“When Harriet Bailey’s young cousins discover an unusual lizard wandering around Cobble Hill Farm, she is stunned to learn that the reptile is not only endangered, but originates from the Caribbean. So how did it end up in White Church Bay? Exotic-animal veterinarian Dr. Jason Peel and private Zoo owner Victoria Langford tells her that animal smuggling is a big problem in Britain and that their new lizard friend, Mango, may be the latest case. When more non-native creatures begin to pop up left and right, Harriet has to wonder if someone in White Church Bay is behind it all.
Meanwhile, Victoria’s long-lost brother, Nick, arrives at Moorland Zoo. Twenty years ago, Nick vanished in a boating accident and was presumed dead. Now he claims he wants to explain his absence and reconnect with his family, but the timing is certainly suspicious. Is there an ulterior motive behind Nick’s reappearance?”
Series: Book #10 in the “Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm” series. Review of Book #1 Here, Book #2 Here, Book #3 Here, Book #4 Here, Book #5 Here, Book #6 Here, Book #7 Here, Book #8 Here, and Book #9 Here!
Spiritual Content- Luke 8:17 at the beginning & later quoted in the book twice; A couple prayers; Church going & part of a sermon; “Thank God” is said once; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Harriet finds comfort by the “idea of eternity” as it “meant that people weren’t truly lost, that she’d see them again someday”; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, pastors, services, & sermons; A mention of a Bible study; A mention of a miracle;
*Note: Mentions of luck & being lucky.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: Some eye rolling; Unintentional eavesdropping; A man grabs Harriet’s arm in a “distinctly unfriendly way”; Harriet treats an injured zebra (which required a tranquilizer gun and dart, up to semi-detailed); All about & many mentions of smuggling animals, smugglers, the possible mistreatment of the animals, crimes/criminals, thieves, stealing, stolen items, & arrests; Many mentions of deaths and assumed deaths (drownings), a boating accident/shipwreck, the remains of a body being found, trauma, & grief (including shown on-page with someone sobbing over the death of a family member, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of an attack & injuries; Mentions of injured animals, mistreated animals, & Harriet’s veterinary clinic treatments (including vaccines, barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of a possible murder (or accidental murder); A few mentions of a possibly robbery; A couple mentions of possible violence; A mention of World War I; A mention of kids setting fires & causing mischief;
*Note: Mentions of protestors being against zoos and calling them cruel (some characters refute this as most of the animals at the zoo in this book no longer have the ability to take care of themselves in the wild and wouldn’t make it in the wild); Mentions of a possibly corrupt law enforcement officer; Mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of books in the bonus content at the end (Wuthering Heights and All Creatures Great and Small).
Sexual Content- A cheek kiss; It’s noted that Harriet and Will are dating on a “casual basis” adding that “It was too soon to think about the future. [Harriet] was having too much fun enjoying the present”; The romance content in this book is light with Harriet thinking Will is handsome, her pulse rate rising when talking to him, and he kisses her cheek once; Mentions of relationships, dates, dating, couples, & break-ups; A mention of Harriet knowing “too many people who had been swept away by romance, married too soon, and regretted it”; A mention of jealousy.
-Harriet Bailey, age 33/34
P.O.V. of Harriet
261 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
I’m not a snake person, so I’ll admit to slightly dreading this book. Just the cover alone gives me heebie-jeebies!
It did bother me that at the beginning of this book, Harriet and Will’s new relationship is described as “casual”. The prior book implied it being more slow or cautious, but to say a relationship is casual usually implies being unserious about it or flippant, neither which I got from the prior book.
The faith content was super light and if I could nit-pick one thing, it would be that there were more mentions of luck and being lucky than mentions of God. Some were said by side characters, but also quite a few were said by Harriet as well, which was disappointing.
I feel like Harriet was more of a therapist to a new character in this book compared to her usually vet job. The mystery wasn’t very exciting as it felt 105% obvious to who the culprit was which really hindered my enjoyment of the book. I would say it was okay compared to the rest of the series, but I’m giving it a three star rating personally because it was overall fine, I suppose.
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
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