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Carol Potenza: De-Extinct Zoo Mystery series
When I heard that George Church and Colossal Biosciences were “de-extincting” a woolly mammoth, I swore I would travel wherever this baby “mammoth” was located to see it—even at great expense. This whole idea of engineering extinct animals from the Ice Age was fascinating to me.
It was then that I decided to write the De-Extinct Zoo mysteries. I had zoned in on writing mysteries (Hearts of the Missing and the Nicky Matthews Mystery series, The Lies Mystery series), and I was also determined to add science—from genetic engineering to DNA and ancestry to physics and the possibility of time travel—as a driver of my book plots, so this series fit in perfectly.
I could study Ice Age paleontology and learn about ancient DNA and CRISPR and how the engineering and transgenic processes would be used to re-create an animal extinct for thousands of years, up to only a few centuries (Dodo bird) to a few decades ago (Tasmanian tiger).
There will be five books in this series, plus a villain-narrated final book (6). Each book will have a novella-length, self-contained murder mystery, a little bit of horror and futuristic sci-fi, but also be part of an overarching storyline that ends with the final book. Books should be read in order.
AND, each book will spotlight a de-extinct animal: (1) Unmasked - short-faced bear; (2) Signs - Gigantopithicus blacki, a HUGE ape; (3) Ambushed - Quinkanas, a crocodile the size of a bus; (4) Shattered - woolly rhinos; and (5) Hunted - woolly mammoths.
Just FYI, Unmasked is FREE first in series. Click below to download, and I hope you enjoy and come back for more.