Zoo Crew Books in Order
Part ofDustin Stevens Books in OrderBrowse the Zoo Crew books in order by Dustin Stevens, with short summaries, series background, and where to start with Drake Bell and his Montana crew.
Last updated: June 7, 2026
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Publication Order
7 books
The Zoo Crew
by Dustin Stevens
2012
Back in Montana after a legal internship, Drake Bell is drawn into a frightening surrogacy case that may expose powerful people in Missoula. He has only his friends to rely on.
Dead Peasants
by Dustin Stevens
2013
A grieving widow learns her late husband carried a secret insurance policy she knew nothing about. Drake Bell and the Zoo Crew uncover more deaths and a disturbing financial pattern.
Tracer
by Dustin Stevens
2013
With a wounded veteran about to be blamed for a shooting, Drake Bell is asked to help before it is too late. The truth turns out to be much closer to home.
The Glue Guy
by Dustin Stevens
2015
As Drake Bell nears the bar exam, a strange arson case lands in front of the Zoo Crew. The deeper they dig, the more the fire points to older, uglier disputes.
Moonblink
by Dustin Stevens
2016
Now practicing law, Drake Bell takes on the defense of a young woman tied to a serious cycling accident. What looks straightforward quickly turns more tangled.
The Shuffle
by Dustin Stevens
2020
A birthday weekend should be easy fun for Drake Bell and the Zoo Crew. Instead, the celebration becomes the opening move in another messy local case.
Swatted
by Dustin Stevens
2024
A terrifying tactical raid out of nowhere kicks off the latest Zoo Crew novel. Drake and his friends are left trying to figure out who set it in motion, and why.
Series background & context
The Zoo Crew books mix legal suspense, small-town mystery, and the easy shorthand of close friendship. The central figure is Drake Bell, first a law student and then a young attorney in Montana, surrounded by a loyal group of friends who keep ending up in the middle of things they probably should have walked away from.
Of course, they never do.
The series opens with The Zoo Crew, where Drake returns to Missoula and gets pulled into a crisis involving a frightened pregnant young woman and powerful local interests. That opening tells you a lot about the books. These are stories where the stakes can be serious and the wrongdoing ugly, but the engine is always the same, Drake and the people around him refusing to look away.
As the series continues through Dead Peasants, Tracer, The Glue Guy, and Moonblink, the focus widens from personal emergencies to insurance fraud, shootings, arson, courtroom pressure, and the growing complexity of adult life. Drake changes over the course of the books, moving from student to practicing lawyer, and that shift gives the series a nice sense of progression.
Missoula matters here in the same way Columbus matters in Reed and Billie. The town and surrounding region feel lived in. Community politics, local reputations, and the limits of what one small group can actually do are always part of the tension.
These books also have a warmer group dynamic than many of Stevens's thrillers. Even when the subject matter gets dark, the friendships keep the tone grounded. If you like legal-adjacent mysteries, Montana settings, and ensembles where loyalty is half the story, the Zoo Crew novels are a strong place to settle in for a while.
Edited by
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