In this genre-blending novella, a small wildlife rehabilitation center in Oregon is the setting for seven connected short stories. Written by an award-winning fiction author who is also a former wildlife rehabilitator, these stories reveal the ways human and animal needs conflict and intertwine. The narrator is passionate about the orphaned and injured wildlife under his care, but his own heart needs mending as well. Screech owls and fawns, a weasel and a friendly crow-all have lessons for the people they encounter. If you enjoyed H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald and On the Road with Del and Louise by Art Taylor, you will appreciate the authenticity and wry voice of The Owl on the Road to Medford.The title story received the Oregon Writers Colony 2014 first prize for short stories and was published in CALYX, A Journal of Art and Literature by Women, Summer/Fall 2016 , Vol. 29:2. Ann Littlewood again won first prize in the Oregon Writers Colony short story contest in 2016.

The Owl on the Road to Medford: Stories of birds, black-tails, and a broken heart

Literature & Fiction

Littlewood, Ann

Literary

Independently published

Iris Oakley, a young zookeeper at the Finley Memorial Zoo in Vancouver, Washington, hopes to reconcile with her newly sober husband, Rick. But when heas found deadaand dead drunkain the lion exhibit, a paralyzing mix of grief and anger at his betrayal keeps Iris from questioning the assumptions around his death. But Irisa friends motivate her to prove that her husband could not have died the way it appears. Soon, however, these same friends impede her progress as she follows ambiguous clues and sorts through unlikely motives. Meanwhile, Iris must also adjust to losing her beloved job as feline keeper and instead learn to be a bird keeper. The zooas veterinarian respects her skills, but the foreman would far rather she get a job elsewhereaand the senior bird keeper seems to agree. After Iris survives a series of near-fatal aaccidents, a she begins to understand what really happened to Rick. But Iris must survive to prove it....

Night Kill: A Zoo Mystery (Zoo Mysteries)

United States

Poisoned Pen Press

Iris Oakley, a young zookeeper at the Finley Memorial Zoo in Vancouver, Washington, hopes to reconcile with her newly sober husband, Rick. But when heas found deadaand dead drunkain the lion exhibit, a paralyzing mix of grief and anger keeps Iris from questioning the assumptions around his death. But Irisa friends motivate her to prove that her husband could not have died the way it appears. Soon, however, these same friends impede her progress as she follows ambiguous clues and sorts through unlikely motives. Meanwhile, Iris must also adjust to losing her beloved job as feline keeper and instead learn to be a bird keeper. The zooas veterinarian respects her skills, but the foreman would far rather she get a job elsewhereaand the senior bird-keeper seems to agree. After Iris survives a series of near-fatal aaccidents, a she begins to understand what really happened to Rick. But first Iris must survive to prove it.... Night Kill is Ann Littlewoodas exciting debut novel.

Night Kill: A Zoo Mystery (Zoo Mysteries, 1)

When a drug bust reveals exotic animals at a marijuana grow site, zookeeper Iris Oakley and a colleague ride to the rescue in the zoo's van. But instead of pets they find smuggled parrots and tortoises destined for sale to unscrupulous or unsuspecting collectors. Iris also discovers a woman who escaped the bust - dead. The murder and the drug ops are the cops' problem, but Iris is determined to break the criminal pipeline that snatches rare animals from the wild and leaves them neglected in old barns. The zoo's facilities are full, and Iris ends up with two macaws shrieking in her basement. Next, brothers from the busted family, both murder suspects, invade her home, demanding information they think their father passed on as he, too, died at the scene. Iris flees with her child, but soon realizes she must be on the offensive. People she counts on are not who they claim to be. Sorting through baffling clues and tripping over secrets old and new, Iris soon learns that everyone has an agenda. And at least one of them is deadly....

Endangered (Zoo Mysteries)

Praise for Endangered... "Compelling...." -Publishers Weekly When a drug bust reveals exotic animals at a marijuana grow site, zookeeper Iris Oakley and a colleague ride to the rescue. But instead of pets they find smuggled parrots and tortoises destined for sale to unscrupulous collectors... and a woman who escaped the bust-dead. The zoo's facilities are full, so Iris ends up with two macaws shrieking in her basement. Next, two men invade her home, demanding information related to the murder scene. Iris soon realizes that people she counts on are not who they claim to be. Sorting through clues and tripping over secrets, Iris soon learns everyone has an agenda, and at least one of them is deadly.... Former zookeeper Ann Littlewood lives in Oregon, across the river from Vancouver, Washington, the home of her fictional Finley Memorial Zoo. www.zoomysteries.com

Endangered (Zoo Mysteries, 3)

Genre Fiction

Iris Oakley, pregnant and still recovering from her husband’s murder, wants only to carry on as a keeper at Finley Memorial Zoo in Vancouver, Washington. But she is confronted by a terrifying situation: alone and with no elephant expertise, she must rescue her boss, Kevin Wallace, from being mauled by a zoo elephant. Though she gets him to safety, he dies of his injuries. No one understands why reliable old Damrey attacked the foreman, and Iris inadvertently misdirects the investigation. As zoo staff descend into anxiety and animosity, the welfare of the animals is threatened, as well as the lives of keepers. Rattled coworkers nominate Iris to find out what’s going on. She finds a surprising number of motives to kill the foreman, but Damrey, the elephant, doesn’t have one. Despite the distraction of trying to construct her new life as a single mother, Iris discovers that the elephant keepers are locked in a bitter feud, the new veterinarian is keeping secrets, and an old flame still hates Wallace. New-born clouded leopard cubs cheer up the troubled staff, but even that has its dark side. Adding to the chaos, animal rights activists are picketing the zoo. They want the elephants sent to a sanctuary, but is that a better option for them than the improved exhibit that is on the drawing board? Why isn’t that exhibit under construction as planned? A new foreman shows up with alarming ideas, the police keep dropping by, and animals are disappearing into thin air

