Mysteries set in zoos

Talli

Talli

Well-Known Member
Since my life is currently taking care of my mom and not going anywhere, I'm reading more than usual. So, I've been looking for things that interest me to load on my Kindle. Since I love mysteries, and of course, anything to do with zoos...
Some of these have been mentioned previously. I'm just going to list and not critique in this post.


by Susan Wells Bennett:
The Brass Monkey series. The Brass Monkey is a bar in Peoria, Arizona, and there are four books with that tie in. One of the characters is a volunteer at the Phoenix Zoo. Not all four have scenes at the zoo.
Wild Life
Charmed Life
Night Life
New Life


by Edie Claire:
Leigh Koslow Mystery series. Leigh's father is a vet, so she sometimes (book 2) works as a vet tech at the fictional Riverview Park Zoo in Pittsburgh (which is actually based on the experiences of the author at the Overton Park Zoo in Memphis).
Never Buried
Never Sorry
Never Preach Past Noon
Never Kissed Goodnight
Never Tease a Siamese
Never Neck at Niagara (short story)
Never Con a Corgi


by Ann Littlewood:
Iris Oakley is a zookeeper in this series set in the fictional Finley Memorial Zoo in Vancouver, Washington. Ann was a keeper at the Portland/Oregon Zoo.
Night Kill
Did Not Survive
Endangered


by Linda Lombardi:
In "The Sloth's Eye", Hannah Lilly is a keeper at an unnamed "mid-Atlantic" zoo which seemed to be based on the National Zoo to me. Linda volunteered at the National Zoo and was a keeper, but I'm not sure where.


by Harol Marshall
"Adieu at the Zoo" is set in the fictional Jeffercon County, North Carolina, Zoo, and the protagonist is Horticulture Curator Samantha Clark. Harol was involved in an education and research program that involved the North Carolina Zoo.


by Marilyn Victor and Michael Allan Mallory:
The Snake Jones Mystery series is set at the Minnesota Valley Zoo where Lavender "Snake Jones" is a zoologist/keeper. Marilyn was a volunteer at the Minnesota Zoo, and Michael a volunteer at the International Wolf Center in Ely, MN. I just discovered the second book, which seems to maybe be set there.
Death Roll
Killer Instinct


by Betty Webb:
The Gunn Zoo Mystery series. The Gunn Zoo is a fictional zoo set in the Santa Barbara, California area, but based on the Phoenix Zoo where Betty was a volunteer. Theodora "Teddy" Bentley is a keeper at the Gunn Zoo.
Anteater of Death
Koala of Death
Lamma of Death (due out in Jan.)

Note: Betty has another series that I really like which is set in Scottsdale, Arizona and features a private detective, Lena Jones. This series tackles a lot of important issues such as the child slavery involved in certain polygamist communities and the horror of FGM.



If anyone knows of any I've missed, please post. And, I think it's interesting that all of the protagonists in these are women as are all but one of the authors.
 
Only slightly off topic, but there are two rather well known action (mystery?) movies with climatic scenes set in fictional zoos:

Bird on a Wire (1990, with Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn) -- in a rather cool rain forest exhibit in a fictional northwesten zoo.

Eraser (1996, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vanessa Williams) -- shootout in the reptile house, with crocodile eating the bad guy.
 
ANyhuis - you might want to repost that in the thread about TV shows and movies set in zoos. Don't want anyone to miss it.

By the way, just got Killer Instinct (wasn't available on Kindle) and haven't read it yet, but it does seem to have been inspired by the Wolf Center in Ely, but set in a fictional wolf facility.
 
Don't forget the classic movie 'Cat People'. I think there was a remake too (but I expect it was rubbish, they usually are).

Alan
 
gentle lemur said:
Don't forget the classic movie 'Cat People'. I think there was a remake too (but I expect it was rubbish, they usually are).

Alan
Click to expand...

Here you go - here's the link to the thread about zoos in movies. I just figured out where I went wrong - I should have called this thread "Mystery BOOKS set in zoos". Every time someone replies, I get excited that they might have found a new book for me. Spent quite a long time compiling the list here.
http://www.zoochat.com/183/zoos-movies-43/
 
Anybody who enjoys mystery stories set in zoos should try to locate a copy of “Sherlock Holmes and the London Zoo Mystery” (W. Lane; 1986) although I think it is rather scarce.

