The Anteater of Death

September 22, 2008
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.

A wealthy zoo patron is found mauled and dead inside the enclosure of an anteater named Lucy. When Lucy is accused of the crime, her zookeeper, Teddy, believes she is innocent and begins her own investigation. Teddy is instantly likable, in part due to Hillary Huber's sardonic, scratchy voice, which complements this unconventional heroine. Huber excels when voicing Lucy's thoughts, and she makes all the animal characters sound believable, yet not human. Huber's quirky voice adds a heavy dose of sarcasm to Webb's snappy dialogue. While this sarcastic tone is great for the eccentric minor characters, it wears a bit thin as the principal narrative voice. J.T. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

May 15, 2009
In this first book in Webb's new "Gunn Zoo" soft-boiled mystery series, California zookeeper and former rich girl Theodora "Teddy" Bentley resorts to amateur sleuthing when a human corpse is found in the zoo's anteater enclosure and the chief of policeher former fiancfingers a fellow zookeeper as the primary suspect. Teddy is a lighter-hearted heroine than Webb's (www.bettywebb-mystery.com) other series protagonist, ex-cop-turned-PI Lena Jones (e.g., "Desert Run, Desert Cut"). Audie Award nominee Hillary Huber (www.hillaryhuber.com) endows Teddy with the unpretentious, wisecracking spark of an independent woman. Webb, who has zoo experience, adds authenticity with zoo lingo and animal facts. For fans of easygoing mysteries. [Audio clip available through www.blackstoneaudio.com; the review of the Poisoned Pen hc recommended this title "to mystery buffs who enjoy light animal mysteries," "LJ" 10/1/08.Ed.]Judith Robinson, LIS, Univ. at Buffalo

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