After using revolutionary scientific methods to catch one of the most prolific serial killers in history, Professor Theo Cray has found himself cut off from university research. He's trying to rebuild his life, but when the desperate father of a missing child comes to him for help, Cray finds himself drawn into another unsolved case.
The only clues he has to go on are children's drawings and an inner-city urban legend about someone called the Toy Man. To unravel this mystery, Cray is going to have to set aside his scientific preconceptions and learn to embrace a world where dreams and nightmares carry just as much weight as reality.
~
When I read the first book in this series, The Naturalist, I felt as though I'd hit the jackpot with the main character, Dr. Theo Cray. This feeling continued in Looking Glass. In my review of the first book, I said: "Cray is a wimp. He's a nerd. He has trouble relating to people because
his head is so thoroughly buried in science and he spends so much time
alone on field trips." In this second book, Cray isn't such a wimp anymore. His experiences have changed him, and he's learned how to protect himself better and how to minimize the risks he takes. What hasn't changed is how much I love watching how this character's mind works and how he tracks things down and puts them together. He sees patterns that no one else can, and that's highly important in his search for the Toy Man and the missing children. Cray may say that he can't read his own moral compass, but he definitely has one. When he sees something wrong-- especially something that others are knowingly turning a blind eye to-- he will not quit until the bad guys are caught. No matter what it takes.
Shunned by fellow academics, Cray is looked upon as the Dark Knight in defense intelligence circles, and they're hoping that he'll develop programs they can use both in war and in law enforcement. He's doing his best to steer clear of the war part of the work, and he made me smile when he uses his clearance and some of the tricks he's learned in his new job to help him on his quest to find the missing children.
Andrew Mayne certainly knows how to write a story and a main character that set fire to my imagination, and although I did find the serial killer in Looking Glass to be a bit over the top, both the killer and the events surrounding him aren't completely out of the realm of possibility. I've grabbed a copy of the next Theo Cray thriller, and I know that I'll enjoy reading it.
Looking Glass by Andrew Mayne
eISBN: 9781542047999
Thomas & Mercer © 2018
eBook, 317 pages
Thriller/Amateur Sleuth, #2 Dr. Theo Cray mystery
Rating: A-
Source: Purchased from Amazon.
Cray certainly seems like an interesting character, Cathy. And I can already sense just from the bit you've shared that the setting for this one is effective. I like it, too, that Cray has grown and changed a bit; people do that in real life, and I like it when they do in fiction, too.
ReplyDeleteSo do I.
DeleteYet another series for my growing reading list!
ReplyDeleteI like his series involving Florida's fictional Underwater Investigation Unit, too.
DeleteDr. Theo Cray is another character I think I would really like. Thanks for adding yet another book to my TBR list. :D
ReplyDeleteTurnabout is fair play! ;-)
DeleteSounds good, Cathy. I think I'm going to try to find The Naturalist.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a plan! :-)
DeleteSo this is another series by Andrew Mayne, in addition to the sea detective series? He's prolific.
ReplyDeleteYes, he is. He's written other series, most not lasting more than two books, but he seems to have hit his stride with his Theo Cray and Sloane McPherson series. I have to admit that I haven't tried his others, but I do enjoy Cray and McPherson.
DeleteI didn't realize he had a different series going! Excuse me, I'm off to see what copies I can find ...
ReplyDeleteOh, sounds like you've already made Mayne's acquaintance! :-)
DeleteI've read the first of his sea detective series, and mean to read more when I remember to track down used copies to order - my local library doesn't carry them for some reason, and I never see them in the used bookstores with.
DeleteI wonder if the fact that he's published by Amazon has anything to do with that? Could be most of his book sales are digital.
DeleteIs there ever series overload? I think I've reached mine, but I bemoan that. So many to read.
ReplyDeleteI have a much more lackadaisical attitude toward the sheer number of books that I want to read than you do, Kathy.
DeleteWell, I keep seeing books here and elsewhere that I want to read and I'm reading more slowly than I used to, which is frustrating. And then there are streaming services, PP interviews, podcasts, etc. So much to do and books aren't always handy as I haven't set up my beautiful Kindle.
ReplyDeleteI have other, much different, things to worry me. Books are my comfort zone, and I refuse to let stress get past the gate.
DeleteI agree on books being stress-relievers, and I have relief on them since a teenager hunkered down in my room with a pile of books.
ReplyDeleteSame here, although I went outside a lot with my book pile.
DeleteI pretended I was outside. I saw on my bed with my pillow right next to a big window with branches from a huge oak tree brushing the glass. And the sun pouring in. My memories are of that tree and the sun brushing the window and reading by sunlight during the day.
ReplyDeleteGood memories.
Delete