This was a slam dunk of a 5 star read! Very funny, also geeky on the science, clever, fast paced. I should have been able to read this in one go but it was all so exciting I had to keep putting it down! If you’re looking for a quirky original thriller, you don’t get much better than this. #Theo Cray for President

Andrew Mayne has proven his versatility within the crime thriller genre by putting out a number of highly intriguing series with unique spins. This in the third series that I started, hoping that it would pack as much punch as the previous two. Mayne does well by introducing Professor Theo Cray and developing a unique means by which of analysing the forensic area. When a former student appears to have been attacked by a bear, Cray arrives in rural Montana to offer his insights. While he believes...

Definitely the most addictive read of my year so far, borne out by the fact that I started this last night then finished it this morning - no messing. I literally only put it down to sleep.For a start how wonderful to find something a bit different - I can't say I've read a book before where the main protagonist is a Computational Biologist - the author makes this sound entirely fascinating and if you have a love of finding out small random facts like I am you'll love the little titbits you find...

"What is research but a blind date with knowledge." (William Henry)And Professor Theo Cray of the University of Texas at Austin knows research up close and personal. He's an MIT graduate specializing in computational biology. Analyzing data and constructing models brings Theo eye to eye with biological, behavioral, and social systems. Funny how such lofty studies might shine a light on a recent dead body.Andrew Mayne starts his story out with a bang. Theo Cray's motel room in a small town in Mon...

5,000 Amazon Reviews 86% 5 and 4 stars23,000 Goodreads ratings 4.08 stars avg.Very good, very interesting, and very different! You get to learn a little science as you watch a mystery and the process of trying to solve multiple murders by an awkward professor, Theo. The police suspect him, then ignore him, but they won’t believe him.After a very exciting opening scene, where it appears a woman is killed by a bear, the book slows down (not in a bad way) into an investigation. The book holds your

The Naturalist (The Naturalist #1) by Andrew Mayne is a book I really enjoyed. It fed my eager science side of my brain, the mystery, and the side that likes a good scare! Brilliantly written with so many little things that had to be thought through...wonderful. Going in my favorites for sure. Lots of suspense, action, mystery, and the science part of it was fun too. I love these kind of mysteries.

If Dan Brown wrote a CBS-style crime thriller, it'd probably look a lot like Andrew Mayne's The Naturalist. It's big dumb fun, quickly paced, and routinely threatened this reader's willing suspension of disbelief with a number of inanities, ridiculousness, and just flat-out stupid plot points. The Naturalist is a highly readable work of fluffy entertainment, one that is strangely compelling but also not very good.Professor Theo Cray is a bioinformatics researcher, and when one of his former stud...

4.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/10/23/...I spent a day last week stumbling around in a sleep-deprived stupor because I had been up late the night before, and it was all this book’s fault since I’d refused to put it down until I was finished. Totally worth it, though. Talk about a page-turner! The Naturalist was exactly what I wanted out of a mystery-thriller—fascinating, addictive, and dramatic in all the best ways. It also captivated the science geek in me by

I was pleased to choose this for my September Kindle First but in the end, I must admit to being quite happy I hadn't paid for it. It had stereotypical cliched cookie-cutter people with inane flat conversations and a story full of plot holes and dangling threads. IT WAS ALL TOO EASY! What makes this doubly disappointing is that it actually started out quite well, but it began going downhill at about halfway and by the end had degenerated into madness. If it had been a hard copy vs. a digital cop...

As a lifelong biology writer and amateur naturalist, the protagonist in this novel rings extremely hollow. The author claims to love science -- and I've no doubt he does -- but he should have spent more time in the research and editing phase making sure his protagonist sounded like an actual scientist and not just a weird Big Bang Theory-esque parody of one.The core conceit isn't a bad one, but it comes across as hackneyed in execution.

Stereotypical protagonist, stereotypical antagonist, plot holes galore, interesting, if questionable, science, and first person narrative in the present tense rather than past tense. An interesting read except for disappointing final chapter or two.Personal rant: I hate plot summaries that end with a question. Will he be able to do this before that happens? Makes me lose interest in the book. Stop. Just stop.

I loved this book, and though there were some flaws - they had soft edges to them. In short though:Pros:* Michael Crichton-esque. A lot of authority here - and you'll be smarter after reading it. I alternated between this and Yuval Noah Harari's Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, and didn't feel bad about jumping away from Harari's non-fiction.* A page turner - beyond a page turner* Great use of data and data-trends as a way of tracking the bad guys* Likeable character - he has flaws, but t...

4.579Oh wow! I really enjoyed this. I loved the science and the main character’s thoughts were easy to understand. He was smart. For a while I was like ok, you are pushing your luck!!! But he was intelligent and I just loved the science in this and how he used what he DID KNOW to find out what he DID NOT. Can’t wait to read the next.

About a year ago, I read the second book in this series and was absolutely thrilled. Since then, I have read two other books by this author from his other series. They were just as good. But finally it's time to read the first book in this series. The one where Theo's story begins. And let me say that I was not disappointed.This book has two great elements - an extraordinary main character and a very good storyline. Theo is a computational biologist. But not only his profession is fascinating. H...

What a wonderful surprise this book was! This is the kind of book I can’t put down, not even to eat or make a cup of coffee or sleep. Well, I did fall asleep last night, but you know what I mean.I’ve always loved the sciences and have participated in many scientific data collections and studies. I banded Tree Swallows and Eastern Bluebirds for ten years. I have read many non-fiction books about birds. This book entranced me with the analyses that aren’t too technical. I loved the logical explana...