Customer Reviews

Did Not Survive

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I liked Littlewood's first offering - Night Kill - but this second in the series is even better. As a writer and storyteller, the author has honed her craft by leaps and bounds. Other reviewers have related details of the mystery, so I'll skip that. As one who has always felt that zoo animals are prisoners, I have to admit that I have a much better appreciation for the care they receive and I will henceforth be less harsh in my judgment! I am typically a reader of some fairly hard-hitting, but not gruesome, crime mysteries and "cozies" bore me. This novel has just the perfect balance and I loved every bit of it. I highly recommend it.

I am enjoying every word of this new Zoo mystery by Ann Littlewood. I am a fan of her crisp, forceful, witty,and compelling writing style. Also, I love the fact that her mysteries take place in a zoo. As you are swept along by the story, you begin to learn more about all the fascinating creatures that we glimpse in the zoo, but cannot fathom. Her deep understanding of animals enlivens every page.

When Iris Oakley finds her boss, Director of the Finley Zoo, dang near dead in the elephant cage, the most likely culprit is her good friend Damrey - who just happens to be an elephant. The police are convinced Damrey did it, as are some of Iris's fellow employees. But Iris - the only the witness to the event - isn't sure. Even if the boss survives, which seems unlikely, the consequences for Damrey will be dire.

Complicating matters are a mob of animal rights protesters, a pair of feuding elephant handlers and a spate of disappearing animals. Meanwhile, Iris has problems of her own. She's pregnant, and has not yet recovered, personally or professionally, to the murder of her husband in the first book, Night Kill (Yep, you'll want to read that too). But, being Iris, she can't leave trouble alone, and is determine to learn the truth - even at the risk of her own life.

Sounds good, eh? But wait, the best is yet to come. Relating this tale is none other than Ann Littlewood, one-time zookeeper and a writer of great wit and grace. Pick up Did Not Survive - or better yet Night Kill AND Did Not Survive - and prepare to be entertained, educated and amused all at once. That's what happened to me.

This is a cozy mystery set in a zoo. The primary characters are all employees or residents (the elephants play a major role in the action). To me, the zoo was an unusual and entertaining setting, and I enjoyed the behind the scenes look- particularly at the new baby cloud leopards.

I called this book a cozy, but I'm not entirely sure that is accurate. This book is a little grimmer than I'd usually expect for that genre. It isn't gory, but it is fairly realistic about the issues of day to day life at a zoo.

The mystery itself was interesting. It was one where I didn't even bother trying to figure out Who Dunnit, although I think the information you needed was there if you like to play along.

As is usually the case for me in a cozy, the strength of the book is in the characters. I felt I got to know Iris (the protagonist) fairly well. She's a zoo-keeper, working with the birds because her pregnancy means the big cats she loves are off limits. She's facing the reality of life as a single mother, a situation she didn't choose.

The book fills us in on the events from the previous book, where her husband was killed by the lions. I wonder if I would have connected with her even more if I'd been there with her.

I didn't ever really get a good feel for the other characters. That may have been true even if I'd read the first book, but I'm not sure. I kept being told that people were acting out of character, but I didn't know them well enough to see for myself. The characters worked well enough, but it could have been better if they'd been a bit more real to me.

I might go back and read the first book. I'll probably pick up the next one!

Portland, Oregon is a city which cares about its elephants. Although Littlewood's book is set in the fictitious Finley Zoo in Vancouver Washington, Damrey, the elephant star accused of murder, is clearly a Portland resident. Littlewood writes about zoos in a way that is clear and engrossing, with just enough detail about zoo procedures and operations to provide background without being dry. She manages to incorporate conservation, animal behavior and human psychology in a fun, educational read. Iris Oakley, the ostensible heroine of the story, plays a supporting literary role to the animals. Littlewood draws a clear and (I suspect) very accurate picture of what goes on behind the cages of a zoo. Definitely a good summer read.

At the Finley Memorial Zoo in Vancouver, Washington pregnant Iris Oakley is reassigned from her Big Cat keeper job to the birds. Iris finds administrator Kevin Wallace lying in blood and unconscious in the elephant barn. Hovering near him is Damrey the elephant. Iris manages to rescue Wallace, but is bewildered that gentle elderly Damrey would attack him.

Everyone assumes Damrey assaulted Kevin except Sam the elephant head keeper although no one can explain why the victim would be inside that barn or what he did to ignite Damrey's fury. At the same time while the humans ponder the elephant walk, Clouded Leopard gives birth. However, the zoo turns macabre when an animal corpse is stolen and other animals kidnapped while the elephant herd seems to have drawn angry animal activists and the keepers are fighting with each other.

The second Finley Memorial Zoo amateur sleuth (see Night Kill) is an enjoyable mystery with a nice twist of Iris' "innocent" inquiries confusing the official investigation. The sleuthing is fun to follow, but the prime pleasure with Did Not Survive is the leisurely vivid descriptions of what goes on behind the scenes at a zoo.

Harriet Klausner

Ann Littlewood is a master mystery writer at par with Nevada Barr, whose bestselling Anna Pigeon series can have a handful of people in an unlikely setting and still be a complex mystery. She furthers her skills by making this second of the Zoo Mystery Series (following NIGHT KILL) a social statement about endangered species, the intricate beauty of nature, and the complicated workings of a zoo, without being esoteric. Littlewood astutely educates readers with a clever feast of phrases that is truly "reading" time at the zoo. The author is a former zookeeper. As a novelist, she is definitely a keeper.

