Eye of the Ocelot

Praise for Eye of the Ocelot

“Detective Abigail Fiorelli expertly examines links between human culpability and the natural world, tugging on the chain of causality for weakness and also for strength. Volta Rose’s debut novel, EYE OF THE OCELOT, is an eye-opener indeed.” —Gregory Maguire, New York Times best-selling author of Wicked, Mirror Mirror, Leaping Beauty, and After Alice

“EYE OF THE OCELOT seamlessly blends mystery and romance in the first book of the Abigail Fiorelli series. Few mysteries can claim such attention to building a sense of environmental understanding and purpose. Fewer can maintain an effort to bring their characters into touch with not only their surroundings, but their broader life purposes and the effects of their actions. Libraries seeking exceptional reads based as much on environmental discovery and personal recovery from loss and trauma as on a ruthless international organization's purposes will find Eye of the Ocelot satisfyingly unique and original in its approach, character-building and blend of romance, social understanding and intrigue.” —D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“Rose’s debut mystery, the first in the Abigail Fiorelli series, is a pleasing read. The interplay between Abby and her cohort is often thoughtful, even tender, building reader engagement in the team and their lives. Rose’s prose adapts wonderfully to the setting. It is tense and terse in encounters and chase sequences, but also languid and evocative describing Abby’s birding treks. This promising series starter offers detection and character depth. —BookLife Reviews

“Volta Rose has a future in the mystery genre, this was such a well done novel. I loved getting to know the detective and see the romance elements go forward. I enjoyed trying to solve the mystery. The characters were perfect and I was glad to get to know them. I hope there is more in this series.” —Kathryn McLeer (NetGalley)

Under the waning light of a late-summer day, a visit to a quiet fishing spot leads to a macabre discovery: the slaughter of an endangered ocelot. From the moment she arrives on the scene, Detective Abigail Fiorelli begins to interweave a series of seemingly unrelated clues: a mysterious pendant with two crescent moons surrounding a dagger, distinctive tracks along the Cape Cod shoreline, and incriminating traces of DNA.

A serendipitous discovery in the personal ads hints at a connection with a cryptic and darkly ruthless international organization. When a car chase through a maze of back roads leaves the trail cold, the case pivots on the discovery of a delicate endangered flower Fiorelli identifies with the help of her lover and partner in crime-solving, Chris Armstrong.

Abby has spent a lifetime building her world around the hole in her heart created when her Mother, Fiona, died of cancer when she was only eleven years old. Her life is also colored by the absence of her father, Angelo Fiorelli—an ordained minister and trained police officer turned missioner in Rwanda. The stress and loneliness of life as a detective are eased by the support of Abby’s best friend and colleague Rhonda, whose thick mid-Cape Cod accent and off-color humor lighten up her life.

Can long nature walks along trails through the beloved dunes near her seaside cottage and passionate interludes with her lover Abby from a horrific late-night discovery on her doorstep, or the conflagration that plunges her into a netherworld where life itself hangs in the balance?

In the aftermath of a climactic encounter with a bizarre cult, devastating trauma to Detective Fiorelli's life culminates in a rich, layered, and transformational denouement. When news goes viral about the desecration Abby has prevented, she becomes a global champion for lovers of all things wild.

VOLTA ROSE—an accomplished author, storyteller, and performer—once dug a grave to bury someone’s remains in a cemetery in broad daylight. No one noticed. Eye of the Ocelot is inspired by a lifelong passion to breathe life into a compelling story, to seek justice for the disenfranchised, and to preserve and protect the natural world. Rose and family live at the terminus of a dead-end road in the foothills of the Green Mountains.

For Adults. November 15, 2022. 288 pages, 5.5 x 8.5.

Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-9727518-1-0
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9727518-4-1
eBook ISBN: 978-0-9727518-7-2