Koala of Death

Praise for The Koala of Death... "Webb warmly evokes the unconventional worlds of zoo and marina.

Readers don't even have to be animal lovers to enjoy watching, say, a pushy television host get her comeuppance from a mischievous lemur." -Publishers WeeklyWhen zookeeper Theodora "Teddy" Bentley fishes the body of Koala Kate out of Gunn Landing Harbor, she discovers that her fellow zookeeper didn't drown; she was strangled.

The clues to Kate's killer implicate other animal keepers at Gunn Zoo, including Outback Bill, marsupial keeper and Kate's Aussie ex-boyfriend; and Robin Chase, the big cat keeper who's got it in for Teddy.

Also displaying suspicious behavior are several "liveaboarders" at the harbor; Speaks-To-Souls, a shady "animal psychic;" and even Caro, Teddy's much-married, ex-beauty queen mother.

But murderers aren't all Teddy has to worry about. Her embezzling father is still on the run from the Feds, and the motor on her houseboat is failing.

To pay for the repairs, Teddy agrees to appear on a weekly live television broadcast featuring misbehaving animals that range from a cuddly koala to a panicky wallaby-and all hell breaks loose in the TV studio.

All the while, the killer is narrowing in on Teddy.... Betty Webb has been a journalist and book reviewer for the past 20 years.

As a reporter, she has interviewed subjects as diverse as U.S. presidents, Nobel Prize winners, astronauts, and the homeless, and her Lena Jones detective series has garnered rave reviews from The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, and other national publications.

Betty teaches creative writing at Phoenix (Arizona) College. www.bettywebb-zoomystery.com