Neil Cross — Natural History

Simon & Schuster 2007 Paperback, 279pp. Strange Things Are Happening In Monkeyland, The Ailing Devonshire Sanctuary That Patrick And His Zoologist Wife, Jane, Took On In A Bid To Save Their Marriage. Their Oldest Female Primate, The Wise And Gentle Rue, Is Found Murdered In A Corner Of The Compound. And A Panther Preys Around The Park. It Evades Capture, Lurking In The Shadows And In The Back Of Patrick's Mind. Private, Threatening, Elusive. Now, With His Son, Charlie, Having Left Monkeyland In Disgrace, His Wife On A Dangerous Field Trip To War-torn Zaire And Daughter Jo Avidly Tracking The Progress Of The Great Comet Hale Bopp, Patrick Is Left Alone With The Black Cat And His Fears. Until One Night Something Happens That Is So Shocking, So Deplorable, That It Rips Apart Everything Patrick Had Ever Held To Be True. They Say That A Parent's Worst Nightmare Is To Suffer The Death Of A Child. But What If There's Something Worse?--book Jacket. Neil Cross. (ISBN: 9780743263757). Good.