Death at the Otter Pool (Paperback)

Paperback. At Meadowbrook Zoo, routine keeps everyone safe.Until the morning the otters say something is wrong. Zoo veterinarian Beckett Rhodes knows exactly how long morning rounds should take when nothing is off. She knows the smell of stress in an otter habitat. She knows what belongs in a controlled-substance cabinet, what belongs in an animal care log, and what absolutely does not belong in a dead keeper's access building. When otter keeper Jared Kessler is found dead behind a bolted door, the zoo wants answers fast. But Beckett sees the details that don't fit: the otters were disturbed before anyone noticed the body, a specialized sedative is missing from her clinic, and falsified medication records are pointing in a direction that should be impossible. Worse, some of those records carry her own name. As Beckett follows the discrepancies through animal transfers, internal records, vanished colleagues, and Meadowbrook's carefully managed public face, she begins to uncover a pattern that turns the zoo from a place of care into the scene of a hidden, ongoing crime. Because this was never only about one dead keeper. It was about who has been lying inside the system for years.And what they are willing to do to keep the animals-and the people who care for them-from leading anyone to the truth. With Detective Sergeant Nolan Cray asking precise questions, the staff reacting under pressure, and the otters still behaving like something moved through their space in the night, Beckett will have to trust the one thing she knows best: what doesn't fit is usually where the real story begins. Death at the Otter Pool is a smart, animal-rich mystery perfect for readers who love zoos, observant women sleuths, forensic detail, and crimes where the smallest anomaly cracks open something far more dangerous underneath. Enter Meadowbrook Zoo-but don't assume the gentlest places are the safest. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…