About this ebook
During World War II, five men joined the underground French Resistance. They became known as the Zoo Gang thanks to their code names: the Tiger, the Elephant, the Leopard, the Wolf, and the Fox, their leader Colonel Pierre Roquebrun. Each had his own special skill, and together, they made life in the south of France hell for the Nazis.
Thirty years later, southern France is known for its luxurious resorts where the ultra-wealthy and aristocracy play along the sun-soaked beaches of the Riviera. In the shadows, a new threat emerges. A series of criminal capers begin to disturb the peace—a giant jewel heist, the theft of a millionaire's collection of Renoir paintings, a cunning kidnapping, and a sinister drug syndicate. While the local chief police detective, Captain Claude Scoubide, is intelligent and fully capable of doing his job, the crimes are solved by the Zoo Gang. Back together again, they're fighting for the sake of good, but not always on the right side of the law . . .
Originally published in 1971, The Zoo Gang was adapted into a six-part television series starring Brian Keith, John Mills, and Lilli Palmer.
"Outstanding Gallico. . . . Sophistication, wit, memorable characters, a glorious and glamorous setting!" — Beaumont Journal
"Sheer entertainment . . . a gem!" — The Columbus Dispatch
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About the author
Paul Gallico (1897–1976) began his writing career at the New York Daily News, where he became one of the best-known sports journalists in America. Over the course of his fourteen years as a daily columnist and editor, he took a knockout punch from Jack Dempsey, caught Dizzy Dean's fastball, teed off against Bobby Jones, and founded the Golden Gloves boxing tournament. In 1937, at the height of his fame, Gallico quit his column to devote himself to writing fiction. He went on to publish more than forty books for adults and children, including The Snow Goose (1941) and The Poseidon Adventure (1969), the basis for the blockbuster movie of the same name. Lou Gehrig: Pride of the Yankees (1942), a biography of the baseball icon, inspired the Academy Award–nominated film starring Gary Cooper.
Born in New York City to an Italian father and an Austrian mother, Gallico left the United States in 1950 and lived the rest of his life abroad, with stops in England, Monaco, and Antibes, France, among numerous other locales.
