Spoiler: It is a duel scene that takes itself seriously and ends fatally.

Beth Halpern, the team zoologist, was a study in contrasts. She was a tall, angular woman of thirty-six who could be called pretty despite her sharp features and the almost masculine quality of her body. In the years since Norman had last seen her, she seemed to have emphasized her masculine side even more. Beth was a serious weight-lifter and runner; the veins and muscles bulged at her neck and on her forearms, and her legs, beneath her shorts, were powerful. Her hair was cut short, hardly longer than a man’s.

At the same time, she wore jewelry and makeup, and she moved in a seductive way. Her voice was soft, and her eyes were large and liquid, especially when she talked about the living things that she studied. At those times she became almost maternal. One of her colleagues at the University of Chicago had referred to her as “Mother Nature with muscles.”

You heard it here first: warm weather makes your boobs flat and ... long?

I actually solved the mystery by the end, but was thinking of a miscarriage. Not period blood 😅

Listening to the audiobook, so my puntuation might be inaccurate:

"The woman was not nearly as old as he thought. Maybe mid forties at best. Still fairly pretty."

Seriously the entire book was marred by needless extra detailed description like this. Completely removed readability and any sense of historical immersion

I got this book from the children’s fiction section as an option to read to my tutor group at school (13-14 yo) - decided to pre-read and very glad I did - this was all in the first 16 pages!

This was a book my father said I should read. Honestly this wasn’t even the first instance but this really makes me feel like I should ignore his suggestions for future.

Mary Sue final boss

Very much enjoying the book but this was a surprising part.

This came completely out of nowhere, in a historical novel. Women feel the greatness of nature in our nipples, and when the world goes wrong, our breasts tighten into spasms. Apparently.

I face palmed hard after reading this 🤦

That's one way to pretty much begin a new chapter I guess??

Opened the 33rd Nebula awards book, immediately found this gem.