While I enjoyed this read, and The Anteater of Death before it, I do take the author to task for Outback Bill's language. He appears to be modelled on Mick J. Crocodile Dundee but even our Mick didn't use the word 'sheila', or throw in every old slang word he could think of. And then to offer translations, presumably for her American readers. You mustn't underestimate the intelligence of your readers to figure out what is meant by the context. It's still English after all.
I didn't consider this as good as 'Anteater' and it could have done with a bit more editing. The chronology of events behind Teddy's reasoning towards the end didn't add up. Perhaps it was rushed out. ( )

Cute, fun little cozy. Good characters, like the animals just being animals. ( )

Book on CD read by Hillary Huber

Book two in the series featuring zookeeper Teddy Bentley has our heroine discovering the body of co-worker and TV darling “Koala Kate” in the harbor. She obviously fell overboard after the previous night’s party, and in a drunken stupor drowned. Or did she?

I like this cozy series for the information about the animals and the relationships between Teddy and her mother, Caro, and boyfriend, Sheriff Joe Rejas. Webb gives us plenty of suspects and twists in the plot that keep the reader guessing right up to the end. However … it seems that Sheriff Joe is terribly inept because he is always arresting the wrong person. Still, it’s a fast, entertaining read, and I don’t read cozies for their literary merit.

Hillary Huber’s performance on the audio was less irritating to me this time. Either I’m used to her voice, or she dropped some of the affectations that bothered me in the first installment. Her pacing is good and it definitely held my interest. If I continue the series, however, I’ll probably read the text rather than listen. ( )

In the 2nd book in the series, zookeeper Theodora (Teddy) finds the body of a fellow zookeeper floating in the water beside her houseboat. “Koala Kate” has been murdered. Teddy is asked to take over many of Kate’s responsibilities, including tv spots and PR stuff - not Teddy’s forte. Teddy’s boyfriend, Joe, is the local sheriff, trying to figure out who killed Kate.

I really enjoyed this. I love all the extra animal info that is shared throughout the book! I think I was actually more interested in things other than solving the mystery in this book, but I still really enjoyed it! ( )

Teddy Bentley discovers her fellow zookeeper, Koala Kate, floating face-down in the marina water. Accident? Murder?
THE KOALA OF DEATH by Betty Webb is Book 2 of the Gunn Zoo Mystery series.
Interesting animals and some ‘nutty’ characters make this mystery a fun read. ( )