Tropical birds in a smuggled suitcase. Expensive. Beautiful. Dead. But for field biologist Robyn Devara, this latest grim reminder of the illegal trade in endangered species includes an unexpected surprise--one of the birds is unknown to science.

Hot on the trail of the mysterious macaw, Robyn finds herself stationed at an isolated field camp in the Costa Rican jungle, where she must deal with a research team that includes a former wildlife trafficker, his angry nemesis, sundry wide-eyed graduate students, and a university professor who seems to think that grad students fall below paramecia on the academic tree of life. All this as well as shifty maintenance workers, a sexy project leader, and a shadowy group of armed poachers with itchy trigger fingers.

It's certainly an exciting change from routine paperwork. Exciting, that is, until communication with the outside world is cut off, deadly snakes start slithering into cabins, and members of the field team begin to die...

Karen Dudley wrote a short stack of wildlife biology books for kids before trying her hand at mystery--mostly for the satisfaction of ‘bumping off’ people who irritate her in real life. Then after four environmental mysteries, she had an epiphany . . . she wanted to write fantasy! So she did. Her historical fantasies take place in ancient Greece, and they still include the odd corpse (which is not surprising, given the number of annoying personalities in the world) as well as deities and the odd mythical monster. Her first Epicurian Epic, Food for the Gods, has been nominated for the prestigious Aurora awards, the Boney Blithe award for Humours Mystery, A High Plains Book Award nomination for best culinary book as well as the Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher. It's follow up, Kraken Bake will be released next spring.

Karen Dudley's profile page

• Short-listed, Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher

"Karen Dudley draws on her unique experiences as a biologist to whisk her readers to a scientific station in a Costa Rican rain forest, where poisonous snakes, neon spiders, vicious smugglers and a wily killer will keep them up all night. An intelligent and riveting read spiced with the politics of scientific expeditions, choice details for bird lovers and a a nice dollop of sex. Dudley gives us a sleuth we can root for: Robyn Devara--gutsy, smart, committed and passionate." --Mary Jane Maffini, author of the Camilla MacPhee mysteries

Mary Jane Maffini, author of the Camilla MacPhee mysteries