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.
“while I’m always ready to suspend my disbelief in speculative fiction, there still has to be something concrete to grab onto”
That’s an issue I can relate to, unless we’re talking about the supernatural of course. And heavy messages are never a good idea in a book – even when I support the matter at hand, I tend to get annoyed by too much telling/hammering on the head. Gah, this mustn’t have been an easy review to write (also due to your having to avoid spoilers), so kudos1
Yes, I agreed with everything she was trying to convey, but it took over the story and was just too much.
Hmm, sounds like maybe the book is partly intended as a vehicle for the message here and that rarely works out well, tbh…
I’ve been reading so many message heavy books lately, what is going on??
Hmmm. It does sound like a great premise, and even just reading what you’ve shared piques my interest enough to want to know more — but if the resolution doesn’t particularly work, I think I”d just be frustrated, so I’ll probably pass.
Yes, I was frustrated! Especially since I really love the author’s ideas.
Too bad that the conclusion was disappointing. It does sound like it has some good elements but not enough to save the book in the end.
It’s working for lots of readers, so maybe it just depends on how you react to the reasons for what’s happening.
Excellent review!
Thanks Anne!
Too bad. Ecothriller had gotten my attention
I do love eco thrillers, but this didn’t quite work for me.
I read Baby Teeth like three times in the years right after it came out, but for some odd reason, I’ve never read another one. Although I would get mad at the ending of this book, I have to say it reminded me of how back in the 90s we were constantly trying to save animals. I bought several “save the animals” t-shirts through that one company that would use part of the proceeds to protect whatever animal was on the shirt. Now, we’re so focused on climate change and how it’s affecting us (wildfires, heat, flooding) that I forget animals are affected too. That’s a bummer. I could use more eco horror that isn’t too…how do I describe it? Woo woo, like you said? Magical?
I did love the message and you’re right, our focus is on humans surviving right now, but obviously animals are very important!
Sorry this one wasn’t as good as her other books. I still need to read Baby Teeth.
Baby Teeth is a lot of fun!
Im sorry to hear that this one was such a mixed experience. The first section sounds great and the odd animal behaviour definitely left intrigued but the fact that the explanations are so unsatisfactory definitely has me nervous. And to be honest I think Andy letting a stranger in like that would grate on me as it seems like rather naive behaviour for someone in her line of work. I hope the authors next book is more consistent throughout.
I didn’t think Andy’s behavior was believable, although I know the author did it for good reasons.
At least it wasn’t a complete loss! The premises sound interesting but if the explanation for the happenings doesn’t make sense it’s just frustrating!!
The whole idea was fun at least:-)
It indeed doesn’t sound like her best Tammy even if it wasn’t bad exactly.
It definitely had potential, it just didn’t quite get there for me.
Even when I don’t love her books—and it sounds like I may not love this one—she certainly is never boring. I still may give this one a go!
She is one of the most original writers I’ve read!
The couple experiences I’ve had with this author have been so-so. Next time, I’ll wait to see if you think it’s winner before picking it up! So this one I believe I’ll skip.
That is a shame. This sounded like it had so much promise and a great start but the the ‘woo woo’ came into play and everything went to hell in a handcart. I’ll pass on this one.
Lynn 😀