{I've Been Reading} Otter of Death

Otter of Death by Betty Webb

When a zookeeper doing an annual otter count discovers one of her favorite animals clutching a smart phone instead of a rock, she hopes to return it to its human owner. Instead, she finds pictures of a murder. I jumped into the Gunn Zoo series with the fifth book -- because how could I not want to read it after seeing that cover art? -- and I'm absolutely going to go back to the beginning and read Anteater of Death. There's obviously a lot of backstory that I missed by skipping the previous four books, but it was easy enough to figure out what I needed to know about Teddy and her circle of friends and family. The mystery is complex and kept me guessing. I also enjoyed getting a glimpse into Teddy's life, with lots of time spent at the zoo interacting with the animals and at the harbor where she lives on an old boat.



The Dogfather by Sparkle Abbey

It's always fun to spend time with the characters of the Pampered Pets mystery series. This book, it's Melinda's turn and when one of the owners of a high end handbag shop located next to her own pet boutique is murdered, her former fiance is a suspect. I've read all but two of the titles in this series and  enjoyed them all. I was a little disappointed that the ongoing feud between Melinda and her cousin, Caro, didn't play a part in this book.

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies.