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.
Dark Pattern by Andrew Mayne Series: The Naturalist #4
Published by Thomas & Mercer on October 15 2019
Genres: Adult, Thriller
Pages: 318
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Compulsively readable, Andrew Mayne’s thrilling series is just getting better and better.
If you haven’t started this series yet, then my question is, why not? I am enjoying the hell out of Andrew Mayne’s The Naturalist series, and it’s clear after finishing this fourth book that he isn’t even close to being finished with Dr. Theo Cray’s story. Dark Pattern was different from the other books for a couple of reasons. First, this felt like less of a standalone story than the others. Mayne refers back to events in both The Naturalist and Murder Theory, so expect to be lost if you try to start reading at this point in the game. I also found Dark Pattern to be more of a psychological thriller, where the previous books were more action oriented. Theo has been on a downward spiral for a while now, and in this book he really enters a very dark place and stays there. But even without the violence that I’ve come to expect from the previous books, it ultimately didn’t matter because the horrors in this book are much quieter but equally deadly and chilling.
And from this point on, there will be mild spoilers for previous books, so do read at your own risk!
When the story starts, Dr. Theo Cray is dealing with the fallout from the end of Murder Theory. In that book, he was exposed to a deadly pathogen called the Hyde virus, which turns victims into raving killing machines. Theo stopped the people responsible from secretly infecting the U.S. military ranks, but the virus remains a mystery. Theo is worried that he might develop the disease at any time, and so he’s started getting weekly MRIs so he can spot any irregularities before it’s too late.
One day he’s approached by a student who insists she has evidence of an “angel of death,” a killer nurse. Theo is reluctant to get involved, since he’s tried to leave his life of tracking down and stopping serial killers behind. But curiosity gets the better of him and he decides to talk to a family whose young child died during a routine hospital stay. The father names a “creepy” nurse named Sergio Filman, and Theo sets off on a personal investigation to see if he can prove Filman’s guilt. When his mentor Amanda Paulson sees something in Theo’s data that he missed, they realize that there may be a second killer on the loose as well.
Theo’s determination to stop the hospital deaths takes him from Austin, Texas to the island of Saint Lucia, as he doggedly follows the “Dark Pattern,” the string of data he’s compiled that will eventually lead him to the killers. But his obsession with finding and exposing the truth is becoming a danger to Theo, who can’t seem to stop until the killer is caught.
Once again, Andrew Mayne has written a highly entertaining thriller that was impossible to put down. If you’ve read my reviews for the other books in the series, you’ll know that Dr. Theo Cray is a big reason for the success of these books. He’s a computational biologist who uses computer data combined with his expertise in the fields of science to solve murders. It doesn’t hurt that he’s extremely smart, tech savvy, and can analyze data in the blink of an eye. But Theo isn’t perfect by a long shot. He’s arrogant, sneaky, and breaks the law on a regular basis. He thinks nothing of trespassing or stealing data to get what he needs, but he’s also a fast talker and is able to miraculously get himself out of trouble. He reminds me a lot of Dexter, although Theo doesn’t like to kill at all—he only does it when necessary. I loved the direction Mayne takes in this book, as Theo is starting to go down a very dark path. He’s contemplating suicide (although not for the reasons you may think) and his obsession with tracking down the killer nurses borders on mania—he definitely starts to lose himself near the end of the story, which is quite chilling.
And you can’t really talk about Theo without mentioning his girlfriend Jillian. I have to admit I’ve never really been on board with their relationship. I think the main reason is that I just don’t like Jillian that much, for some reason. I get it, she puts up with a lot, being Theo’s girlfriend, but she also tends to be jealous which just isn’t that attractive. She’s more of a mother figure, in my opinion!
