The Panda of Death by Betty Webb

 

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.

Anteater of Death by Betty Webb

Reviewed by Jeanne

Zookeeper Theodora “Teddy” Bentley is devoted to her charges and loves her job.  When a body is discovered in the enclosure for Lucy, the pregnant giant anteater, it appears that Lucy and the zoo may be in jeopardy.  For one thing, even though the autopsy proves that Lucy clawed the man after he was dead, the anteater is now seen as a vicious animal who needs to be confined to a box or else sent away. For another, the deceased was on the zoo’s Board of Directors.  It doesn’t help that Joe Rojas, the investigating sheriff, was Teddy’s first love and that the dead man is a member of Teddy’s extended family.

This is the first in a new series for Webb, best known for her gritty mysteries starring private investigator Lena Jones (Desert Noir, Desert Shadows, etc.) The set up is especially intriguing for animal lovers, because Teddy’s job brings her into contact with all sort of exotic (and not so exotic) species with tidbits of information about each thrown in as Teddy makes her rounds.  Webb is careful to convey that the job isn’t glamorous: there’s a lot of hard work involving cleaning excrement, avoiding being nipped or clawed or bitten, and trying to educate a public that all too often believes the Disney version of wildlife. In one instance, a woman endangers her child by dangling him inside an animal’s enclosure.  Sound farfetched?  Not two days after I read the book, a co-worker encountered a group of people who were trying to get photos with bears.  Yes, real, not caged, free-roaming black bears—and a mother with cubs to boot.  They even tried to follow the bears into the woods.    I also liked the fact that many of the animals Teddy works with are not the apex exhibits (elephants, lions, tigers, gorillas) but animals that are less flashy but no less interesting such as the capybaras.

 Teddy’s family is also rather exotic: her mother was a member of a wealthy family, but Teddy’s rapscallion father managed to run through most of the money in various schemes that has him on the run from the law.  Teddy knows her share of wealthy and influential people, which causes some to assume that she is just playing at work.  In reality, she’s living on a houseboat because she can’t afford anything else in the upscale community, and is barely making ends meet on her zoo salary. She’s also recovering from a nasty divorce and determined not to leap back into the arms of Joe when both of them are so vulnerable.  However, the character relationships don’t turn into soap operas, and the murder remains a high priority.

Teddy herself is an appealing heroine, a girl who knows her way around society while preferring the company of Regular Joes and Janes.  She knows and appreciates the value of wealth—all the good things that money can buy—but she prefers to earn it herself. Her strong sense of integrity also endeared her to me as well as her love for animals.

There’s a good amount of humor in the book, though it’s not slapstick.  The pacing is good and the characters are well-developed for the most part, the exception being a sexist man on the make who uses his position of power to prey on women.  Teddy’s mother, for example, is forever trying to get Teddy to dress up and find a wealthy husband yet Caro turns out to have her own hidden passions. The mystery was well done with real clues among the red herrings.

In short, I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the next in the series, The Koala of Death!