Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

“Don’t grow roots, girl. Roots get you stuck. And stuck gets you dead.”

I do so love being gobsmacked by a book. Body Zoo by J.D. Allen obligingly did just that. I went into this third Jim Bean book without having read the first two, so I was clueless as to what to expect. What I got was a gripping story that kept its pedal to the metal and gave me one hell of a ride. The pacing was right on the mark, no dragging or flying too fast. Add to an exquisitely twisty storyline the cast of dynamic characters who leap into your mind page by fascinating page, and the reader is solidly hooked. The main character of Jim Bean and his support crew are unerringly a work of perfection, but the author doesn’t stop there with her ability to character dazzle you. The bad guys, oh those bad guys, are a work of art, too.

Now, here is the outstanding bonus to reading Body Zoo. I mentioned that I hadn’t read the previous two Jim Bean books, 19 Souls and Skin Game (officially called the Sin City Investigations series). The bonus is that readers can read Body Zoo like a stand-alone and be completely in the loop of Jim Bean’s world. However, I should warn you, a good kind of warning, that reading Body Zoo is going to have you scrambling to buy from your favorite bookstore or borrow from your library the first two books. Although I want to kick myself for not having started reading the series when it started, it’s a great feeling to know there’s more before (and a new one later this year).

Jim Bean is a private investigator who prefers to keep his life simple. He does not achieve this goal, except financially. His friends and cohorts in investigations include his old friend, and by old I mean 70 years old, Ely, who likes his weed and knows his technology. His other male friend is Oscar, who is a bounty hunter and always a good person to have on your side. The third all-star player is Sandy, a college student who has pretty much whipped all three men into submission. Her intuitive skills are as sharp as her research skills, making her an invaluable asset to Jim. And, an outsider part of the gang is LVPD Detective Noah Miller, a reluctant resource for official information. This whole ensemble cast works like a well-oiled machine in helping to make Las Vegas a little less mired in its reputation for danger. Of course, anything can happen in Vegas, and the bizarre is natural to its habitat, so Jim Bean and his posse and readers can always expect the unexpected.

As I said, Jim thinks he wants to keep things simple, but his investigation for an insurance company concerning a burnt mobile home gets him sniffing out secrets on his first walk-through of the burned-out unit. A dead cat that had obviously been hiding in the bathroom, the lack of a personal touch in the trailer, and sparseness of wardrobe all set off an alarm in Jim’s mind about the young woman who lived in the trailer and now can’t be found. Emilee Beck has vanished, and Jim wants to know why and to where. The fire was no doubt started by someone, but Emilee Beck was not that someone. Jim’s work for the insurance company is straight forward, but he can’t let go of the ghostly disappearance.

Luckily, there is a connection of some importance to a local big business venture in the Las Vegas area, Ward’s Outdoor Adventures, an outdoor adventure empire on the road to Lake Mead. The young heir to this empire, A.J. Ward, is discovered by Jim’s detective friend Miller to be the boyfriend of Emilee. Acting on his curiosity and loosely tying it to the matter of the fire at Emilee’s trailer, Jim goes to Ward’s Outdoor Adventures compound to question A.J about Emilee’s whereabouts. Jim finds A.J. working in the taxidermy shop in the business compound, and while at the taxidermy shop, Jim observes and helps out a bit with a taxidermy project A.J. and the main taxidermy artist Travis are working on. Jim learns of Calvin Ward, who runs the whole show and who is in the medical supply business as well. Calvin’s involvement with that business includes supplying medical teaching facilities with human parts and torsos, a perfectly legal business, with the dead bodies coming from those unclaimed from funeral homes and other places where the dead have donated their bodies to science. It’s a creepy business, and Jim soon learns that Calvin is one creepy man.

Soon after Jim’s interview with A.J., the young man also goes missing, and Jim is called on by A.J.’s father Richard to find his wayward son. It is apparent, when Jim meets with the Ward brothers, that Calvin is clearly in charge, and Richard is the silent partner due to early dementia and physical limitations. The Ward family outdoor business owns a large amount of land in Utah that is used for guided hunting excursions as part of their business. The thinking is that A.J. might be hiding out there and the brothers are concerned it involves Emilee. So, Jim gets to indulge his search for the missing young woman in his pursuit of the young man.

