Girl Meets Ape - Synopsis

He's the King of the Swingers. But she's the Ice Queen.
When Dr Jennifer Niederhauser becomes head of the chimpanzee project at Prowdes Animal Sanctuary, the uptight young zoologist looks forward to making her mark in the conservation world. But the regime is ramshackle, the chimpanzees uncontrollable and her first meeting with head keeper Guy Gibson finds him naked and covered in baby oil.
She decides never to work with animals or the childish again. But, she may not have a job for much longer anyway – Prowdes is in big financial trouble.
Salvation comes in the form of a TV documentary. Prowdes needs the money and exposure. But does Jennifer need to be exposed to the show’s smooth presenter, chimpanzee expert Dr Timothy Lauder? The ultimate alpha male.

Inspiration for Girl Meets Ape

I decided to write about chimpanzees having visited an animal sanctuary in California where I was lucky enough to meet a two year old female chimp. I was astounded by how very human the chimpanzees were. I could hardly believe my eyes when the chimp started throwing a ball for one of the sanctuary’s dogs. When the chimp then started to tease the dog by pretending to throw the ball while all the time hanging onto it, my entire view of the animal world was changed. How can we treat animals so badly when they are clearly so much closer to us than we like to admit?

Reviews

''A fast-track, fun romance full of monkey business' - Daily Mail

''A deliciously comical novel that's peppered with characters who are so endearing you'll want to take them home and introduce them to your mum . . . Girl Meets Ape is charming, funny and compelling as your favourite soap . . . it's a rip-roaring good read' - Heat Magazine