Did Not Survive (Zoo Mysteries)

Iris Oakley, pregnant and still recovering from her husband’s murder, wants only to carry on as a keeper at Finley Memorial Zoo in Vancouver, Washington. But she is confronted by a terrifying situation: alone and with no elephant expertise, she must rescue her boss, Kevin Wallace, from being mauled by a zoo elephant. Though she gets him to safety, he dies of his injuries. No one understands why reliable old Damrey attacked the foreman, and Iris inadvertently misdirects the investigation. As zoo staff descend into anxiety and animosity, the welfare of the animals is threatened, as well as the lives of keepers. Rattled coworkers nominate Iris to find out what’s going on. She finds a surprising number of motives to kill the foreman, but Damrey, the elephant, doesn’t have one. Despite the distraction of trying to construct her new life as a single mother, Iris discovers that the elephant keepers are locked in a bitter feud, the new veterinarian is keeping secrets, and an old flame still hates Wallace. New-born clouded leopard cubs cheer up the troubled staff, but even that has its dark side. Adding to the chaos, animal rights activists are picketing the zoo. They want the elephants sent to a sanctuary, but is that a better option for them than the improved exhibit that is on the drawing board? Why isn’t that exhibit under construction as planned? A new foreman shows up with alarming ideas, the police keep dropping by, and animals are disappearing into thin air

Did Not Survive (Zoo Mysteries, 2)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

Iris Oakley, pregnant and still recovering from her husband’s murder, wants only to carry on as a keeper at Finley Memorial Zoo in Vancouver, Washington. But she is confronted by a terrifying situation: alone and with no elephant expertise, she must rescue her boss, Kevin Wallace, from being mauled by a zoo elephant. Though she gets him to safety, he dies of his injuries. No one understands why reliable old Damrey attacked the foreman, and Iris inadvertently misdirects the investigation. As zoo staff descend into anxiety and animosity, the welfare of the animals is threatened, as well as the lives of keepers. Rattled coworkers nominate Iris to find out what’s going on. She finds a surprising number of motives to kill the foreman, but Damrey, the elephant, doesn’t have one. Despite the distraction of trying to construct her new life as a single mother, Iris discovers that the elephant keepers are locked in a bitter feud, the new veterinarian is keeping secrets, and an old flame still hates Wallace. New-born clouded leopard cubs cheer up the troubled staff, but even that has its dark side. Adding to the chaos, animal rights activists are picketing the zoo. They want the elephants sent to a sanctuary, but is that a better option for them than the improved exhibit that is on the drawing board? Why isn’t that exhibit under construction as planned? A new foreman shows up with alarming ideas, the police keep dropping by, and animals are disappearing into thin air

Night Kill is a mystery set in fictional Finley Memorial Zoo in Vancouver, Washington, seen from an insider perspective on the challenging and dangerous world of zoo keeping. Iris Oakley, a young zookeeper, hopes to reconcile with her husband after he promises to quit drinking. But he’s soon found dead drunk and just plain dead in the lion exhibit. A paralyzing mix of grief and anger at his betrayal keep Iris from questioning the assumptions around his death. Her co-workers are soon convinced that she is unhinged by losing Rick, but friends inadvertently motivate Iris to prove that her husband could not have died the way it appears. These same friends impede her progress as she follows ambiguous clues and sorts through unlikely motives. Meantime, Iris must adjust to losing her beloved job as feline keeper and instead learn to be a bird keeper. The veterinarian respects her skills, but the foreman, her boss, would far rather she get a job elsewhere, and the senior bird keeper seems to agree. After Iris survives a series of near-fatal accidents,” the behavior of a lioness and the death of a penguin at last make clear what happened the night Rick died and who fed him to the lions. Then Iris has to survive to prove it.

When a drug bust reveals exotic animals at a marijuana grow site, zookeeper Iris Oakley and a colleague ride to the rescue in the zoo's van. But instead of pets they find smuggled parrots and tortoises destined for sale to unscrupulous or unsuspecting collectors. Iris also discovers a woman who escaped the bust - dead. The murder and the drug ops are the cops' problem, but Iris is determined to break the criminal pipeline that snatches rare animals from the wild and leaves them neglected in old barns. The zoo's facilities are full, and Iris ends up with two macaws shrieking in her basement. Next, brothers from the busted family, both murder suspects, invade her home, demanding information they think their father passed on as he, too, died at the scene. Iris flees with her child, but soon realizes she must be on the offensive. People she counts on are not who they claim to be. Sorting through baffling clues and tripping over secrets old and new, Iris soon learns that everyone has an agenda. And at least one of them is deadly....

Endangered: A Zoo Mystery (Zoo Mysteries, 3)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Littlewood, Ann. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Littlewood, Ann

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Littlewood, Ann. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Owl on the Road to Medford: Stories of birds, black-tails, and a broken heart

Night Kill: A Zoo Mystery (Zoo Mysteries)

Night Kill: A Zoo Mystery (Zoo Mysteries, 1)

Endangered (Zoo Mysteries)

Endangered (Zoo Mysteries, 3)

Did Not Survive (Zoo Mysteries)

Did Not Survive (Zoo Mysteries, 2)

Did Not Survive (Zoo Mysteries, 2)

Night Kill: A Zoo Mystery (Zoo Mysteries, 1)

Endangered: A Zoo Mystery (Zoo Mysteries, 3)