7. Night Owl by Andrew Mayne

#1 Trasker

listened on Audible & Kindle

2023
312 pgs.
Adult Mystery/Thriller?
Finished 1/21/2024
Goodreads rating: 4.18
My rating: 2
Setting: Contemporary California desert

My comments: Boring.  Too many different people and too many different character names flyng in and out way too fast.  Lots of scientific "stuff" that I didn't care about, which made it difficult to follow the plot.  Might have worked better as a READ rather than a LISTEN.

Goodreads synopsis:  A shocking act of sabotage draws a retired spy into a deadly conspiracy in an explosive thriller by an Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

After three decades in counterintelligence, Brad Trasker is retired, disillusioned, and dealing with a tragic loss. Spy games are behind him until he attends the launch of a next-generation aircraft. When the project of innovative aerospace CEO Kylie Connor explodes on the tarmac―nearly killing her in the process―Trasker is pulled back into the line of fire.

The mystery of the sabotage quickly deepens. All Kylie’s data has been wiped from the server. One of her engineers has disappeared. A seed investor has died in a suspicious car accident. And a cold-blooded murder raises the stakes even higher.

To discover who’s pulling the strings behind a dangerous conspiracy, Trasker needs to find a motive. Corporate espionage, revenge, or something he can’t yet see? Targeted by assassins, he finds himself overmatched when he realizes he can’t trust anyone―including Kylie. Too long out of a game he no longer understands, Trasker must adapt or die.

3. Mastermind by Andrew Mayne

#1 Theo Cray & Jessica Blackwell

listened on Audible

2021
332 pgs.
Adult Mystery/Thriller/Espionage
Finished 1/7/2022
Goodreads rating:  4.32
My rating: 3.5
Setting: Contemporary all over the world, actually

My comments: From the very beginning, none of the story has any actual believability, but if you keep tongue in cheek and think of this as a fantasy, it's quite intriguing!  It takes leaps and bounds, uses non-existent clues, gives head-scratching (and quick) pseudo-explanations for most things, and leaves the reader totally clueless in places, but it's still one heck of a ride/read!  The antagonist, Michael Haywood aka The Mastermind, has been toying with Jessica for years.  And bringing Theo and Jessica together was a stroke of genius.  Both are too smart (or believable) for their owns goods and they are certainly attracted to each other.  I enjoyed it!

Goodreads synopsis:  A mysterious electrical storm plunges Manhattan into darkness. As a strange, smothering fog rolls in, all communication crashes. In the blink of an eye, the island seems to vanish into a void.

FBI special agent Jessica Blackwood and brilliant scientist Dr. Theo Cray know this isn’t a freak accident. It’s a sinister sleight of hand. Their greatest adversary, a serial killer and cultist known as the Warlock, has escaped during a prison transfer in New York. A depraved master of manipulation, he promised the end of days. He’s making good on it.

One by one, cities across the globe are erupting in chaos as they disappear into the same black holes. Even for two ingenious trackers like Jessica and Theo, there’s still so much to learn about the pattern to the Warlock’s madness. The voids are just a warm-up for something bigger. To discover it—to stop it—Jessica and Theo must descend into the darkest of shadows—and minds. 

19. Dark Pattern by Andrew Mayne

#4 Dr. Theo Cray/The Naturalist
listened to Audible
narrated by Will Damron
2019 Thomas & Mercer
316 pgs.
Adult Mystery/Serial Killer
Finished 1/27/2020
Goodreads rating: 4.21 - 2317 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Contemporay Texas, St. Lucia, and other points on the map....

First line/s: "Nora watched the doorway.  This was when the Night Lady usually stopped at her room and stared inside."

My comments:  Serial killer hunter extraordinaire!  Whenever I go into one of the Theo Cray books now, I know I have to suspend reality checks.  I'm sure most of - or at least many -  of Cray's technological "inventions" are still science-fiction, but they are what makes these mysteries so different.  You know that he's going to get himself into some stupid cray situations and you roll your eyes at most of his antics, but that's also what makes these books so much fun, as well as his definite Asperger's/Autistic tendencies and his cognition of them.  It also cracks me up how much he irritates people.  A huge part of the plot comes off as comic relief for me, I wonder if it affects others in the same way?  To write this combination of grizzly deaths and this extraordinary character is quite genius.  A real breakdown should be coming for this man!  Or has he had it?  ti's hard to tell from the ending of this book, which did seem a little rushed compared to the rest of it.

