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.

395 pages, ebook

First published February 1, 2013

About the author

I originally hail from the midwest, growing up in the heart of farm country, and still consider it, along with West Tennessee, my co-home. Between the two, I have a firm belief that football is the greatest of all past-times, sweet tea is really the only acceptable beverage for any occasion, there is not an event on earth that either gym shorts or boots can't be worn to, and that Dairy Queen is the best restaurant on the planet. Further, southern accents are a highly likeable feature on most everybody, English bulldogs sit atop the critter hierarchy, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with a Saturday night spent catfishing at the lake.

Since leaving the midwest I've been to college in New England, grad school in the Rockies, and lived in over a dozen different cities ranging from DC to Honolulu along the way. Each and every one of these experiences has shaped who I am at this point, a fact I hope is expressed in my writing. I have developed enormous affinity for locales and people of every size and shape, and even if I never figure out a way to properly convey them on paper, I am very much grateful for their presence in my life.

To sum it up, I asked a very good friend recently how they would describe me for something like this. Their response: "Plagued by realism and trained by experiences/education to be a pessimist, you somehow remain above all else an active dreamer." While I can't say those are the exact words I would choose, I can't say they're wrong. I travel, live in different places, try new foods, meet all kinds of different people, and above all else stay curious to a fault.

Here's hoping it continues to provide us all with some pretty good stories...

Reviews

[Marni · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed all of the books I’ve read by him so far, but the lack of proofreading is really annoying. I don’t know if he doesn’t have an editor or if he turns off the spelling & grammar check in word. He says he reads & takes to heart all reviews, but I guess he keeps skipping all the reviews complaining about proofreading.

[Elaine Stover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dead Peassnts review

like your books and the people in them....but I become frustrated by the numerous grammatical errors and incorrect words. Please have more people review your writing before it actually gets published!

[Lauren Hewitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

ead Peasants is a sneaky and unethical way for companies to get a “bonus” the wealthy companies take out life insurance policies in their employees names (without their knowledge and the next of kin being the big company) and pay instalments each month even after they are no longer employed there. The insurance companies don't care as long as the payments are made. That way when the employee/ex employee dies the company gets the cash. And the next of kin is none the wiser unless they mistakenly get a call saying there is a large sum of cash due to them.

I loved this suspense/drama/thriller. I enjoyed how the background stories fitted together and played out. From Alice mistakenly getting a call saying her late husband had taken out a policy and that $250 000 was due to her, and then a follow up call saying there had been a mistake and there was no policy. To the assassin and their story, and also Thomas Jenks and the Bargain Mart fiasco. The subtle and impending romance angle between Drake and Ava was also intriguing.

I haven't read a great suspense like this in along time and I'm very glad I read this. I look forward to more books by this author.





The Kindle Book Review received a free copy of this book for an independent, fair, and honest review. We are not associated with the author or Amazon.
Lauren -The Kindle Book Review.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Zoo Crew is back with another good mystery.
They are a tight knit group who always has each others backs no matter the trouble, I really love the way they are together and I also love Drake and Ava as law partners they work well together.

This one was a good story not as good as book 1 but still a decent read.

[Masina Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insurance Scams

As graduation from law school nears, the Zoo Crew gets involved investigating an insurance scam involving high dollar payments. Fast moving and full of suspense. I highly recommend this author.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great followup novel.

The more often I meet with the Zoo Crew members, the more I enjoy our time together. Ava seems to fit well and I hope she'll become a permanent member. Another fantastic plot! Highly recommended.

[Nanette Edmonds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Escaped that one!!

The Zoo Crew is at it again...encountering bad guys and coming to the aid of the poor people. Working as legal aid in Missoula can be dangerous to one's health. Drake is disillusioned with the whole law business, but not ready to give up yet. Good read!

[Marilyn Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of: "Dead Peasants"

A good fairly fast read with a satisfying finish. I will recommend it every chance I happen upon. I like the location, also.

