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 Thats right he is a Beefeater they really do live there It is no easy job living and working in the tourist attraction in present day London
Among the eccentric characters who call the Towers maze of ancient buildings and spiral staircases home are the Towers Rack Ruin barmaid Ruby Dore who just found out shes 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
