The Paleontologist

A Novel

By: Luke Dumas

Narrated by: Graham Halstead

Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

USA TODAY BESTSELLER

A haunted paleontologist returns to the museum where his sister was abducted years earlier and is faced with a terrifying and murderous spirit in this chilling novel.

Curator of paleontology Dr. Simon Nealy never expected to return to his Pennsylvania hometown, let alone the Hawthorne Museum of Natural History. He was just a boy when his six-year-old sister, Morgan, was abducted from the museum under his watch, and the guilt has haunted Simon ever since. After a recent breakup and the death of the aunt who raised him, Simon feels drawn back to the place where Morgan vanished, in search of the bones they never found.

But from the moment he arrives, things aren’t what he expected. The Hawthorne is a crumbling ruin, still closed amid the ongoing pandemic, and plummeting toward financial catastrophe. Worse, Simon begins seeing and hearing things he can’t explain. Strange animal sounds. Bloody footprints that no living creature could have left. A prehistoric killer looming in the shadows of the museum. Terrified he’s losing his grasp on reality, Simon turns to the handwritten research diaries of his predecessor and uncovers a blood-soaked mystery 150 million years in the making that could be the answer to everything.

©2023 Luke Dumas (P)2023 Simon & Schuster Audio

Entertaining and Eerie

The writing was original and kept me on my seat. Amazing voice acting and was an extremely enjoyable read/listen! I finished this book in less than a week because it was so good!

Entertaining Listen

The narration of this story is fantastic and really brings to story to life. While I was able to figure out the ending halfway into the story, the journey and character development made it worthwhile. It's a great story and the writing allows you to picture what is happening in the moment.

Riveting Mystery Tale

The story was a well-written mystery taking place with the backdrop of a museum. Ultimately a “whodunit” story of murder with a paranormal aspect. I enjoyed the story as well as the performance on the audiobook. The narrator was cast well for the voice of the main character, in my opinion. The only negative, for me, was the unnecessary political commentary inserted periodically by the author. If it has no bearing on the story, you should leave it out. Reading is escapism for me and I don’t want politics force fed to me while I’m trying to get away from the nonstop garbage we hear and see daily on social media. In spite of this, I do recommend this title.

Plodding along

Story spent too much time in the first few chapters just plodding along. Could have used the condensed version.

Great book

I loved the descriptions. The story is also very good as c keeps you interested

Dinosaur Murder Mystery

This book was so much fun to listen to. Mystery and Dinosaurs? What could get any better. A refreshing take on dinosaurs expertly complimented with an unsolved murder and a touch of crazy. Absolutely loved this book.

The Haunted Museum

As an amateur paleontologist I really enjoyed listening to a story about a paleontologist and his work at the museum, enjoyed the murder mystery in the story. I really enjoyed this story

Good story

I really enjoyed this. The narrator was a perfect fit for the character in my opinion. I found the story very entertaining and captivating. My only complaint is the ending, it was a bit predictable at some point and a little underwhelming given the other fun parts of the story. I still find this to be a good read as a dinosaur lover lol.

It was…”meh”

The book had an ok story line for major parts with some very random twists and turns that eventually came together in the end. The book was definitely different and if you’re looking to change up your usual pace, this one is an okay choice.

Highly recommend

Narration is suspenseful and dramatic. Story is really compelling. I like how intermixed the history and mystery are combined.