This started off strong, but by the halfway mark things started to roll downhill. There were lots of interesting little nuggets along the way, but generally the author centered herself within the content too much. The theme fell apart in the second half of the book and Roach took on a judgmental stance that was off-putting as a reader. I think the writing was ok. It was a bit too descriptive for me but I can see how her writing creates an approachable feel for non-fiction. There were some sections that ranged from fairly biased to down right ignorant that the author never acknowledged (especially as a middle-aged western white woman in foreign places and cultures) that made me question Roach's credibility on a whole. I might give this author another chance, I've heard better things about her earlier publications, but I can't say I would recommend this one.

I picked this up expecting laugh-out-loud-funny: thieving primates and avian vandals. There's a little of that, but Roach also covers the heavier side of human-animal conflict. Roach never makes-light of or trivializes the scenarios she spotlights, recognizing that the non-human animals are rarely at fault, while also handling human upset with deft sensitivity.

Very interesting and fun to read! Ends up being more about "the ways to deal with wild animals" than about people suing crickets for the destruction caused to their crops. Coexistence is not only the best way to deal with these animal hazards but, apparently, the only one that shows good results.
The book draws itself out a bit lo ger than I'd like, but it might be cause I read the e-book version.