Goodreads synopsis:  Dr. Theo Cray is on the hunt for a killer nurse, and redemption, in a mind-bending psychological thriller by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Naturalist.
          Dr. Theo Cray has a legendary mathematical knack for catching serial killers. Until his exposure to a mind-altering pathogen knocks him off his game. It has upended an investigation, destroyed his reputation, and left him to question his own sanity. One person still trusts him to finish the job. His former professor Amanda Paulson is helping point Cray down a logical path to his prey: a nomadic health-care worker whose murder spree stretches back decades and whose victims number in the hundreds.
          Never more desperate to save innocent lives, and to save himself, Cray follows each new lead around the world. But with his own grip on reality slipping away, Cray knows that to follow the pattern of an elusive killer, he must also confront his own dark side. In those dangerous shadows, he can find what he’s hunting. For Cray, venturing into a world without reason is going to be the most frightening journey of his life.

1. Name of the Devil by Andrew Mayne

#2 Jessica Blackwood
listened via Audible, purchased and owned
narrated  by Jennifer O'Donnell
Unabridged audio (12:53)
2015 Bourbon Street Books
432 pgs.
Adult Mystery/Police Procedural
Finished 1/2//2020
Goodreads rating:  4.18 - 2170 ratings
My rating: 4

First line/s:  " 'You know what you have to do,' said the distant voice at the other end of the phone."

My comments: First finished book of 2020!  The way that Jessica Blackwood connects the dots is sometimes quite mysterious.  I guess that just goes to prove that she's a brilliant FBI agent, on of the best the agency has.  It's like she's the center of a star with many, many branches, and she's the main connection for all of them.  This story includes Latin American cartels, the Catholic Church, backwoods West Virginian hicks, bombs and explosions, psychosomatic pathogens from weird fish, dangling from helicopters, forays into Mexico, and even eorcism.  It's all over the place!  But my favorite parts only come once in awhile, and the's Jessica's relationship withthe mysterious Damien.  uell une interesting book!  Never a dull moment, although most of it is totally un-believable.

Goodreads synopsis: In this electrifying sequel to the crowd-pleasing thriller Angel Killer, magician-turned-FBI agent Jessica Blackwood must once again draw on her past to go up against a brutal murderer desperate for revenge at any price
          After playing a pivotal role in the capture of the Warlock, a seemingly supernatural serial killer—and saving the FBI’s reputation in the process—agent Jessica Blackwood can no longer ignore the world she left behind. Formerly a prodigy in a family dynasty of illusionists, her talent and experience endow her with a unique understanding of the power and potential of deception, as well as a knack for knowing when things are not always as they appear to be.
          When a church congregation vanishes under mysterious circumstances in rural Appalachia, the bizarre trail of carnage indicates the Devil’s hand at work. But Satan can’t be the suspect, so FBI consultant Dr. Ailes and Jessica’s boss on the Warlock case, Agent Knoll, turn to the ace up their sleeve: Jessica. She’s convinced that an old cassette tape holds the key to the mystery, and unraveling the recorded events reveals a troubling act with far-reaching implications. The evil at work is human, and Jessica must follow the trail from West Virginia to Mexico, Miami, and even the hallowed halls of the Vatican.
          Can she stop a cold-blooded killer obsessed by a mortal sin—or will she become the next target in a twisted, diabolical game of hunter and prey…? 

18. Murder Theory by Andrew Mayne

#3 The Naturalist (Dr. Theo Crain)
listened on Audible (8:42)
read by Will Damron
2019, Thomas & Mercer
296 pgs.
Contemporary Mystery/Thriller
Finished 2/15/19
Goodreads rating: 4.49 - 391 ratings
My rating:  3
Setting:Contemporary Atlanta and other east coast domiciles

First line/s:  "The helpless  man in the wheelchair thrilled him.  It wasn't a physical thrill or something he'd describe as deviant but the fact thst it was this man who was unconscious and at his mercy excited him."

My comments: Theo Cray is still a reckless, belligerent, thoughtless, brilliant scientist who is a blast to follow.  There seems to be even more scientific information that I found a little difficult to follow in this third book, but I ignored it and took it for what it was - interesting filler (which could be true or not...).  He didn't always have enough clues to get him from one place to another, but this was glossed over a bit, and his awkward and/or dysfunctional relationships with people had my eyes rolling big-time.  But I enjoy this guy, the messes he gets himself into, and his ability to walk through dog shit and come out smelling like a rose every time!

