Discover the Most Dangerous Animal of All in James Patterson’s ‘Zoo 2’ [REVIEW]

Ferocious animals started preying on man in James Patterson’s Zoo, but in the sequel, these beasts have met their match. (Photo by Mathias Appel, Flickr)

All around the planet, animals are turning on mankind with uncharacteristic ferocity and unrelenting bravado. The world’s top scientists think they know why it is happening and are scrambling to discover a cure that will halt the outbreak of animal violence in its tracks. To date, mankind has been safe as long as they stay away from the animals. But new evidence shows that could all be changing in James Patterson’s Zoo 2, written with Max DiLallo. 

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In the first book, written with Michael Ledwidge, renowned human-animal conflict expert Jackson Oz and his wife, Chloe Tousignant, discovered that animals were turning on man due to pheromones. But when the situation got too serious in the States, they relocated to Greenland to raise their son Eli in relative safety. However, even life above the Arctic Circle isn’t as safe as one might imagine.

So when the family receives an invitation from the undersecretary for science and energy at the DOE, Dr. Evan Freitas, they head for home to continue their work on a cure. But rejoining civilization is more difficult than they imagined.

Determined to keep his wife and son safe, Oz leaves Chloe and Eli in Paris with her family as he sets out to track down a viable solution to this animal crisis, jumping from spot to spot around the globe. Little does he know, he just put his family in a precarious position and he may never see them alive again. And to make matters worse, Oz’s team just found their first feral humans!

Zoo 2 is a riveting, nail-biting addition to apocalyptic fiction. The story’s concept is fresh, original and all too plausible, which is what makes it so terrifying. Rather than diseased zombies, the world faces extinction by every creature on the planet, from mouse to polar bear, bird to dog, and everything in between. And now that man seems to be turning too, literally no one is safe!

Readers will undoubtedly find themselves rooting for Oz and his team as they fly around the globe in search of answers. Oz, in particular, is a sympathetic character. He represents the best in us as someone who loves both his fellow man and nature, which is what places him between a rock and a hard place, especially when government bureaucracy is involved.

But the best part of this novella is the action. Patterson and DiLallo do a stellar job writing the attack scenes, making us cringe, even as we watch the terror while wanting to cover our eyes. Thankfully, these scenes aren’t unnecessarily graphic, yet they propel the story with the same breathless pacing as iconic sci-fi stories like Planet of the Apes or Aliens. Readers will keep turning pages, glued to the story, blood pressure undoubtedly rising until they reach the inevitable denouement. If you love well-written, tightly plotted fiction, you won’t want to miss Patterson’s Zoo 2. 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

James Patterson
(Photo by Sue Patterson)

James Patterson is the bestselling author of the Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women’s Murder Club, Private, and NYPD Red series, as well as numerous stand-alone thrillers, non-fiction, children’s, middle-grade, and young-adult titles. He has sold more than 350 million books worldwide and currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most number one New York Times bestsellers.

He is the recipient of the National Book Foundation’s 2015 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, the Edgar Award, the International Thriller of the Year Award, and the Children’s Choice Book Award for Author of the Year.

His novels Along Came A Spider and Kiss the Girls were turned into major motion pictures starring Morgan Freeman. In 2012, Tyler Perry starred in Alex Cross, the film adaptation of the novel Cross. Movies have also been made of his young-adult titles, Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life and Maximum Ride in 2016.

Mr. Patterson lives in Palm Beach with his wife, Sue, and his son, Jack. Visit his home on the Web, like him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.

Max DiLallo is a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He lives in Los Angeles.

ZOO 2
By James Patterson and Max DiLallo
160 pgs. BookShots. $4.99