Reviewed by Jeanne
Zookeeper Theodora “Teddy” Bentley has settled into her life
with her new husband, Sheriff Joe Rejas, his two young children, and Joe’s
mother, Colleen. Then a number of events
disturb the calm waters of happy matrimony:
first, a man is found dead near Teddy’s boat in the marina. He turns out to be the scriptwriter for a
local children’s TV show connected to the zoo where Teddy works.
The second disturbance is more personal, when a young man
claiming to be Joe’s son turns up at the house.
Naturally, Joe doesn’t want Teddy to do any snooping into the
suspicous, but that becomes harder when Joe’s newly discovered son is accused
of the murder.
I have enjoyed all the previous entries in this series, and
this one is no exception. I’m drawn to
the series because of all the information about the various animals and zoo-keeping;
it’s like getting a behind the scenes peek at what goes on. Webb tends to spotlight less showy animals
rather than elephants or tigers, giving the reader a greater appreciation for
some fascinating animals. (After the
first book, my interest in anteaters was piqued, and now I make it a point to
visit them at the zoo.) The reader learns about some of the animals—Poonya the
red panda is the featured animal this time—and has a mystery to solve to boot. Webb is a long time zoo volunteer so her books
have the ring of truth.
And let me say that I adore Poonya!
Teddy is a fun character and Webb makes it easy for readers to
root for her. With a glamorous mother
who despairs of at her daughter’s choice of career (and wardrobe and living on
a boat and everything else), an imperious aunt, Teddy always has to stand her
ground or be turned into a debutante. Later in the series, we’re introduced to
Joe’s mother Colleen who is an Irish delight; she figures in this story and is
the catalyst for discovering Joe’s teenaged son.
While there are character developments during the series, you
don’t necessarily have to read these in order to enjoy.
The books in order are:
The Anteater of Death
The Koala of Death
The Llama of Death
The Puffin of Death
The Otter of Death
The Panda of Death
These are all the books to date, but though Webb has seemingly
turned her attention to a new series, fans can still hope to see more of Teddy
and friends in the future.
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