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Mystery writer Marcia Rosen knows that the most powerful lines of William Shakespeare’s Tempest:

O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t
tell only half our human story[1].

Indeed, the opening lines of Murder offer readers into a man-made dystopia: From the lion’s den at the Albuquerque Zoo, a human arm, chewed off from its shoulder, beckons to the public.

Rosen’s sleuth, Dr. Miranda Scott, is tasked with solving this murder—but she faces five challenges. First, she hears voices in her head, each in its own trademark manner:

“Agatha, even for a dame, you talk too damn much.”
“Raymond, my dear, you’ve used that line too many times. I fear it is a bit uncouth.”
Sherlock snapped, “Will you both be quiet so I can consider the evidence?”

The snark and wisdom of Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie, and Sherlock Holmes persist as the pile of bodies at the zoo increases. And Miranda finds time to serve her day shift as its senior veterinarian.

Second, Miranda copes with an unusual set of divorced parents. Her mother Lillian, who lives on a ranch near Taos, is a grifter forever pushing Miranda around. Miranda’s father Jacob, whom she lived with following the divorce, holds close to the vest his relationship with a certain criminal syndicate. Miranda’s appetite for detection was nourished by a steady supply of mystery and gangster novels and their cinematic adaptations, thanks to her godfather Joseph.

Third, Miranda faces corruption on the part of the local government. Readers will recognize the shameless egoism of Senator Matthew Graham and company.

Fourth, there is corruption on the part of the zoo staff, though Miranda may be too busy and too close to see.

Finally, Miranda entertains distraction from her duties, exchanging thrusts in an extended romantic exchange with a certain Bryan.

“Mystery lovers will enjoy Rosen’s nods to films and novels both old and new, making use of important tropes popularized by Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie, and even Edgar Allan Poe. Rosen’s dialogue and narration—“I have to go. Have to see a lion about a man”—offer a gentler version of Chandler’s nonstop talking wise.

Murder at the Zoo is heartily recommended for vacation reading.

[1] The Tempest, V.1.182–5. These lines are spoken as a royal marriage comes together. The exile of Miranda, with her father Prospero, Duke of Milan, is coming to an end thanks to Miranda’s alliance to Ferdinand, the King of Naples’ son.

Since 1986, Jon Hartmann has reviewed books, films, and performances for academic, professional, and general audiences. Jon teaches Technical and Business Communication at The University of Texas at Dallas, and he copyedits government reports on food security in places like Haiti and East Africa.  Hartmann wrote The Marketing of Edgar Allan Poe (Routledge, 2008) and has published pieces on filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles. Jon recommends his latest paper, published in Who Makes the Franchise (McFarland, 2022, edited by Rhonda Knight and Donald Quist), titled “You Always Spoof the One You Love: Thirty Years of Professional ­Take-Offs on The Muppet Show.”

Even a Pandemic Can’t Stop Love and Murder

Author: A.E.S. O’Neill

After having been set up in Iraq, Alby O’Brien is on the Iraqi hit list. Therefore, Alby is now hiding in southern New Jersey to avoid the wrath of terrorists who are after him. Believing he is safely hidden in his cave-like garage apartment, he supports himself on under-the-table fix-it work while wrestling with nightmares of what happened in Iraq. Being that he was only a government contractor, he is not privy to all of the employee benefits provided by the government, and this letdown continues throughout his new life.

The author, A.E.S. O’Neill, wrote this book during a pandemic and used the pandemic as the setting. O’Neill does a great job working the pandemic into scenes and showing various reactions to it and the new way of life. Some characters detest wearing the mask; others double mask. Some wear the cheap mask, while others wear a Plastimask. Even the psychotically polite killer is sure to wear a mask. The author also mentions vaccines, variants, and GPS trackers—all items readers can surely relate to.

Alby was in Iraq when the pandemic hit, so the United States he returns to is different than the one he left—something Alby regularly struggles with.

Though Alby is trying to avoid the terrorists, he cannot seem to avoid trouble.

Something very valuable has been taken from a mob-run bank. The mob believes the thief was Alby, and now everyone is after him, who appears to have drawn the short straw in life. Despite his life being on the line, all he can think about is the mysterious Ginger. As it all comes to a head, Alby knows his choices are few and his fate could go either way.

