Ape House

I recently finished reading Ape House by Sara Gruen.  I picked it because Gruen wrote Water for Elephants, which I loved.  I enjoyed this book, but not as much as her first novel.  Ape House is about Isabel Duncan, a researcher who works with a group of bonobos.  When there is a bombing at the lab where she works and the bonobos live, she must work to figure out where they are and get them back.  She turns to a reporter named John Thigpen for help. 

The book is interesting, but it seemed like there should have been more to it.  The book seems like it's missing something.  I think part of that might be because there seems to be foreshadowing of certain events that never actually happen. 

Outside of that, the book is interesting.  Gruen seems to do a decent amount of research for her books and it shows in this one.  She clearly researched both sign language (which wasn't entirely necessary, though it did make it more interesting for me) and bonobos. 

The writing is wonderful and flows really well.  It was easy to get lost in the book and suddenly look up to realize I'd read nearly half the book.  While this book wasn't as wonderful as Water for Elephants, it was definitely worth the read and I look forward to more books by Gruen.