Looking Glass

The Naturalist, Book 2

By: Andrew Mayne

Narrated by: Will Damron

A Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Professor Theo Cray caught one of the most prolific serial killers in history using revolutionary scientific methods. Cut off from university research because of the shroud of suspicion around him after the death of his former student and the aftermath of catching his quarry, Cray tries to rebuild his life but finds himself drawn into another unsolved case.

The desperate father of a missing child, ignored by the authorities and abandoned by his community, turns to Theo for help. The only clues are children’s drawings and an inner-city urban legend about someone called the Toy Man.

To unravel the mystery behind the Toy Man, Theo must set aside his scientific preconceptions and embrace a world where dreams and nightmares carry just as much weight as reality. As he becomes immersed in the case, he discovers a far-reaching conspiracy - one that hasn’t yet claimed its last victim.

©2018 Andrew Mayne (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved

Good Follow Up

This is the second book in Mayne’s Naturalist series (that was the name of the first book), about Dr. Theo Cray, a former professor whose combined expertise in biology and computer analysis and ability to spot patterns that no one else sees helped him identify a prolific serial killer of young women and brought him to the (mostly positive) attention of the intelligence community. Here he hunts a second killer, the Toy Man, whose preferred victims are young boys. It would be a good idea to read the first book before you read this one, both to gain useful background on Cray and because the author repeatedly refers to the murderer in the first book by name, so you will lose some of the suspense in that book if you read it after this one.

Unquestionably this book is a very good thriller: think Jonathan Kellerman with fewer interviews, a sprinkling of “spook” (as in spy, mysterious agencies with alphabet-letter titles) stuff, and some really cool science (fluorescent bacteria! CSI, eat your heart out!). The villain is certainly a quintessence of Evil, and the hunt for him is definitely suspenseful. However, at least for me, the book did not reach the almost painful level of intensity that the first volume did, nor was the character development as complex. In short, very good, yes; outstanding, no. Mayne can do better.

Will Damron was excellent with the delivery of the story

Andrew Mayne is quickly becoming my favorite author!

Mayne’s follow up to “The Naturalist” is even better than that book, which I really loved. Great characters and twists and a storyline that kept me hoping I’d get stuck in traffic so I could keep listening in the car. Well read by Will Damron. I look forward to more from Andrew Mayne and I hope they start releasing the audio versions at the same time as the paper versions with his next book.

Great Listen!

Good follow up to The Naturalist! Held attention through out. Love to listen to this narrator. He does a great job!

Excellent!

This author is amazing. As a scientist, I love the technical jargon (used correctly no less)... but the stories I’ve read so far are so suspenseful and they scare the heck out of me!!!

Worth it!

Theo is once again investigating a serial killer that no-one believes exists. The character of Theo is brilliant and unique. He is unexpectedly enticing and extremely intelligent. This one was not as good as the first one in my opinion, but was a very good story nonetheless.

I love murder mystery/whodunit types of stories and this one did not disappoint. Well worth it!

Better than Book 1

Once again I am perplexed why I liked this read so much. I listened to it over 2 days. Will Damron has become a new favorite narrator for me, which I'm sure is one of the prime reasons why I kept going. The second is that the main character as created by Andrew Mayne is just plain likeable. He might get beaten up a lot (and always survives); he may be treated by law enforcement roughly (and always manages to come out on top) -- but he is the nerdy brains to tracking down serial killers.

amazing. just amazing. loved this book.

This book was great. the second part of this series does not disappoint!! Awesome storytelling, twists and turns, etc. I loved this book, and I cant wait for the next one!!

loved it

I found the story not ad engaging as thr first one but it was still a good read.

Good follow-up to the Naturalist

The narrator is good. Definitely a good performance. I found this one better than book 1 in the series as it stays on point much better. Theo Craig has changed a lot from the naive professor from Austin, Texas in book 1. He is much more understanding that the bad guys are not just the ones who commit the crime, but also those who cover up the crimes. Sadly, this story is actually believable that something similar, a pedophile killer who is protected by the U.S. government due to being an informant, could actually happen. Andrew Mayne did a good job of explaining the reasons without letting them get too detailed and wordy. Already pre-ordered book 3!

Even better than the Naturalist

Cray is more capable and self-assured than he was in the first book. There is a lot less introspection which becomes tedious to listen to. The next two books end in cliffhangers so we part ways here with good feelings for a well performed story.