"Finley Memorial Zoo is a small zoo near Vancouver, Washington." Protagonist Iris Oakley sees Kevin Wallace being mauled by Damrey the elephant---the only witness to what police subsequently investigate as a possible homicide. Iris is asked to conduct an informal investigation but keeps evidence info to herself, sort of a detective calculator tallying anomalies, instead of numbers. When zoo staffers ask if she thinks police can learn if Wallace was murdered instead of an accidental death, she says, "Sure they will. They do it in an hour on TV." Surprisingly, many have cause to kill likeable Wallace.

Oakley's "six-months pregnant belly" and her "husband's death six months ago" complicate an amateur investigation at Finley Zoo, as she rounds up the "zoosual" suspects. Pregnancy hormones know only two words: Feed me! "A chicken burger and carton of milk later, I came up for air." Co-worker Linda opines of the snarf: "Hyenas after they pull down a zebra." Or feeding time at the... No, don't go there!

When Oakley's co-workers load Rajah the tiger's body into a van, to take to the zoo's vet for necropsy, Raj pulls a Lazarus and alarmingly comes to life. The zoo crew "bailed out like your hair was on fire," and "explored the concept of undead tigers in a zombie zoo." Feeling safe in the commissary, with Oakley pregnantly craving comfort food "like piranhas and a wounded tapir," they discuss strange happenings and a newly appointed Prussian zoo-meister. When they return, the van is gone, Rajah too. With the bizarre goings-on at Finley, is it possible that a tiger hotwired the van? However, Damrey and the other elephant, Nakri, command the center of attention, sort of like an 8,000-pound gorilla in the room. The titular lack of survival indeed is a sad commentary about society, but many mysteries are solved by following the money trail.

Matters are complicated for the unlikely detective, when outspoken anti-zoo activist Bill "Thor" Thorson crashes zoo employees' celebration at their favorite watering hole, the Vulture's Roost. Office politics play out in surprising turns of events. Someone is setting up zoo employees to be fired, and each who is has cause to kill Wallace---six months after Oakley's husband was murdered at the same zoo.

This bestseller-quality novel is more than murder, mayhem and mystery. There's another M---message. Oakley recalls the painful memory of her husband's death and the life that grows inside her: "Damrey still tugged at her invisible chain, the chain that had scarred her leg. My chain had begun to fall away. I could imagine that someday the scar might fade."

With this Oakley installment readers learn more about zoos (and the complex human element that manages them) than those with annual zoo passes and daily visits. So, put on your pith helmet for this richly written safari through a profoundly excellent mystery that Littlewood calls a zoo-dunit.

---Reviewed by L. Dean Murphy

Iris Oakley arrives at her job as a zookeeper to a horrific sight. Her boss, Ken Wallace, is in the elephant's enclosure, lying face down and still as the big animals roll him from side to side. Iris, whose husband was killed by the big cats only months before and who is on lighter duty due to being pregnant, calls the police.

At first it is thought that the elephants have killed him, which causes dismay among the zoo personnel. But soon an even uglier truth emerges. Wallace was not killed by the elephants, but struck over the head and left to die in their habitat. There is a killer loose in the zoo.

Iris is determined to help the police find the killer. There are lots of suspects. There are the zoo protesters, who hate the very idea of the zoo. There is the new zoo veterinarian who seems to have secrets in her past. New zookeepers have come to work recently and they don't seem to be fitting in well with the existing staff. Then there are the other issues. Animals are disappearing and zoo staff are having strange things happen to them; events that could be precursors to another murder. Can Iris discover what is going on before someone else loses their life?

Did Not Survive is recommended for mystery lovers. Iris is an engaging protagonist, spunky in her determination to overcome the fate life has served up to her, leaving her pregnant and widowed at an early age. The plot is intricate enough to please puzzle solvers, with enough action to keep the pace of the book brisk. Readers will be eager to try additional titles by Littlewood after finishing this one.

I enjoyed her first book, but "Did Not Survive" is even better! I loved the elephants; the thoughtful way they were depicted gave me a whole new understanding of these amazing creatures. Littlewood captures so well the feeling of the zoo as a place to work. She has created a gripping mystery firmly settled in its intriguing background.

This was a great book! Iris is at work, waiting on the arrival of some important cubs when she hears elephants having a 'time'. She goes to check it out and finds her boss, Director of the Zoo, face down and being 'mauled' by one of the elephants, Demrey and the other elephant wanting to get to him. As she gets him to safety, everyone is convinced the elephant did the harm, but Iris isn't so sure. She investigates, which is a bit difficult as she is pregnant, and it is complicated by protesters...then animals start disappearing! I loved Iris, the fact that she was pregnant didn't stop her investigation but it does make her stop and think of how to proceed for the safety of her child. This is the second book in the series and you find out her husband is killed in the first book and you feel sympathy for her in that. The feud between the two elephant keepers was interesting to me, the two completely different view points. I loved all the animals, and the mystery/suspense was great! I rate this a 5/5. Great mystery and I am going to buy the first in the series now! Thank you to the publisher for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinion stated above is 100% mine