SOMETHING OF A CALLING by Zoje Stage – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Something of a Calling by Zoje Stage
Published by Blackstone Publishing on September 15 2026
Genres: Adult, Eco-thriller, Mystery
Pages: 252
Format: Finished hardcover
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Murder mystery meets eco thriller in Something of A Calling, an off-kilter story with big ideas but an ultimately unsatisfying conclusion.

Something of a Calling was an odd little story and not what I was expecting at all, but I enjoyed it overall, although I did have a few issues. This is a mix of murder mystery and police procedural, as well as a cautionary tale about taking care of and preserving wildlife and the consequences if we don’t.

Andy is a detective and she’s about to retire from Major Crimes. With only a couple of weeks left, she’s hoping things will be calm until she leaves. But one day she’s kayaking out on the river when she comes across a dead body with a rope around its neck and what looks like animal bites. Andy finds herself assigned to the case, and when more dead bodies start showing up, it begins to look like the work of a serial killer.

At the same time, reports are coming in across the country involving wild animal attacks: a woman attacked by a flock of peacocks, another person threatened by a herd of deer, and a multitude of other encounters with groups of frogs, rabbits and raccoons. Because of the bite marks on the bodies, Andy suspects the two things are connected.

Meanwhile, Andy has made friends with an older woman named Fiona who lives out of a beat up camper. Andy feels a strange connection to her, and the two begin to spend more and more time together. Fiona has very strong feelings about wildlife and the irreversible damage humans have done to the environment and the insects and animals who live there, and while Andy shares her opinions, she also begins to think Fiona might know more than she’s letting on.

My favorite part of the book was the first half, where we get to know Andy and follow her as she’s investigating the murders. I love police procedurals and this element was really well done. The author is also dropping hints about the bizarre behaviors of wild animals, and it was fun to try to figure out how everything was tied together. Fiona was also a mystery. I couldn’t figure out why Andy blithely decided to make friends with a transient, invite her into her home and even leave a house key with her when she went to work. It seemed like odd behavior, especially for a cop. Andy’s sad backstory might have something to do with it, though: she lost her young daughter years ago and is also divorced, so she’s probably lonely. All these various mysteries had me flying through the pages, and the overall feeling of uneasiness and a building dread added to the fast pace of the story.

But then we find out what’s going on, and here is where the story started to fall apart for me. I won’t spoil things for those who want to read the book, but let’s just say the explanations and reveals about the animal attacks and Fiona’s involvement made absolutely no sense. Stage’s idea is that wild animals are turning against humans and randomly killing them (supposedly for revenge), but they aren’t acting on their own. There’s a speculative element in the mix, and while I’m always ready to suspend my disbelief in speculative fiction, there still has to be something concrete to grab onto. Here the reasons for the animals’ behavior are more “woo woo” with no scientific reasoning to back them up. And because we’re literally dealing with science—real animals—the explanations were quite disappointing.

Stage’s love of animals shines through, and she even dedicates the book to the small woodland creatures who add joy to her life—and I totally get it. I do everything I can to make my own yard a safe, enticing space for visiting squirrels and birds! But there’s also a fair amount of “messaging” going on, including one upsetting section about how lobsters actually feel pain when they are boiled. But I think the message is a little muddy. I’m guessing the gist is that human progress and land development take over wild spaces, killing rabbits and squirrels in the process. But I’m not sure how the few “murders” in the story are are going to have much impact (although the author adds foreshadowing at the end to suggest how things will get worse), and I guess I just wanted the stakes to be higher and the resolution to have more impact.

In the end, Andy has to make a decision, and depending on how you’ve enjoyed the story up to that point, you’re either going to cheer her on or shake your head in disbelief. Something of a Calling isn’t my favorite of Zoje Stage’s books (I suggest reading Baby Teeth or Getaway if you can), but I’ll always check out anything she writes.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.