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book; however, I don't think it was quite as good as the first in the series. I'm not a fan of a book seemingly stopping with no ending as this one did. Still, I rate it 4.5 stars.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Columbia style

The story was like a Columbo movie you knew what and why too soon and took Away the mystery, getting to know the Crew but will not recommend

[Wancket Enterprises · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

These books are exciting and packed with adventure. I love the teamwork of the crew. On to book number three!

[susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

kept me reading!!

The c characters were so real!
The plot was so unique!!
What more can I say?
A compelling and actual mys5t

[Fern · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author needs to stop making Ava the Penelope Perilous of the crew. Interesting insurance scam premise.

[Julia Avitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

Nonstop twists and turns. As the plot unveils you are completely drawn in. Easily a stay up late kind of book.

[Lynne Price, RN, MS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining

Enjoyed this as I did the first zoo crew. Action was well paced, not overly violent, and the Zoo Crew are good people.

[James Hegenauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed

It’s amazing the kind of trouble these characters can get in in small town Montana. Thanks for the good read.

[Erth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Started off a bit confusing because of some jumping around but ended goog. Audio narration was a plus.

[John Bowes · Rating 4 out of 5]

absolutely different

This is a good story. Not normally plotted, surprising well done. A scam that the reader has not heard of, before.

[Mystee Pulcine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure at first what everyone was so upset about. The act of taking out an insurance policy, paying it, and then collecting the payout seems reasonable to me, and the book even claims that it is legal. But then, of course, things get worse, and there is more to the story. I liked the development of characters in this book and how it picked up right where the last one left off.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Zoo Crew series by Dustin Stevens. I was contacted by the author and asked if I would like to read the book in return for an honest review. The author said this could be read as a stand alone novel although some of the characters had appeared in another book. I found this to be a fairly true statement. While reading, there were a couple of references made to things that happened prior, but I didn't feel like it overly detracted from this story. It made me mildly interested in what happened before, and I can see myself going back and reading the first one.

The book's Prologue explains the history of Bargain Mart. Who started it, how it came to be, and why it was successful in spite of itself. Basically the background of the "bad guy". The first chapter starts us off with the couple who end up bringing the practice of the book's title to light. We don't meet the main protagonist until chapter 2.

Drake Bell is a third year law student, finishing up the last of his required classes and working for a local Legal Aide office. It is partly through his thoughts and actions that resolution takes place. I say partly because this wasn't a single POV story. We jump from character POV to character POV, dependent on who is moving the story forward. It created an interesting read and really gave a wonderful over view of what was happening in the story.

The writing style very much reminded me of early Stuart Woods. If it weren't for the author's over use of the word "smirk" (27 times), I would have been hard pressed to realize that this was a self published novel. Drake and his group of friends and acquaintances all felt real and very down to earth. They felt like they could be someone you know. I think the author did a great job of keeping me interested and evoking the right emotional response where appropriate. The imagery was excellent and I was on the edge of my seat during part of the book. I would read more from this author. My rating on Goodreads is 3 stars and can't wait to see where the he goes from here.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! In the beginning, there are three storylines going on and two of them come together early on and then they do all eventually merge together. In the Prologue, we learn about Bargain Mart and its background and then in a later chapter, we meet Thomas Jenks, the manager of the local Bargain Mart. Next, we meet Alica Galt and her husband Craig, who is on the verge of death. We're then introduced to The Zoo Crew: Drake, Kade, Ajax and Sage.

When Craig dies, Alice gets a phone call from an insurance company she's never heard of asking where they need to send the $250,000 policy on her husband and she knows nothing about this. She meets Drake, a law student and part of The Zoo Crew, and asks him to help her figure out what is going on. When he and his partner, Ava, find out who the money was actually sent to, they know they're onto something big and won't stop until they figure out what is going on.

