Giving parenting the thriller treatment
Gin Phillips explores motherhood and survival instinct, putting zoo at the centre of her latest novel
Gin Phillips was visiting the zoo with her young son, distractedly watching his favourite animals for what felt to her like the millionth time, when her daydreaming was interrupted by a terrifying thought. What would she do if a gunman were to suddenly appear? Where would she run, and how would she defend her child?
It wasn’t the first time the Birmingham, Ala., author had run through this kind of survivalist mental exercise. Phillips had played this game thinking about a zombie apocalypse, planning how she’d protect her family’s home. Yet there was something about this zoo scenario that didn’t seem quite as silly, and that she couldn’t shake, even days later.
“I thought it was an interesting logistical question,” she says, imagining that the zoo, which is a large, open area surrounded by walls with only one exit, could contain a story structurally, in all senses of the word. “It could keep focus really tightly on a mother and son during this intense situation.”
Fierce Kingdom, Phillips’ fifth and new novel, is a loving investigation of motherhood wrapped inside one of the most fast-paced, nail-biting thrillers published this year. Set in real time over three hours, the story follows Joan and her 4-year-old son, Lincoln, on one of their regular outings to an unnamed zoo. Like most moms, Joan is pulling triple duty: While trying to persuade Lincoln to pick up his action figures from out of the dinosaur sand pit and responding to his rapidfire questions about superheroes, her mind wanders to wedding gifts she needs to purchase, leftover food and old TV shows. Suddenly, a series of loud bangs in the distance interrupts her thoughts, but Joan is still more worried about gathering up Lincoln before the zoo closes. It’s not until they’re past the otters’ tank, the playground and the café does Joan see bloody bodies laying on the ground by the entrance, which she at first mistakes for fallen scarecrows, and then a gunman kicking open a washroom door. What follows is a tale of instinctual survival worthy of a Liam Neeson film, as Joan must keep one step ahead of the shooters while not terrifying Lincoln, lest he give away their location.
While writing Fierce Kingdom, Phillips spent a lot of time at the Birmingham zoo, though she had been there enough times to see its layout clearly in her head. She mapped out Joan’s route and catalogued sounds, such as the scratching of squirrel claws on the pavement and music playing over the intercom. “I had a very concrete feel for the space,” Phillips says. “The zoo is almost a character in itself. It’s is a big part of the story, so it was important to me to try to make the reader feel like they were also really connected to the place.”
Despite its cinematic cat-and-mouse setup — a film adaptation is in early stages with actor Margot Robbie’s production company — at its heart, Fierce Kingdom celebrates the bond between parent and child, and a mother who embraces her role. “Nobody really wants to watch 300 episodes of Power Rangers or go to the same park and go down the same slide 200 times. There is monotony and frustration because everyone has bad moods — parents and children,” Phillips says. “I wanted to write a mother — and it’s not like she doesn’t feel frustration or boredom visiting the zoo again — who is fundamentally content. Someone who is smart and self-aware, and happy being a mother.” Sue Carter is the editor of Quill & Quire.