair of freedom fighters, the new elite, corruption and prejudice of all forms, Mwanza jolts and dazzles. Most of all, in The Lion's Den Iris Mwanza joins a burgeoning cohort of writers shaping the African thriller." --Jennifer Makumbi "An evocative, touching, and--in multiple senses--moving portrait of Zambian life and politics at a moment of great transformation.

And in the tradition of Zambian storytelling, it shows us, it teaches us, how ordinary people like Grace, in extraordinary circumstances and under persistent forces of oppression, can neverthless extend and bend the arc of justice." --Namwali Serpell "THE LIONS' DEN is masterful debut from Iris Mwanza. This story doesn't just explore the intersectional struggle between Zambia's history and queer youth, but the desire to intersect our humanity with our perpetual need for justice. I didn't want to put it down!" --Catherine Adel West, author of The Two Lives of Sara "Iris Mwanza has burst into the literary world with a sharp, provocative debut that examines what it means to live and love in a country battling the dual restraints of religion and colonialism. Grace is an exceptional protagonist whose diligence and defiance will keep your fists clenched and have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Absolutely one to watch." --Onyi Nwabineli, author of Allow Me To Introduce Myself.