Some secrets should stay buried.
When renowned architect Arania Webb returns to Bristol Zoo - once her childhood sanctuary but now a derelict ruin - she discovers her late father's hidden underground lab, which harbours a dark obsession.
Inside, she uncovers his journals documenting twisted experiments to fuse arachnid DNA with humans, creating unnatural creatures that blur the line between species. As Arania descends into the shadowy depths and explores further, she realises the terrifying extent of her beloved father's attempts to play god.
With demolition charges set to raze the derelict zoo in minutes, Arania has little time to process the ethical transgression and madness that drove her father down an unholy path before the truth is buried forever.
But when the site manager stumbles upon her macabre discovery, Arania knows she must act swiftly to protect her family's legacy - and her own future.
Will she find a way to escape the ruins with her father's monstrous secrets? Or will the horrors hidden beneath the zoo ultimately consume them both?
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Ariana Webb stood alone before the padlocked gates of Bristol Zoo; her slender figure silhouetted against the wrought iron entrance of the Victorian ruin.
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(Curl Up Press, 20 December 2023, e-galley, 24 pages, ARC from the author)
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I'm a huge fan of the author and really enjoyed Beneath the Zoo. This story is action packed, full of twists and turns and plenty happens when Ariana and Ethan stumble across her father's secret lab beneath his public lab. Their lives will never be the same again. Ariana is reeling from the revelations of where her father's obsession and madness led. Ethan is horrified by the discovery. Choices are made that can never be taken back. I enjoyed this story a lot.