This book held my attention from the beginning and didn't let up. I enjoy mystery and suspense and was on the edge of my seat multiple times. I needed to keep reading to find out what was going on and if The Zoo Crew was able to figure it out in time. There are some intense situations and some of them turn out well and others don't. There's some content in this book: talk of sex (no details), violence, swearing and "guy talk" but I didn't feel like it was too much or constant. I enjoyed the storyline and wasn't familiar with the term Dead Peasants and what it means (it's pretty despicable, actually) and liked the fast pace. The characters bond quite well and I enjoyed getting to know them and seeing how their relationships develop. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

You can learn more about the author in my interview with him on my blog: Mel's Shelves

[Kim Reads (Read Your Writes Book Reviews) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Julie
for Read Your Writes Book Reviews

I was very intrigued in the beginning of this book to learn how all the small character parts tied together. You've got a man who died of emphysema who leaves a grieving widow behind while another group of friends called the Zoo Crew get together frequently to hike or ski or whatever. What ties them together is that Drake, one of the Zoo Crew, is becoming a lawyer and does pro bono work for his clinic and helps the widow learn of a Dead Peasant life insurance policy that Bargain Mart, the first company her husband every worked for, took out on him and continued paying long after his employment ended.

The head of Bargain Mart, based in London, takes over this small chain & turns it into a national chain making millions of dollars. Unfortunately, they get most of their money when their employees pass away & collect their life insurance money. If they need funds to help a particular store stay open, they hire assassins to murder current or past employees to collect the money sooner.

I honestly thought there would be much more action involving the murders and how Drake solves the great mystery and shuts down Bargain Mart. I was quite disappointed when the assassins turn against Bargain Mart and murder the head man in London instead. Not even any details on the murder either.

This book turned out to be boring when it could have been so much more exciting because the story in and of itself was very good.

Source: Author

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A group of friends have labeled themselves as the Zoo Crew in a small town in Montana. From the first moment you are introduced you are immediately embroiled in a legal action thriller.

I was drawn in trying to figure out the connection with Bargain Mart, a big corporation that continues to hack prices but is there more to this chain then just a store? You meet a woman whose husband is dying and is holding a policy she never knew existed. Drake Bell is the lead in this story, although you are introduced to several other intriguing characters in the story.

Although I had not read the first book, I found this story to be quickly paced and a fast read. Action packed and well worth picking up.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second read by Dustin Stevens and again it was a great read. Imaginative writing, great plot absolutely engrossing. Alice loves her husband so much unfortunately he has a terminal illness and does not have long to live. When he does pass away she gets a phone call from an insurance company saying he had an insurance policy worth a quarter of a million dollars, she has never heard or known of this policy and questions it. Next day day she gets another call saying it was a mistake. What is going on here. She decides to bring someone in to investigate how this could have happened, enter Drake and his zoo team..Wonderful story and I keep asking myself does this really happen??

[Dixie Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific series . . . terrific book!

I'm really enjoying the Zoo Crew stories! The first story was unique and fresh -- this followed that same pattern. Unique and fresh are what I enjoy most, however, adding in terrific writing and great characters puts it over the top! I've never heard the term, "Dead Peasants" and I certainly hope it is not being practiced now!

[Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead Peasants - Thriller: Zoo Crew book 2

This novel opened my eyes to something I'd never heard of. Everyone's aware of key personnel insurance policies, i.e. business partners, irreplaceable employees with special skill sets, etc; but to insure low level employees with benefits payable to the employer years down the road (dead peasants) just seems totally wrong to me. Yet, this is exactly what the Zoo Crew deals with in this book. The five w's; what, when, where, who, and why are what Stevens lays out for you the reader to unravel. Great reading and writing.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

* I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the book started off slow but picked up nicely before halfway. Drake was a very interesting, personable protagonist and I like his friends, even though I wished they were a little more fully developed. The premise kept me entertained and I liked finding out about the term Dead Peasants- it was an interesting plot device. A fun, suspenseful read.

[Mary Hollaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Zoo Crew is special!

A motley crew of four distinctly different young people make up the crew. Their different expertise at solving crimes is at times laughabke. But solve them they do.

Some explanations of murders, but otherwise great reading for preteens and older. Will definitely be enjoyed by all who read. Mr. Stevens' series get a little better with each one I read. Exceptional!

[Lynn Student · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great legal thriller.

I love the Zoo Crew. Dustin Stevens has done it again. Another action packed thrilling book. I really enjoy reading these books. I would love to be in this group of intelligent law school students. They are far from what the stereotype of what a lawyer is. Read this and see for yourself.