Emilee has, with some unfriendly urging from others, left Las Vegas and the small community of Henderson and has temporarily landed in the small town of Sparks to make some quick cash and come up with a plan for moving on. She isn’t worried about the fire or being blamed for it. Emilee has much darker worries that compel her to keep looking over her shoulder. She trusts no one, but she has let her guard down by staying too long in Henderson and getting to know a few people, like A.J. He keeps texting her, telling her he can help her, but she’s only completely trusted one other person in her life, and that person is long dead. With Emilee’s past closing in on her, options are quickly disappearing. The story explodes into a cat and mouse game with more than one cat and mouse. There are deep, dark secrets that will drop like a ton of bricks into Jim Bean's search. The danger for all is at a fever pitch, and there is no turning back from a collision of wits, power, and depravity. You might think it’s over before it is. The intensity of the chase will keep readers on the edge of their seats, and there is no escaping the full-fledged impact of brutality.

I should note that when I started reading Body Zoo, I was only going to take a peek, as I had a reading schedule for reviews I was already trying to keep under control. Well, there is no peeking at this book. Once the reader starts it, the reader must follow it to the end. J.D. Allen is a master crafts-person of the art of writing, and thankfully she shares her knowledge by teaching classes about some of its most crucial elements. From suspenseful, perfectly paced plot to great characters to dialogue that is always on point and contains great wit, this author shines in every aspect of what makes a story unforgettable. Reading this book was an opportunity to see how an artist deftly combines elements to create a successful work and how there’s nothing better than a story well told.

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me through NetGalley. This book was just absolutely wonderful. It was just so easy to get lost in and I just couldn’t put it down. I just lost myself within this amazing story. I most definitely will read more by this author.

I seldom read books written by people I know, because I find it difficult to be objective. This is an exception. Here's some advice: don't begin this one at night. You'll want to read it all the way through and you may not get any sleep. Have plenty of snacks and drinks handy. A too-long break and the frequent plot twists can cause you to go back and re-read sections just to keep up. Don't think you can figure out the end - it'll change several times before you get there.
An altogether good read. I recommend it.

This was just the thriller I've been wanting to read!
Body Zoo held my attention and with this amazing writing style! I devoured this one!
Like its so sang good! You're gonna have to read it!

I had not read any of JD Allen's other books in this series. The Body Zoo was interesting, a bit creepy but interesting. The characters were pretty interesting and the story was good. The story had a good plot with some twists and kept me reading well through the night.

3rd book in the Sin City Investigations Series – Jim Bean PI – simple Insurance Claim investigation, he figures it out but something doesn’t feel right, his gut tells him there is more, and so it goes downhill from there. Once again great story, love the way the characters are evolving and Jim Bean is building, reluctantly a team.
Looking forward to book 4
Thank you to NetGalley and Severn River Publishing for an early read for my honest opinion.

Fans of Private Investigator Jim Bean won’t be disappointed in this third installment in the Sin City Investigations Series. When the PI gets what should be an easy insurance investigation case, he learns not all missing persons want to be found. A rundown trailer is torched and the woman who lived there is blamed, but in his search to find Emilee, Jim Bean is pulled into a complex, dark world where a family secretly operates a sinister enterprise. Jim Bean must save Emilee and himself in this twisty, shrewdly plotted story. J.D. Allen paints a vivid portrait with great characters and intricate settings. Highly recommended.

Part thriller, part PI novel, BODY ZOO is J.D. Allen firing on every cylinder. It's smart, twisting, frequently twisted, and never slows down on its foot is on the pedal. Allen's Jim Bean is a deeply appealing protagonist, all PI but never beholden to cliches—Philip Marlowe would never have worn tactical pants—while still fighting the good fight to a crackerjack ending.

In “Body Zoo,” Book 3 in the Sin City Investigations series, PI Jim Bean is working hard to build up his small private investigation business. His current assignment appears to be a slam-dunk, a simple investigation into an insurance claim for fire damages. The owner of the mobile home lost in the fire is happy because the insurance company has agreed to pay the claim. The police are happy because there were no victims lost in the fire. Jim Bean is not happy because he can’t understand why nobody is concerned about Emilee, the young female tenant who has gone missing. Who really is Emilee? Where is she? What caused her to run? Why does he even care when nobody else does? Because Jim Bean is not the kind of investigator that leaves unanswered questions alone. When Jim’s search for the missing Emilee crosses state lines into a virtually uninhabited part of Utah, he crosses into a macabre world that nobody should ever witness. A world where death is art. A world where his and Emilee’s lives are at stake.