Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Thoughts on THE NATURALIST by Andrew Mayne



       THE NATURALIST is a whodunit worth reading just to meet Dr. Theodore Cray, a college professor/scientist whose inquiring mind evolves him into a tenacious sleuth.
        Spurred by guilt feelings that his teaching might have led one of his former students, a brilliant researcher, into circumstances that resulted in her murder, Cray sets out to uncover what happened to her.
        At the outset, police consider Cray a suspect, because he knew the dead woman. He is quickly released when a perfuntory autopsy lead the police to believe a bear is the killer. The setting for this novel is Montana.
        Cray’s speciality is bioinformatics, which combines advanced computer programs with biology. As he says of himself: “As a scientist, I observe, I analyze. I make guesses.”
        With that background, Cray first decides a human not a bear killed his student. The police, of course, sneer at his conclusion. Then he sets off on a hunt with an extraodinary outcome, in this well-plotted, nicely-written whodunit, that is a pleasure to read.

        A SUGGESTION: Please consider reading my novel, THE PENCIL ARTIST, the story of a short order cook, who aspires to be a recognized pencil artist. He stumbles into a battle with a nutty billionaire. The outcome will surprise you.