The Keeper

by April Nunn Coker

Jolie Sowell is not looking for love. As a young single mother with a toddler daughter and a full-time job as a night zookeeper, she barely has time to comb her hair, much less forge a relationship. After a shotgun marriage ended in divorce and left her with a baby, she just isn’t interested in men. But when her friend Kaycie talks her into going on a blind date, she has to reconsider. Cade Bishop has looks, style, charm, charisma, and a steady job. Does she dare believe that she might find real love and a father for her little girl?Timber City Zoo, in the heart of East Texas, is a small but world-class haven for well-tended wildlife as well as a tourist destination and school field trip favorite. Jolie loves her job there. But when her supervisor Jay is injured in a storm and she finds a dead squirrel monkey out of its enclosure, she starts to wonder. Soon more animals die and then even some employees. Someone who knows the inner workings of the zoo is on a killing spree, someone with keys to every lock and gate. To her utter dismay, her parents and Cade urge Jolie to find another job and leave the only place she has ever wanted to work.Shattered from the latest death and feeling pressured by Cade and her parents, Jolie flees Timber City only to return when another coworker is badly injured. What animal or which keeper will be next? Can Jolie help stop the killing? Will her relationship with Cade survive?

Kindle Edition

Published February 28, 2019

About the author

April began writing stories to share with her friends at age 10, and then kept secret notebooks and diaries of quotes, poetry, essays, and observations. In high school she joined the newspaper staff and eventually became editor of the school paper. As a journalism major in college she soon realized she wasn't aggressive enough to be a reporter, so after a short stint as a pre-med student, she earned her degree in teaching English and science. During her 30-year teaching career, and while raising a family, her writing stayed in the background except for a few professional newsletter articles and a monthly faculty newsletter. As her children became more independent, she decided to begin writing again, and published a humor book in 2006 and her first novel in 2010. She created her blog soon after that. When April isn't working on her current novel, she enjoys spending time with her children and their families, junk journaling, glamping, thrift shopping, and caring for her Boston terrier Stella and pet hedgehog Cinnabon

Reviews

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three cheers to the author for having such a lively imagination!

Read full review in the 2019 Nov issue of InD'tale Magazine.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was good for the first book by this author. The storyline is quite different. It's about night shift zoo keepers at a small east Texas zoo. Jolie is a single mom trying to do the best she can. Thankfully, she has her parents to help with her daughter. All seems to be good at the zoo until the animals start being killed and Jolie meets a new man.

[Hilda Baard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this one a great read from the first page to the last. well worth the read.

[Deb]

I liked it