The Meerkat Murders by R.J. Corgan
4.5 of 5 stars
Book Details:
After an old friend calls in a favor, geologist Kea Wright joins a team of biologists studying meerkats in the Kalahari. Seduced by the expedition’s luxurious accommodations, state-of-the-art equipment, and daily baskets of fresh muffins, Kea begins to wonder if she picked the wrong field of research.
Until people start dying…
The Meerkat Murders is the second book in the Kea Wright series.
Book Review:
Meerkat Murders is actually the second book in the Kea Wright series. I haven’t read the first one, but I had no trouble keeping up with the story as a whole. There were references to the previous installment scattered throughout the book, but it just intrigued me and made me want to read the first one. So if you’re hesitant to pick this up because you think it will detract from the story, no worries.
The story begins with Kea going out to the Kalahari on an expedition. That isn’t her area of study, but her best friend Tamaya invited her on the trip, so Kea goes along. After the events of the first book, Kea seems kind of unmoored, so this is sort of a welcome break for her. Tamaya, her husband Addi and the rest of the student team are there to study meerkats.
It’s an amazingly over-funded study expedition, because meerkats are cute! They sell merch too, and livestream their efforts on social media. A pretty cool look at the drastically different levels of funding based on the interest levels of the general populace in the research topics.
As the title says, meerkats definitely are murderous little creatures. They’re very cute, but also vicious. Apart from that, there is murderous intent amongst the humans as well. The story follows Kea as she tries to follow the clues and solve the crime, while trying to be supportive of her friend Tamaya.
It’s not a very complicated story, nor does it require you to think very much. It is very descriptive, explains concepts well, and takes you along. I enjoyed that very much, because you don’t always want to sit and analyze every book you read. This was an enjoyable book on it’s own, and for that I appreciate it.
I, for one, had no idea about PhD programs and field research, so this book taught me a lot about that too. I definitely recommend reading this book – a good, engaging story that doesn’t make you work very hard. It hit all the right notes for me, specially because I’d been in a reading slump before I picked up this book. My slump is now over, thanks to Kea Wright and her adventures.
