Published: February 5, 2019
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: The Naturalist #3
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 318 (Paperback)
My Rating: 3.5/5.0
Synopsis:
The desire to kill is becoming contagious in this riveting novel of conceivable mad science by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Naturalist.
Computational biologist and serial-killer hunter Dr. Theo Cray receives an off-the-record request from the FBI to investigate an inexplicable double homicide. It happened at the excavation site where a murderer had buried his victims’ remains. In custody is a forensic technician in shock, with no history of aggression. He doesn’t remember a thing. His colleagues don’t even recognize the man they thought they knew. But an MRI reveals something peculiar. And abnormal.
What on earth made him commit murder?
After discovering that a mysterious man has been stalking crime scenes and stealing forensic data, Cray has a radical and terrifying theory. Now he must race against time to find a darker version of himself: a scientist with an obsession in pathological behavior who uses his genius not to catch serial killers—but to create them.
The latest Theo Cray case is somewhat unlike the others. Theo is called up when a forensic tech working the Toy Man site goes missing and two others are found murdered. What seems like it should be obvious (a double murder) turns out to be far more complicated than anyone could have imagined and leads Theo on a search across the country. Could someone possible create a pathogen that could turn someone into a murderer?
This book had such a wild premise and is veering further into the pseudo scientific realm than previous books have. It’s fiction, so that’s totally fine and it does bring up some interesting ideas, but I liked it a little more when it wasn’t as sci-fi. I mean, for a second I thought we were going to veer into the territory of fungal zombification and stay there. I will say, that this change did keep things fresh and for the most part, unpredictable so the series has managed to avoid becoming repetitive.
I still can’t get enough of this series and Theo’s abrasive personality, willingness to flout the law to solve crimes, and the escalation. It just gets so crazy and stressful by the end of the book and this particular conclusion left the read with heavy implications of what may come next. Obviously I can’t wait to get my hands on the next installment later this month just to see what happens and if there will be a fifth book.
Powder & Page 
Leave a comment