Goodreads 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.

83. Angel Killer by Andrew Mayne

#1 Jessica Blackwood, FBI agent and magician
read on my iPhone
2014 Bourbon Street Books
368 pgs.
Adult murder mystery/police procedural
Finished 8/24/18
Goodreads rating:  4.02 - 2604 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: contemporary spots in the US

First line/s:  " 'You're going to die.' I tell her this not to be cruel, but out of compassion."

My comments:  Well, that was a fascinating book.  After enjoying a couple of books by Andrew Mayne about Professor Theo Cray and his somewhat outlandish escapades, I thought I'd try this book about a female FBI agent who is also a talented magician.  I couldn't put it down.  A magician definitely wrote this book, and although I am not a big fan of magic, I've become a big fan of Andrew Mayne, also a magician in "real life."  Looking forward to the next Jessica Blackwood.

Goodreads synopsis:  FBI agent Jessica Blackwood believes she's left her complicated life as a gifted magician behind her . . . until a killer with seemingly supernatural powers puts her talents to the ultimate test.
          A hacker who identifies himself only as "Warlock" brings down the FBI's website and posts a code in its place that leads to a Michigan cemetery, where a dead girl is discovered rising from the ground . . . as if she tried to crawl out of her own grave.
          Born into a dynasty of illusionists, Jessica Blackwood is destined to become its next star—until she turns her back on her troubled family to begin a new life in law enforcement. But FBI consultant Dr. Jeffrey Ailes's discovery of an old magic magazine will turn Jessica's world upside down. Faced with a crime that appears beyond explanation, Ailes has nothing to lose—and everything to gain—by taking a chance on an agent raised in a world devoted to achieving the seemingly impossible.
          The body in the cemetery is only the first in the Warlock's series of dark miracles. Thrust into the media spotlight, with time ticking away until the next crime, can Jessica confront her past to stop a depraved killer? If she can't, she may become his next victim. 

58. Looking Glass by Andrew Mayne

# 2 Dr. Theo Cray
Listened on Audible
2018, Thomas & Mercer
312 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 6/30/2018
Goodreads rating:  4.36 - 4196 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary LA & Atlanta

First line/s:  "I'm playing a video game in which someone could actually get killed."

My comments:  Andrew Mayne thrusts you into the mind of a scientist, and reading these books are more than just solving mysteries.  You learn and hear a lot about science and technology that is perhaps "over your head," and a bit unbelievable (some may actually be so!), but entirely interesting and almost-believable.  And Dr. Cray is a really likable oddball.

Goodreads synopsis: Professor Theo Cray caught one of the most prolific serial killers in history using revolutionary scientific methods. Cut off from university research because of the shroud of suspicion around him after the death of his former student and the aftermath of catching his quarry, Cray tries to rebuild his life but finds himself drawn into another unsolved case.
       The desperate father of a missing child, ignored by the authorities and abandoned by his community, turns to Theo for help. The only clues are children’s drawings and an inner-city urban legend about someone called the Toy Man.
       To unravel the mystery behind the Toy Man, Theo must set aside his scientific preconceptions and embrace a world where dreams and nightmares carry just as much weight as reality. As he becomes immersed in the case, he discovers a far-reaching conspiracy—one that hasn’t yet claimed its last victim.

12. The Naturalist by Andrew Mayne

The Naturalist #1 (Biologist Prof. Theo Cray)
read on my iPhone/Kindle/Book/Audible
2017, Thomas & Mercer
382 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 1/24/18
Goodreads rating:  4.11 - 12,741 ratings
My rating:   3
Setting: Contemporary Montana

First line/s:  "The woods were wrong."

My comments: Professor Theo Cray is a brilliant scientist.  He's also an incredible bumblefuck.  He really cracks me up.  He does all sorts of illegal digging up and dancing around, but comes out smelling like a rose.  He uses his scientific expertise, ultra-computer savvy, and plain old hutzpa to find a serial killer that no one even realizes exists.  And no matter how many times he is hurt or wounded, he just keeps getting up and going like an energizer bunny.  This was a fun, though unbelievable, book to read.  There's going to be a second one coming out, and I'm sure I'll get a boot out of it, too.

Goodreads synopsis: 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?