Customer Reviews

The Sloth's Eye (Five Star Mystery Series)

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

 

 

This is an engrossing read, and I ended up staying up almost all night to finish reading it because I couldn't put it down. The story is well paced and the narrator is likable, intelligent and not your typical central character in a number of ways. The sloth's eye succeeds in placing a mystery within the unconventional setting of the behind-the-scenes world of a zoo, and makes the day to day goings on of it's characters as interesting (maybe even more interesting) than mystery of who the killer is

This book is hard to characterize. Nominally, it is a murder mystery set in a zoo but that is not a great description of it. It is more a story of a young woman zookeeper and animal lover and her infatuation with a co-worker and how that affects and influences her care for the animals she loves and works with. For a murder mystery, the tone is very light and quite amusing. Hannah is a very likable, if somewhat flakey, protagonist, hardly able to keep her thoughts on one topic (except when that topic is Chris). When one of her fellow zoo employees is murdered in a rather bizarre fashion, she and her co-workers spend surprisingly little time worrying about it, instead going on with their normal lives, absorbed in the zoo animals and their own interpersonal intrigues.

I liked the book a lot and really enjoyed reading it, especially because I wish I had Hannah's job! The word "capybara" appears many times throughout the book but, sadly, the world's cutest animals do not make an actual appearance. There is one incorrect animal fact (maras are the 4th largest rodent, not the 2nd) but other than that, all the data is correct as far as I know.

At the Zoo, the most popular event is the annual elephant pumpkin smashing walk on Halloween. However, this year the gala turns ugly when Victor is found with his head smashed to bits the morning after. The victim was the latest boyfriend of the zoo's director serial lover Allison.

Meanwhile Allison decides the zoo needs a new exhibit to get the media and public away from the homicide. She approves small mammal zookeeper Hannah's request to buy a wombat. At the same time someone kidnaps the sloth from the small mammal wing. Hannah is attracted to her boss Chris who loathes Allison. They also knows whoever took the sloth had to work for the zoo.

The Sloth's Eye is an engaging look at what happens behind the scenes at a zoo as the murder and sloth mysteries stay in the background for the most part. Hannah is precocious as she is not a superhero amateur sleuth, but instead a clean the muck and drippings left behind by her beloved mammals. Readers who appreciate a glimpse of what it is like working at a zoo supported somewhat by the mysteries will enjoy visiting Hannah's Small Mammal House.

Harriet Klausner

Whodunnit's are not my normal fare, but something about this one caught my eye. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The Sloth's Eye takes the reader into the world of a zookeeper. The author must have a good working knowledge of how a zoo is run. I'm guessing when she's not writing fascinating murder mysteries she is spending her time with the small mammals she writes about.

Hannah Lilly is a zookeeper in the small mammals department of a zoo where a man has been brutally murdered. Hannah finds herself in the center of the mystery. I'd love to tell you more, but I think you should read it for yourself.

Using the unique setting of the National Zoo with an in depth look, without being distracting, of the inner workings, this book sets a fun slaalom of a ride through the characters, both human and...not. Well drawn characters, a moving pace and an intriguing mystery-murder at the core, a fun and satisfying read.

Plus, a wombat!