Dr Jim Rivers, the Director of Sydney's Royal Prince Albert Zoo, is a man ahead of his time in 1976 with his vision of using the zoo to establish a breeding program for some of the world's endangered species. When the chance comes up to take some animals from a zoo in Burma, Rivers can't resist even though Burma's human rights track record is poor and the country has been gripped by political unrest for years. His decision is unpopular with many people and will prove to be one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

So Rivers and a small team of keepers and vets travel to Burma to pick up the animals from the appalling conditions in which they are kept. The trip doesn't go without incident inside an unstable country living under military rule. In return the Burmese send a group of representatives to Australia as a public relations exercise while the animals are settling in to their new home.

But the Royal Prince Albert Zoo has already experienced a disturbing incident recently when one of the keepers was found dead in the giraffe enclosure. Although it was officially ruled an accident we know better having met the stealthy figure of a hunter prowling the zoo with ideas that he is the ultimate killing machine. We know he has killed and is preparing himself to kill again.

Adding a hint of romance to the story (for what thriller would be complete without a damsel to put into distress?) is the presence of Nikiya Adams who has arrived from England to film the zoo as part of a proposed documentary series titled "Life on Earth" with David Attenborough. Nikiya has a past history with Jim Rivers having fallen in love with him 10 years earlier, so she arrives at the zoo filled with trepidation over the greeting she will receive. Unsurprisingly, the sexual tension between the two is palpable - and rather predictable.

A strong environmental message runs through the story, starting with a comparison between the aims Jim Rivers has for the Sydney Zoo and the appalling conditions in Burma. Questions are also raised over the roles that zoos play worldwide with the caution that regardless of how well intentioned people are, the animals that are captive are inevitably going to suffer some kind of trauma due to the artificial conditions in which they are kept.

The early stages of the story are meticulously plotted and staged to set the scene nicely with several areas of unrest threatening to come together to spoil Rivers' well intentioned plans. Careful back stories give us detailed insights into the main characters including explanations into their motivations and their deepest fears. Although at times I felt I was getting a little too much background and that it was dragging a little, I definitely came away with a feeling that I had a vested interest in the fate of Jim and Nikiya.

The inclusion of the proposed David Attenborough series "Life on Earth" and Nikiya's role as producer is a nice touch giving her animal activist character a realistic platform plus also makes her presence in Sydney relevant.

Although the Royal Prince Albert Zoo is fictional, it's location and layout is almost identical to that of Sydney's Taronga Park Zoo and is obviously the fictional version of that zoo. One slightly bewildering feature is the map layout displayed at the front of the book that shows the zoo located on Gymea Bay, a part of Sydney that is roughly 30 kilometres to the south of Sydney Harbour whereas it becomes quickly obviously when reading the story that the zoo sits smack bang on Sydney Harbour (on the site of the aforementioned Taronga Park Zoo). Of course, this makes no real difference to the story; it was just one of those confusing little anomalies that I thought I would point out.

City of Animals builds to a breathtaking finale within the maze-like confines of the zoo, realising the implied threat provided by the presence of the Burmese officials together with the unknown wildcard of the unnamed hunter. This is a thriller that contains an important environmental message while also providing edge of the seat action and suspense. It is a nice mix of fact and fiction.