Life and Otter Miracles by Hazel Prior

I love everything Hazel writes. She creates worlds I want to live in with people I would be friends (and enemies) with. I was particularly drawn to Phoebe as we share a couple of secrets (no spoilers). I also loved the whodunnit plot. The Tiptree's raspberry jam on artisan sourdough toast of a comfort read. I have booked a ticket to the zoo to go and see the otters!

From the back

Nineteen-year-old Phoebe and her widower father Al have recently moved to Devon, to a small cottage with a river at the end of the garden.

Struggling with her own closely guarded issues, Phoebe doesn't go out much. Instead, she spends her time at home, watching detective dramas and playing detective herself - trying to deduce from Al's deliveries as a courier what kind of lives her neighbours lead.

But when they find an abandoned baby otter on the riverbank, it's just the push Phoebe needs to finally step into her new community. Taking the little one to the local otter sanctuary and witnessing the uncomplicated joy of its fellow creatures, she feels a burgeoning sense of happiness that she has not experienced in a very long time.

However, Phoebe soon starts to suspect that something is amiss at the sanctuary - and she will need to put all her sleuthing skills to good use if she wants to save the otters . . .

From the Number One bestselling author of Away with the Penguins comes this 'otterly' delightful, warm-hearted and uplifting story about the healing power of nature.