This novel is filled with action at a speedy pace and takes place in just one week. How many lives can be changed in just one week! Once the action begins, it just keeps coming, breaking up the action scenes with small episodes of normalcy.

A reader may desire the prologue to occur later in the story with Alby remembering his life in Iraq, once the reader has been able to connect with Alby. However, the reader is able to empathize with Alby in chapter 1, and then the action begins in chapter 2.

O’Neill is a gifted writer, developing a great story with suspense, and he was at the right place at the right time. This novel is based on a true story O’Neill’s father told his son about a mob bank being ripped off and the ensuing consequences. The author does an excellent job of taking this true story and placing it in a pandemic crisis and entangling the two challenges.

Even a Pandemic Can’t Stop Love and Murder, vol. 1 Break the Bank is the highly entertaining and almost implausible story of what can happen by being at the wrong place at the right time.

Marcia Rosen (aka M. Glenda Rosen) is the author of 10 books, including the Senior Sleuth Mystery Series and the Dying to be Beautiful Mystery Series. Once again, she delights her readers with Murder at the Zoo, the first in her new Agatha, Raymond, Sherlock, and Me Mystery Series, debuting in 2023.

Murder at the Zoo starts off with the thud of a dead body landing in the lion enclosure of the Albuquerque Zoo. Our main characters are called to the scene: the lovely Miranda Scott, Senior Veterinarian at the Zoo, and the tall and handsome Detective Bryan Anderson, who is assigned to the crime scene. Within hours, another body is found near the lion enclosure with a bullet in its chest. The pace of the action quickly accelerates and keeps on going throughout the novel.

The romantic attraction between our two main characters is evident from the start but new murders and other serious crimes multiply quickly, putting our couple both at odds with one another and in danger of becoming victims themselves. A colorful cast of other characters who are not what they seem keep getting in the way, including a potentially corrupt politician and a possible crooked cop.

We also learn that Miranda’s family is more than dysfunctional. Raised by her gangster father and his friends and often used by her mother for her own personal gain, Miranda soon learns that her family is somehow involved in the chaos surrounding the zoo and the terrible events that have been unfolding are, in fact, personal. She becomes the target for revenge.

So where does the title of this new series come from? It turns out that, as a child, Miranda read dozens of mysteries by authors like Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler and loved characters like Sherlock Holmes. Over the years, she heard their voices in her head telling her what she should and should not do. As she eventually explains to Detective Anderson, “Somehow some of my favorite authors and characters seem to talk to me. . . The voices, of course, are really my own thoughts or feelings about something but they often play around in my head as if they are these other voices.” What these voices do for the reader, however, is to lighten the load as the murders pile up. Their distinct personalities provide humor in the midst of tragedy when they bicker amongst themselves, and guidance for Miranda as she tries to sort her way through her relationships with her family and the mysteries of her feelings for Bryan and the case which they are trying to solve together.

All in all, Murder at the Zoo is a great read and it’s sure to satisfy Ms. Rosen’s mystery fans. They’ll be wanting more before this first book in the series ends!

Rosen’s descriptions drew me into the story and made it an immersive experience. The narrative often pulled my focus to little details that hint to Miranda’s past and made me want to know more about her. This was an exciting read, and I highly recommend this story, which begins with a murder at the zoo.

Leah Rubin is a copyeditor and proofreader who works under the business name of Your Second Pen. A native of Chicago, she and her family threw away the shovels and the snowblower and moved to Arizona in 1999. With a degree in English and Speech Arts from Hofstra University, and a background in teaching (both in the U.S. and South Korea as a Peace Corps Volunteer), Leah worked in various administrative capacities while raising her family. Always the English expert, whether working in the office or managing a pottery gallery in Sedona, Leah followed her dream to start her own business when she and her husband relocated to Tucson in 2017. Armed with multiple classes in professional development and a new computer, the idea of Your Second Pen was born and has been blossoming ever since. While she doesn’t believe in having a “niche”, Leah has worked for several authors in the categories of memoir, biography, mystery, science fiction, spirituality, self-help, adventure, and business, as well. She enjoys working with first-time authors or seasoned writers. She prides herself on her professionalism, patience, perseverance, and the desire to work with an author to produce the best possible version of their written material. Whether a lengthy novel or a simple business letter, each project is equally important to her. Leah is a member of the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors, the Professional Editors Network, and an active member of the Tucson Chapter of the Editorial Freelancers Association.