Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Zoo
James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Read by Jay Snyder

Hachette Audio
September 3, 2012/ ISBN
Mystery/Thriller - Audiobook(Unabridged) Audio CD / Run Time: 8 hours, 6 minutes
Amazon

Reviewed by Jo Rogers

James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge combine their considerable talents to write Zoo, a can’t-put-it-down thriller that is also a little bit science fiction and a lot horror. It is the story of a change in our environment that causes animals to behave in insect-like ways. Mammals are all affected, except humans. A young scientist, Jackson Oz, has noted the change, and has predicted that humans would be attacked by animals in large numbers within the next few years. He has been ridiculed for five long years, but he believes his data will prove true.

Oz knows animals well enough to know that the chimpanzee he rescued from a perfume testing lab, Attila, will eventually be unmanageable and he won’t be able to keep him in his apartment any more. But he didn’t think it would be soon, because Attila was only five years old. This happened to older chimpanzees.

Then, two lions escaped from a zoo in Loa Angeles, killing the keeper that had cared for them for years. Dogs began to run in packs, attacking people everywhere in well-planned raids. Oz saw it in lions in Botswana, but there was something strange about the attacks. They were carried out by male lions in groups, and male lions are territorial creatures. The female lions are the ones who work together to hunt for the pride, because they are better hunters than the males. Something was very wrong.

Zoo moves fast, with one crisis after another. Then, the story moves ahead five years and continues its breakneck speed. The characters are human, if a little different due to their occupations. Narrator Jay Snyder does a great job of making the story realistic. It’s one of the most memorable plots I’ve ever read. Listen to Zoo and note that even the sex and profanity are pretty minimal. It’s a great story.

Reviewer's Note: Contains sex, violence, profanity
Reviewed 2013
© MyShelf.com