Anteater of Death: A Zoo Mystery [Hardcover]

Betty Webb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2008

But if Lucy, the pregnant Giant Anteater from Belize, didnÂ’t kill the man found dead in her enclosure, who did? California zookeeper Teddy Bentley must find the real murderer before her furry friend is shipped off to another zoo in disgrace.

Then another human bites the dust, the monkeys riot, and the wolves go nuts. Things get worse when the snooty folks at Gunn Landing Harbor attempt to evict Teddy from the Merilee, her beloved houseboat. That’s just the beginning. Her father, on the lam from the Feds for embezzling millions, gets targeted by a local gangster; and Caro, Teddy’s socialite mother, a former beauty queen who loathes Teddy’s dangerous job, starts introducing her to “eligible bachelors.” But Teddy has already given her heart to Sheriff Joe Rejas, a migrant worker’s son. Caro is not pleased.

Zoo life, animal lore, and the leaky ups and downs of Central Coast California houseboat living create a thrilling backdrop for murder.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Webb, author of Desert Cut and four other Lena Jones mysteries, launches a new series featuring a warm and unconventional heroine, zookeeper Theodora Teddy Bentley. Teddy is dismayed to learn that a pregnant anteater in her care, Lucy, appears to have mauled to death a prominent patron of California's Gunn Landing Zoo, Grayson Harrill. When it turns out that someone shot Harrill first, Teddy turns sleuth to discover who framed her beloved Lucy. The colorful supporting cast includes Teddy's beauty queen mother, who makes her daughter call her Caro; Harrill's wife and descendant of the zoo's founder; and the zoo's controversial director. Webb deftly weaves zoological lore into the fast-moving plot. She errs only in going too far in giving the anteater's point-of-view (Get out. If you don't get out, I'll uncurl my claws and give you a rake down your belly). The book's human perspective conveys everything we need to know about Lucy, her habitat and her behavior. (Dec.)
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From Booklist

Webb takes a break from her Lena Jones novels to launch a new series featuring zookeeper Theodora “Teddy” Bentley. Teddy’s wealthy family disapproves of her occupation and her home on a leaky boat on the wrong end of the Gunn Landing marina on California’s central coast. Her mother, Caro, a much-divorced former beauty queen, tries to set her up with a suitable husband, but Teddy is more concerned with sinister events at the zoo. When a human corpse turns up in the enclosure of Lucy, the giant anteater, everyone assumes that the animal is the culprit. Teddy, though, is confident that, although dangerous, Lucy is not guilty. Convincing the local sheriff, Joe Rojas, who also happens to be Lucy’s former fiancé, is another matter. As Teddy investigates, she turns up corruption and unseemly behavior among the upper crust of Gunn Landing. Webb’s new series combines a good puzzle with animal lore, a behind-the-scenes look at zoo operations, and plenty of humor. --Barbara Bibel

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 270 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (November 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590585607
• ISBN-13: 978-1590585603
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,249,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Former journalist Betty Webb is a prize-winning mystery novelist whose books are based on true crimes, including human rights abuses. Publishers Weekly called her novels "mysteries with a social conscience." She lives in Arizona, where her Lena Jones mysteries are set.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I have fallen in love with an Anteater!, December 10, 2008

By 

M. C. Carter "cartertoggle" (Columbia, Md USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anteater of Death: A Zoo Mystery (Hardcover)

Buy or borrow this book. Do not steal this book....that would make Lucy mad and apparently that's one thing you never want to do....go head to head or toe to talon with an enraged anteater.

I have long been a fan of the author's other series but was blown away by this book. Lucy and her keeper Teddy are fresh and wonderful, the zoo and the marina and the castle are superb locations. I thought I pegged the killer early (and I turned out to be right) but that didn't take away from the sheer joy of the book. There is a nice cast of slightly 'different' supporting characters but the craziness is well contained and only adds to the joy...(if you are a reader of the Meg Langslow books by Donna Andrews, the crazy supporting cast is very similar.) And there's a nice love story and a hunky ex boyfriend now the sheriff and an on-the lam father and an entire zoo full of friends...both animal and human.

Buy this book borrow this book, read this book and love this book!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Noble Animals and Savage Humans, December 1, 2008

By 

Steven Rigolosi (New York / New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anteater of Death: A Zoo Mystery (Hardcover)

Zookeeper Teddy Bentley is caught between worlds. The divorced daughter of a money-hungry forever-dieting society vixen, she prefers living on her rickety houseboat to cohabiting with Caro (whom she's not allowed to call "Mother") in the unspeakably expensive neighborhood of their swanky California coastal home. Having been burned too many times--most recently by a cheating ex-husband--Teddy prefers the company of her animal charges at the privately owned Gunn Zoo, as well as her own misfit pets (DJ Bonz the three-legged dog, and Miss Priss the one-eyed cat).

Webb has crafted an intricate mystery that goes beyond the usual whodunnit to touch on social stratification (a wealthy snob is trying to have liveaboarders at the marina evicted because their boats aren't upscale enough), social climbing and the problems of "old money," and the difficulty of learning to trust when everyone around you seems greedy, conniving, and/or homicidal.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Anteater of Death, and was (pleasantly) surprised to find that the book has two sources of suspense: not only the murders that Teddy sets out to investigate, but also the behavior of zoo animals. You spectate tensely and jaw-clenchingly as a gentle giraffe gives birth (Will the baby survive the six-foot drop?), as a child falls into the bear pit, as a mated pair of wolves have a bloody lovers' quarrel, and even as Teddy herself has a shaky encounter with one of her beloved animals.

I love a mystery that makes you think, and The Anteater of Death makes you speculate on the similarities and differences between humans and zoo animals, as we watch the worst-behaved of the animals mirror the interactions of the venal humans around them, and the best-behaved of the animals relentlessly put human beings to shame. An added bonus is the sleaziest, creepiest, most disgustingly sexist villain I've read in a while, who provides suitable fodder for the reader's bile as well as some terrific comic moments. Here's hoping Teddy will be back for more.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful and witty, February 14, 2010

By 

Donna Rail "music nut, history buff" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anteater of Death: A Zoo Mystery (Hardcover)

A trip to the zoo can include many things. One of them is usually not a dead body. When one of them does turn up at Gunn Landing Zoo, it's up to zookeeper Theodora Bentley to find out who, or what, in the complex political stew of the nearby town might be responsible. Was it the rage of an unsafe animal at the zoo, or a conniving local human? Bentley is a likable character, and although the story does have a few brief lags, most of the book is brisk and clever. For those who enjoy science and the zoo, and I'm one of them, the plot provides an even more enriching atmosphere than most thrillers. This is a real treat for mystery fans.