At the Odalon Animal Sanctuary, the chimpanzees are ready to go to sleep, when a gunshot is heard; within ten minutes, thirteen of the animals are dead then almost burned to a crisp by the wildfires that have been raging in California. One chimp escaped though. Deputy Detective Investigator Layla Remington has been assigned to the case with Rick Stills, Assistant District Attorney. The police think that one of the caretakers must have acted in good conscience and performed a mercy killing by shooting the poor beasts before they were consumed alive by the fire; but Layla thinks otherwise. The incident is not making the headlines because a movie star was murdered around the same time, so Layla can work in peace until the terrifying murder of a caretaker.

13 HOLLYWOOD APES is a thought-provoking police procedural of a complex and puzzling case. Mr. Reavill's book is very fast paced, extremely well written, and is chock full of interesting facts about our distant ancestors. The proceedings are depicted realistically, I enjoyed how all the characters interacted with each other, how much the dialogues ring true, and mostly that the apes are not anthropomorphised. I was a bit perplexed at the detailed account of the movie star murder around halfway through the book. However interesting, I presumed it must tie in at some point with the apes' story; it caused a bit of a lull and somewhat slowed down the story, but then the pace picked up again, and afterwards it was full-speed ahead until the last page. It turns out that this seemingly unrelated passage is extremely important; so don't read it quickly! Then one clue at a time, and as the bodies pile up and more facts are revealed, the case becomes more intricate and mystifying, leading to an explosive and satisfying conclusion. 13 HOLLYWOOD APES is a very well constructed thriller, and I'm looking forward to more of Layla's adventures!