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A review by vorpalblad
The Naturalist by Andrew Mayne
4.0
Great New Voice in the Suspense Genre
If you like Special Agent AXL Prendergast, you may have a new series to get sucked into. Dr. Theo Cray, with his completely theoretical background couldn't be more different than Prendergast, but Mayne's writing is that same high-paced, page-turning burn. We get to see Theo change from an academic punching bag to someone who can see themselves continuing down this road as a hunter without a bunch of expository input. Instead we see it in how Theo thinks less and less about his teaching position, as he starts to consider new ways to organize data, and as he enthusiastically starts down a road that will lead him to a serial killer. I loved that Theo would geek out occasionally, going off on tangents. Two things that dropped a star for me: awkward writing on the romance and the fact that Jillian, the local who begins to help him and is ex-military writes off her gut instincts about being followed, while Theo, whose experience to this point has been mainly theoretical, has an internal dialogue about her dismissing her instincts. It was like Mayne wanted to write this strong female counterpart but just as Theo forgets her backstory, it sometimes feels like the author does as well. Don't let that hold you back. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of her in future novels and her voice will become more clear if Mayne continues to build her as well as he has Theo.
If you like Special Agent AXL Prendergast, you may have a new series to get sucked into. Dr. Theo Cray, with his completely theoretical background couldn't be more different than Prendergast, but Mayne's writing is that same high-paced, page-turning burn. We get to see Theo change from an academic punching bag to someone who can see themselves continuing down this road as a hunter without a bunch of expository input. Instead we see it in how Theo thinks less and less about his teaching position, as he starts to consider new ways to organize data, and as he enthusiastically starts down a road that will lead him to a serial killer. I loved that Theo would geek out occasionally, going off on tangents. Two things that dropped a star for me: awkward writing on the romance and the fact that Jillian, the local who begins to help him and is ex-military writes off her gut instincts about being followed, while Theo, whose experience to this point has been mainly theoretical, has an internal dialogue about her dismissing her instincts. It was like Mayne wanted to write this strong female counterpart but just as Theo forgets her backstory, it sometimes feels like the author does as well. Don't let that hold you back. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of her in future novels and her voice will become more clear if Mayne continues to build her as well as he has Theo.