I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Looking Glass by Andrew Mayne Series: The Naturalist #2
Published by Thomas & Mercer on March 13 2018
Genres: Adult, Thriller
Pages: 312
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Another winning story from Andrew Mayne, with non-stop thrills, fascinating details about scientific and forensic investigation, and a smart main character who can solve just about any puzzle.
Andrew Mayne’s stories are just so damn fun! This is the second in The Naturalist series, starring Dr. Theo Cray, a brilliant computational scientist who hunts serial killers in his spare time and finds himself on the wrong side of the law over and over again. But Theo is smart enough to get himself out of all the trouble he gets himself into as well, which is one reason I love his character. I’m not going to give too much of a story recap for this book, because I certainly don’t want to spoil anything for you. But I will tell you what I love about Mayne’s plotting and characters, and hopefully you’ll want to jump into this series as well. Looking Glass is a completely separate story from The Naturalist, and even though a few events from the first book are mentioned, this can easily be read as a standalone.
Dr. Theo Cray now works for a private defense contractor called OpenSkyAI, a company that secretly keeps tabs on people all over the world who may be about to commit terrible crimes. By studying patterns, the employees can determine who to focus on and hopefully stop bad things before they happen. Theo is also recovering from his harrowing experience at the end of The Naturalist, the result of which has made him somewhat of a celebrity. His talents at finding missing persons and tracking down dangerous serial killers attract the attention of desperate people who want help finding loved ones or simply answers that law enforcement could never give them.
One day Theo is approached by a man named William Bostrom, whose son Chris went missing nine years ago. The case is cold, since the police were never able to find out what happened to Chris, and William thinks Theo is just the guy to help him out. Theo’s investigation brings him to the Los Angeles suburb of Compton, where he uncovers an urban myth that may have some truth to it. A mysterious black man who drives a white Cadillac and is rumored to lure young boys into his car with promises of toys has been dubbed the Toy Man by locals, although no one can say for sure whether he actually exists or not. As Theo follows one lead after another, he’s drawn into a dark world where children disappear and are never seen again. But the closer he gets to the truth, the more dangerous his investigation becomes. Unfortunately, Theo Cray isn’t the kind to back down.
I think I mentioned this in my review of The Naturalist, but if you’re a fan of the TV shows Bones or Dexter then you will most likely love this series. I happen to love stories that deal with forensic science and investigation, and there is plenty of that in Looking Glass. In The Naturalist, Theo used his knowledge of botany to locate dead bodies, and here he gets a little more techy and uses all kinds of cool gadgets and profiling software, some of which he invented, to search databases in order to narrow down the list of suspects. Theo reminds me a lot of MacGyver when he’s using his problem solving skills, and I never got tired of marveling at how quickly he jumps to conclusions or comes up with unique ways to figure stuff out. He’s also pretty gifted in the physical department. He’s got all sorts of fighting skills like karate, he knows how to handle a gun, and he’s fast when he needs to be. You may be thinking to yourself, “Is there anything Theo can’t do?” and I’m pretty sure the answer to that is “no.”
Theo is also not above breaking the law in order to get the evidence he needs, or to set up surveillance cameras, or a hundred other little things he thinks of that will help him with his (sometimes illegal) investigations. He’s so crafty and he gets away with things so often that I couldn’t help but marvel at the way his brain works. Let’s just say that if I ever needed help solving a crime, I’d definitely want someone like Theo Cray to help me out!
Because this is a story about trying to track down an elusive serial killer, Mayne includes lots of fascinating (and terrifying!) tidbits on some of history’s most infamous real-life serial killers. Clearly Theo has done his homework, and he gives the reader glimpses of how hard it is to actually catch killers. One example that he mentions involves the police sitting across the street from Ted Bundy’s house, watching him wash his car in plain sight—literally washing any evidence of his crimes away—while waiting for a warrant to arrest him. Mayne gives us lots of chilling examples of near misses, the police mere yards away from the killer but unable to do anything about it because of red tape.
And while there are some extreme over-the-top moments in this story, I forgave all of them because I had such a great time reading this book. Andrew Mayne is such a natural-born storyteller, and using Theo Cray to tell his stories works so well for this series. I’m thrilled that there is a third book in the works called Murder Theory (coming out next year) and I’m already salivating at the thought of another adventure with Theo Cray. Highly recommended!
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
I knew how excited you were for this book so I’m glad it lived up to your expectations.
Barb (boxermommyreads) recently posted…Two Bloggers One Book – The Hunger
This series sounds great! I loved Dexter and will have to see if my library has a copy of these .
Ah… I have just read Lynn’s review, which has fired me up with enthusiasm regarding this series and your lovely review merely reinforces that intention:)). Have a lovely Easter, Tammy.
We’re all big fans, it’s so much fun reading these books:-)
I really need to start this series, because from your review I gather that there are many, many elements I know I would enjoy, especially those concerning forensic sciences, that I’ve always found deeply fascinating. And how could I resist a hunt for a serial killer? 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Short Story Review: ADRIFT, by Terry Burlison
I’m sure you’d have fun with these! They are really addicting:-)
Prof Cray is my new Holmes – I just want more and more of his stories.
Lynn 😀
Me too! He’s the best:-)
Yup, I need to try the Naturalist books when next I’m in the mood for a thriller. It sounds so interesting and I get the impression there that we can jump in with this one.
Yes, you can jump in with either book first:-)
Man, I really need to read The Naturalist as I have it…lol. This sounds good so glad you really enjoyed it.
I hope you get the time to read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Yay, I gave this one full marks as well and I knew as soon as I finished it was going to be a five star book because my heart was still pounding away a mile a minute. These books are intense! And I love Theo so much, he’s so full of surprises and fun knowledge.
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…An Interview with RJ Barker, Author of The Wounded Kingdom Trilogy
Theo is definitely the draw for me. He’s such a fascinating character and I just want to root for him!
This really sounds wonderful! Such an eloquent review too. Honestly, are you an English teacher or something??? I’ll definitely keep in mind this series. Thanks for sharing, Tammy!
Lashaan Balasingam recently posted…The Oracle Year by Charles Soule
Ha ha no I’m not an English teacher! But thanks for saying that, it makes me feel special:-)
You guys made The Naturalist sound so great last year. I’m excited to see how much you loved the follow up. I’m going to have to jump on board to this series soon.
I think you’d love it, Jennifer:-)
Very cool review, tammy! I don’t know this author — and I’m not the biggest fan of Bones, but this looks really interesting — and it’s new to me, which is always a treat!
I know this is a fairly small publisher so I’m not surprised that you haven’t heard of him. But I wish more readers could discover him, I just have so much fun reading his books.
I though I didn’t enjoy serial killer stories but I did enjoy “I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER” a lot! O I’ll check this one out! You make it sound so good!
Daniela Ark recently posted…What’s Scheming? – Wrapping up quarter one!
I don’t usually enjoy serial killer stories either (I can be a wimp!) but this series is just so interesting. I learn so much when I read these!
It’s the first time I hear about this one but I think I could enjoy it as well from what you’re saying!
Oh it was sooo good! If you enjoy mysteries and science, you would love it:-)