This entertaining story recaptures the atmosphere of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes tales and includes the familiar figures of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson and Inspector Lestrade.

The book also features several real-life characters including Abraham Bartlett (Superintendent of London Zoo 1859 – 1897), the famous African elephant Jumbo, Matthew Scott (Jumbo’s keeper) and P. T. Barnum.
 
Thanks for the tip on the Holmes book! The cheapest I'm finding it is $24 plus shipping, but now I know what to look for.
 
Hey, this is Linda Lombardi, I just ran across this forum and this thread while searching on the title of my book. I had to immediately order that Sherlock Holmes zoo mystery despite the expense. Thanks, I think!

I have a couple other books to add to this list:

The Penguin Pool Murder, Stuart Palmer, 1931. Set at the New York Aquarium. Looking at Amazon to see if it is still available I see there is also a movie from 1932. I am going to have to get that too, now.

The Children's Zoo, Lillian O'Donnell, 1981. Central Park. (Warning, contains nasty violence against animals.)
 
Oh, and one more for the sake of completeness, there is a kids' book called A Thief at the National Zoo. I read lots of kids' books happily but this is the lame sort of book that only a child would read.
 
Thanks Linda - was I right about your zoo being loosely based on the National Zoo? Where did you work as a keeper? Is there a sequel coming?
 
Yes, it is based on National, but I was pretty sure they would not be amused to have their name used. I worked there with small mammals and at the reptile house at various times and was also briefly at the zoo in Baltimore.

There is a sequel written but I haven't managed to sell it to a publisher yet. There's a good one looking at it right now, keep your fingers crossed for me if you want to read it! It's a tough business these days.
 
I have read a murder-mystery book set at Taronga Zoo (although given a fictious name, I think including the word "royal"), which involved importing Thamin from Myanmar among other things. The heroine was a female zookeeper, and there were several murders (people killed by animals, animals killed by people, and people killed by people). I found it to be a rather average story in the end, despite the excellent premise. I have spent ages trying to find it online, but cannot track it down. It definitely exists though, so I'm sure someone will be able to find it.
 
wombatarama said:
Yes, it is based on National, but I was pretty sure they would not be amused to have their name used. I worked there with small mammals and at the reptile house at various times and was also briefly at the zoo in Baltimore.

There is a sequel written but I haven't managed to sell it to a publisher yet. There's a good one looking at it right now, keep your fingers crossed for me if you want to read it! It's a tough business these days.
Click to expand...

Ok - fingers firmly crossed. Of course I want to read it!
I think just about all of the zoos get fictionalized to keep anyone from getting upset, but I do love it when I can recognize a feature - like the octopus feeding at National Zoo, or Monkey Village at Phoenix Zoo or the big indoor trail at Minnesota Zoo.
I have some of the same favorite animals - at least as of your character. I got to watch a sloth cross its exhibit on a large beam and then drop down into its food to eat at a zoo in Norway (you're actually in the same room as the sloth), and to pet a wombat in Australia summer before last.
 
By the way, The Penguin Pool Murder is the first of a series with the same "spinster" main character. Looks like there were about 20 in the series. If I like the first, I'll end up having to hunt down the others!
 
I am jealous that you got to pet a wombat. All the animals in the book are species I actually worked with except the wombat, which is my fantasy addition.

However, I have to mention, unrelated to mysteries, I got to pet a dugong in Japan a few months ago. I'd never even dreamed of that.
 
Wow - a dugong! Cool! I was in Japan years ago for a business trip, but only managed to get to the Ueno Zoo - didn't find out about Tama until it was too late, and it was too expensive to get to any other cities.
Maybe nerds like us should start a thread about animals we've gotten to touch - since I've never been a keeper, just in education, my list isn't that big. I did talk someone into letting me touch a sloth once, even though he wasn't supposed to.
 
I got the Sherlock Holmes and the London Zoo book. If anyone else is thinking of ordering it - given the price, be forewarned that although it's hardcover, it's a long short story, not a whole novel.

It's cute and I am glad to have it to add to my collection. However, it also proved the wisdom of my plan to never re-read Sherlock Holmes and just remember it fondly from my youth.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top