New Release -- Adieu at the Zoo (A Jefferson Zoo Mystery) by Harol Marshall #firestarpress #prairierosepubs #cozymystery

The discovery of a dead body in Jefferson County Zoo’s new Wetlands exhibit turns the life of Horticulture Curator Samantha Clark upside down. Worse than that, she and her Hort tech, Jodie, find themselves implicated as possible suspects—until someone runs them off the road in an attempt to see them dead, also.

Sam believes she may be on to a trail of clues when she’s approached by one of the zoo’s wealthy private donors in what seems to be an attempt to draw her into the illegal sale of rare and endangered plants. With the help of Dan Saunders, the zoo’s Head of Security, Sam devises a plan to get to the bottom of what looks to be a murder, a suspicious disappearance, and her own near-death.

The mystery deepens when one of the zoo’s security guards goes missing. Will another dead body turn up? As things heat up between Sam and Dan, they realize they could lose everything if they can’t solve these mysteries before another murder takes place.

EXCERPT

     I parked my cart at the edge of the marsh and tromped up the boardwalk. “Hey, Jo, what’s up?”

     She leaned over the wooden railing and pointed to the concrete catch basin that traps refuse and keeps detritus from contaminating the lake when the waters overflow.

     “Have a look,” she said.

     I bent over the railing and blinked wildly. A large sheet of black plastic tied with strands of rope stuck halfway into the catch basin. A few inches of water lay in the bottom of the trough. Protruding from the far edge of the plastic I could see a pair of mottled, purplish-gray human feet. An Eastern Box Turtle nibbled away on the big toe of the left foot. Jodie pried the turtle off with the handle of her rake and moved it away, but the stubborn creature crawled right back and snagged another toe.

     “What the—” I nearly bit off my tongue for the second time that evening.

     “Yeah,” Jodie said, with a grim shake of her head, “see why I told you we had an emergency here?”