Today I have for you my review of Dead Peasants (Zoo Crew #2) by Dustin Stevens.
Bargain Mart, long a fixture in the Missoula economic structure has fallen on hard times. Things are dire, and if a financial windfall doesn’t arrive soon, their doors will close.Across town, a woman grieves her recently deceased husband. Sitting alone at her kitchen table trying to put her life back in order, a call arrives asking where his quarter million dollar life insurance policy should be sent. A quarter million dollar life insurance policy she never knew existed.
Answering the phone on the other end of her call for help is Drake Bell, third year law student at the University of Montana. Joined by his partner Ava, and his loyal friends the Zoo Crew, Drake must attempt to make sense of the case Alice presents him.
A case that only grows more complex as people continue to pass in Missoula, all with ties to Bargain Mart, all with large life insurance policies attached to them. Policies known in the corporate world as Dead Peasants…
MY REVIEW
First I wish to thank the author for providing me a copy of
his book in exchange for an honest review.
Now, how do I find a group as cool as The Zoo Crew? I must say I was pretty envious of their camaraderie
and the fun things they did together.
Like Sage, I would have worked the odd schedule to keep hanging with the
group.
This story reminded me a lot of John Grisham’s books. The low men on the totem poles and the big
wigs getting caught in a scam. Unlike
Grisham, this author gives you bits and pieces of the characters, instead of
huge chunks, before you start piecing the bits together like a puzzle. His characters, at least the good guys, are
likable and are well constructed. The
bad guys, well, you see their faults and the dislike for them is pretty
instantaneous. All the characters have
enough of a background given to satisfy the reader.
I did not read the first book, The Zoo Crew, but I feel that
it wasn’t a necessity to do so. This
worked well as a standalone from that one, but for those who will be reading
the 3rd novel when it comes out, the way this one ended, I don’t
think you’ll be able to read that one without reading at least this one
first. As much as I like The Zoo Crew, I
will be going back and reading the first one.
These are people you would want to hang out with and you hope your
children will find friendship like this when they are out on their own, in
college and beyond.
Back to the story itself, a legal thriller mixed with scams,
murder and the higher echelons thinking they can get away with anything; this
is not a story that hasn’t been done before.
Other than legal thrillers, there is a touch of the sinister horror
novel feel that mixes in. The redeeming
quality of the whole story, are the Zoo Crew characters, their time together
and their banter. Part of me wants to
dock a star from my review because of this, but than the other part says, this is
part of The Zoo Crew series and that’s what is given to the reader so leave
that star alone. So…the star stays.
If you enjoy a legal thriller without the good ole boy
mentality and a group of friends that see one another through thick and thin
without batting an eye, this book is for you.
If you are a serious John Grisham reader, this may be too relaxed for
you. If you don’t read legal thrillers
but are looking for a book to introduce you to them, this is it.
Book 1 - The Zoo Crew
The Zoo Crew. A random assortment of individuals that came together in western Montana out of circumstance, stayed together by choice. Among them are Ajax, a gaming genius far from his native Boston. Kade, a forest firefighter that spends half his year roaming the blazing countryside, the other half perusing the local nightlife. Sage, registered nurse and proverbial mother hen for the group.At the helm is Drake Bell, displaced Southerner and third year law student. Fresh off a summer spent interning in legal hell, he is only mildly certain he even wants to continue down the path he’s on. Until an old friend comes to find him that is.
Eight months pregnant and closing fast on her due date, the girl is scared. What was supposed to have been a simple surrogacy agreement has gone tragically wrong. Young girls like her are coming up missing or even worse. She’s on the run and has nobody else to turn to.
If everything the girl is saying is true, some of the largest players in the Missoula community are involved. Armed only with his own trepidations and the loyalty of those around him, Drake must find a way to save his friend and his own growing skepticism before it’s too late.
AUTHOR BIO (from Goodreads)
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