Mayne tackles the subject of hospital corruption, which to me is even more terrifying than the serial killers at loose in the story. I’ve never been completely comfortable around doctors and hospitals to begin with, but after reading Dark Pattern I’m even less likely to trust physicians, which is pretty damn scary! During his investigation, Theo uncovers some very shady business practices and must figure out a way to expose what the hospitals are doing without drawing too much attention to himself. That doesn’t work too well, which I guess is a good thing for us, because the story wouldn’t have been half as exciting if Theo weren’t in danger.
My only quibble about Dark Pattern is that the last ten percent of the book felt way too rushed. It seemed like Mayne wanted to wrap up the story quickly, and I think the pacing suffered a bit for it. BUT. That last paragraph! Of course I can’t reveal the end, but let’s just say that a new character makes an appearance and I had to immediately go to Goodreads to find out who she was. Mayne gives us a clear lead-in to the next book, and I anticipate an excruciating wait to find out where he’s taking his story next, especially since he doesn’t wrap things up neatly at the end. This series is only going to get better, and I highly recommend jumping on board if you haven’t already.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Read my reviews for the other books in the series:
Thanks for this review. It’s definitevely a book I need to read 🙂
Steph Bianchini recently posted…Frozen Wavelets – Status Update #2
Hope you get the chance, Steph, so good!
Great, intriguing review! I really need to start reading this series because some of the details I found in your review, where I braved the spoilers in the name of better knowledge 😀 , made even more curious about this character…
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…THE WICKED KING (The Folk of the Air #2), by Holly Black
He’s quite a complex character that continues to grow, which I really appreciate:-)
I have an ebook of the first one and not sure why I haven’t started this series because it sounds so up my alley!
I think you’d love it, Stormi!
I’ve very glad to hear the series continues to deliver. I just recently finished The Naturalist (and very much enjoyed it) and today I picked up Looking Glass and Murder Theory. Can’t wait to get back into the series.
Oh cool, glad you started the series, Todd, I find these books hard to put down:-)
I loved this book, but THANK YOU I completely agree with you on the last 10% – was he in a rush or something? It felt so out of sync with the rest of the book. The last paragraph was such a tease though, did you end up finding any clues on Goodreads as to what’s coming next?
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…YA Weekend Audio: The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
Yes! He has a series called Jessica Blackwood, so it looks like he’s doing a crossover!
So glad to see this was a good one! I didn’t read your review too closely to avoid spoilers, but I’ll definitely be picking this up after I finish The Burning White!
Hope you enjoy it!
Wow, glad to hear this series is still so great for you after four books. That’s impressive!
It is pretty impressive! And hopefully it will continue to be good, since I have no idea how long it will end up being:-)
Another awesome review. I’ll have to check these out. I know they pop up on Kindle deals all the time. I am curious- they are usually labeled more as science fiction, but it seems like they are actually thrillers? Is it kind of Crichton-ish that way?
I don’t consider them SF at all. There is a LOT of science but it’s not really futuristic, at least it doesn’t feel that way to me.
I have got to read this series! It sounds perfect for me.
Laura Thomas recently posted…31 Days Of Thrills And Chills #28 ~ Something Deadly
It is perfect for you, Laura!
ANOTHER BOOK to add to my TBR! (And not even 1 book — a series.) I lived in Missoula, MT for 5 years, and used to drive to Bozeman occasionally for work. Every now and then, I get an itch to real stories or mysteries set in that part of the country. This sounds great. Is the whole series set in Montana, or just the first?
Yep, you have to read the WHOLE series, ha ha. But once you start you’ll want to. As far as location, I think just the first story was set in Montana, but I’d had to go back and check for sure. That setting was perfect for The Naturalist too! This new one is set in Austin.
I’ve only skimmed this so will return. Great to see you loved it though.
Lynn
Lynn recently posted…Friday Face Off : A cover that is predominantly grey
This is the second review I’ve seen praising this one. I might have to check out this series at some point. Great review, Tammy!
I do like a thrilling, compulsively readable series! The Hyde virus sounds quite awful!
I didn’t read the spoilers, not having read any of the other books. This is obviously a series I need to read. Thanks.