Don't Miss This Little Gem!

Balthazar Jones has lived in the Tower of London with his loving wife, Hebe, and his 120-year-old pet tortoise for the past eight years. That’s right, he is a Beefeater (they really do live there). It’s no easy job living and working in the tourist attraction in present-day London.

Among the eccentric characters who call the Tower’s maze of ancient buildings and spiral staircases home are the Tower’s Rack & Ruin barmaid, Ruby Dore, who just found out she’s pregnant; portly Valerie Jennings, who is falling for ticket inspector Arthur Catnip; the lifelong bachelor Reverend Septimus Drew, who secretly pens a series of principled erot­ica; and the philandering Ravenmaster, aiming to avenge the death of one of his insufferable ravens.

When Balthazar is tasked with setting up an elaborate menagerie within the Tower walls to house the many exotic animals gifted to the Queen, life at the Tower gets all the more interest­ing. Penguins escape, giraffes are stolen, and the Komodo dragon sends innocent people running for their lives. Balthazar is in charge and things are not exactly running smoothly. Then Hebe decides to leave him and his beloved tortoise “runs” away.

Filled with the humor and heart that calls to mind the delight­ful novels of Alexander McCall Smith, and the charm and beauty of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise is a magical, wholly origi­nal novel whose irresistible characters will stay with you long after you turn the stunning last page.

Jackie says:
"This novel is a quirky little British delight of a read. Written in the third person, it reminded me very much of the tone a narrator of a children's fairy tale takes while weaving the story. There are gently hilarious moments throughout the book, and a few laugh out loud ones as well (especially the very last sentence, though you have to have read the whole book for it to make sense, so no peeking!). But there is emotional depth as well--bone deep grieving, echoing loneliness, passionate love. It's a modern tale of living in an ancient place in the service of the Queen, and trying to make a zoo out of tower or two with a cast of unique characters--both animal and human. It's hard to describe, but easy to recommend--this is a fantastic read."