• The Naturalist

  • The Naturalist, Book 1
  • By: Andrew Mayne
  • Narrated by: Will Damron
  • Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (6,951 ratings)

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The Naturalist  By  cover art

The Naturalist

By: Andrew Mayne
Narrated by: Will Damron
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Publisher's summary

An Amazon Charts bestseller.

Professor Theo Cray is trained to see patterns where others see chaos. So when mutilated bodies found deep in the Montana woods leave the cops searching blindly for clues, Theo sees something they missed. Something unnatural. Something only he can stop.

As a computational biologist, Theo is more familiar with digital code and microbes than the dark arts of forensic sleuthing. But a field trip to Montana suddenly lands him in the middle of an investigation into the bloody killing of one of his former students. As more details, and bodies, come to light, the local cops determine that the killer is either a grizzly gone rogue...or Theo himself. Racing to stay one step ahead of the police, Theo must use his scientific acumen to uncover the killer. Will he be able to become as cunning as the predator he hunts - before he becomes its prey?

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

What listeners say about The Naturalist

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,684
  • 4 Stars
    2,045
  • 3 Stars
    833
  • 2 Stars
    264
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    125
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    3,788
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    1,662
  • 3 Stars
    583
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    86
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,320
  • 4 Stars
    1,755
  • 3 Stars
    776
  • 2 Stars
    254
  • 1 Stars
    156

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic! I loved this book!!

When a young woman is killed by a bear while on a camping trip with her boyfriend Professor Theo Cray gets involved. The woman had once been a student of his. Theo is not convinced that it was an animal, he's positive that a man did this. A man killing like an animal would kill.

In an attempt to prove his theory he begins to look for other animal killings that have gone unsolved. When he locates the body of a woman previously assumed missing, he becomes the prime suspect until the police determine that it was another animal killing.

Cray is now driven to find more. With the help of a sophisticated computer program and his biological background he discovers more. Upon meeting an anthropologist with information dating back to the 1980's of an attack by maybe a mountain lion, maybe a man dressed up like a mountain lion. Cray now thinks he's found this murderers beginnings.
This book starts out a little slow as you get background info, it increasingly speeds up until it like a roller coaster and by the end... forget it! This is a downward spiral with nail biting, stomach twisting suspense! I absolutely love books like this and listened to it in one day.

Will Damron does a fantastic job narrating. I don't think anyone could possibly do any better.

This book has my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!!
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377 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very creative plot!

The Naturalist features brilliant but not fully socially acclimated University of Texas computational biology professor Theo Cray is the unlikely protagonist. While in Montana for a summer field trip he learns that one of his former star students, now a PhD, has just been killed apparently by a grizzly bear. He believes it is murder by a human who used sharpened metal claws to simulate bear claws. A few miles away he finds the buried body of another woman who has been missing for months. Again it looks like a bear's work to everyone except Cray. Using the scientific tools he finds several other bodies in forest graves apparently killed by animals. He is not buying the animal killer theory believing instead that all were killed by a man over a long period. From there the story gets really interesting and wild. His life is at risk as are two of the friends he has made.

The plot of this suspense mystery is easily among the most interesting and creative I have read. Author Andrew Mayne is a professional magician and a top selling independently published novelist. Looking Glass, Book 2 in The Naturalist series, is scheduled for release on March 13, 2018. I look forward to the release. Will Damron's narration is superb.

Following Audible Listener Shelley has again led me to a wonderful suspense mystery. If you enjoy the mystery/thriller genre and are not following her, you should.

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129 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Too far fetched

I am still trying to figure out why this book received so many rave reviews. It is the most un-plausible mystery book I have read in years. With crime fiction like this you often need some semblance of believability, which this had very little of. There are a lot of narrative gaps as well as repeated details. Needs another run through with the editor. My two star review mainly stems from a very good audible reader paired with an interesting premise. Plus it was easy to fly through this read.

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120 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Different Sort Of Thriller

Entertaining. Couldn't put it down. The science seemed rather dubious, but I just went with it. I would agree about some of the other more critical reviews about loose ends (what happened to Gus? did I miss that part?). And Professor Cray should have encountered at least a few dead ends--seemed like everything he did was spot on every time. But overall, it was an enjoyable book. I can't wait for the next one.

Will Damron was outstanding with the delivery of the story

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70 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Started Out Great and Went Downhill

I was looking for the next great mystery and was hoping this might be it. I liked the premise of a killer who disguised his actions as those of a grizzly bear - thus leading authorities to assume that the victims were killed by a bear and not a person. The hero is a professor who sees the anomalies that point towards a human killer but the authorities don’t believe him. As I first started listening I was totally hooked and thought this would be a five star listen. As the hero’s actions became less believable I downgraded my opinions to four stars - and then about two thirds of the way through the hero just seemed to be falling apart. I no longer found his actions credible and it was hard to listen to his rationale for one stupid decision after another. I’m not a fan of stories where you know the hero is stepping into a trap because it’s so obvious it should be obvious to the hero too. I skipped several chapters towards the end just to find out the conclusion but I was tired of the premise that only one person was smart enough to realize what was going on and all the law enforcement personnel were idiots. Ultimately I rated this a three - it could have been a lot better.

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65 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

clever premise but fails to live up to promise

I listened to the sample of this audio book before buying, and it engaged me right away, with the promise of a very different take to solving crime. But unfortunately, that excellent opener devolved into poor dialog and unbelievably immature characters. I just could not keep listening. too bad

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59 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not your typical murder case

I'm going to admit, I give 5 stars to stories pretty easily. As someome who bas done many literature courses, I don't give my reviews just because it was or was not in my interest are. I will give a boom 5 starts if the stroy kept me engaged, was unique and had redeaming qualities. You have to judge a book by its actual contents, not just if it's the type of book you normally like.

That said, I almost never leave written reviews unless I feel a book has done something to stand apart. Without trying to give spoilers, I feel this book kept me guessing and went outside of any normal murder/death mystery I'm used to. This was refreshing and kept making me think and guess the whole way through.

I go through at least 1-2 audio books a week and this one kept me thinking, interested and guessing the whole way through.

If you have gone through any of the murder mysteries that sound ingesting to you, give this a try.

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56 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An Intense Thriller

I found myself unable to put down this thriller focused on a "science nerd" biologist who works to hunt down a serial killer in the wilds of Montana. I found the story to be both engaging and terrifying and will probably listen to book two in the series to see how things resolve. I agree that the story requires a strong degree of suspension of disbelief--but many blockbuster type movies require this as well, without diminishing the experience. Do be aware that the book contains graphic violence and the occasional discussion of real life serial killers--both of which can be very disturbing. My best advice is to proceed with caution and that this title might not be for the faint of heart listener.

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45 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Pretty Good Educational Murder Mystery

This book is intelligently researched and written, but it's not exactly cerebral. It's a bit of fun, with an exhaustingly annoying main character. And Andrew Mayne has serious cop issues. This guy loves to hate on cops and military personnel. I read it and stuck with it because the guy was a Prof at UT Austin, my Alma mater. Haha.

A note on the narration: WILL DAMRON HAS AN ABSOLUTELY ABSURD "FEMALE VOICE". I almost had to turn it off because it's literally insulting. It's a shame the producers stuck with him for the rest of the books.

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28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

So much potential

I loved the idea of this book, I loved the science aspect, and I liked the main character, it started out great! so even though this narrator is annoying, and s l o w (compensate by listening to this author on speed 1.25x which helps), as the story went on and developed I felt it lost it's momentum and mystery. lots of eye-rolling moments and by the last quarter it started to feel like just another rushed typical thriller ending.

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27 people found this helpful