3.5 Stars.

This is a nice addition to the lives of our favorite characters. There’s some good news for some and bad news for others. Investigations into animal trade (via the death of an unknown woman) results in Cotterill becoming slightly preachy in tone about animal rights. While I agree with him about the need to respect animals, it feels a little heavy handed to have this message repeated multiple times. This is the first novel I’ve felt was somewhat preachy in its message. Usually it’s a satiric commentary on government bureaucracy in a communist regime, but this felt very contemporary in its message of “don’t eat or harm animals.”