The Paleontologist

A Novel

By: Luke Dumas

Narrated by: Graham Halstead

USA TODAY BESTSELLER
2024 ITW Thriller Award Winner
Esquire “Best Horror Books of 2023” Pick

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

Critic reviews

"...narrator Graham Halstead captures the frenzy of Simon’s grief-driven investigation and the menacing atmosphere of the museum, still shuttered because of the pandemic. He expertly delivers the paleontological information woven into the novel, allowing the narrative to flow effortlessly, even when supernatural elements ratchet up the drama." (Beth Farrell)

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.

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.

Plodding along

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

A good story with great narration

I enjoyed listening to this book. It kept my interest and it had a good ending. It kept me wondering and after the final twist, it made me think that I should’ve pick up on the little crumbs and clues that the author was leaving along the trail. It was an enjoyable listen!

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.

Great book

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

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!

Obsession

The author delved into the psyche of this young paleontologist quite deeply. It was a slippery slope. There should have been more regarding the last 3 weeks of his employment. I enjoyed the book and have recommended it to others.

Interesting, a bit predictable

Enjoyed this one enough to make it through, though I sorted the twists out early. Entertaining enough!

A great novel for Dinosaur Enthusiasts

The Paleontoligist was a very enjoyable novel about a paleontologist who is Haunted by his past and the pasts of others.

This is a difficult book to categorize and explain as it draws on multiple genres of literature to tell a truly unique tale. The best way I can describe it is if a Michael Chrichton (author of Jurrassic Park) Novel had ghosts in it.

I greatly enjoyed this novel as it was a horror mystery novel that was heavily influenced scientific facts discovered through paleontoogy.

This book is not for everyone but it hit several key niches that I enjoy, mystery, horror, and dinosaurs. But if you are someone who does not care much dinosaurs this will bot likely be an enjoyable read.

The only reason I am giving this four stars instead of five is because Dumas focused a very large portion of the book to talking about political beliefs and the evil nature and privilege of white males. While the museum in the story was run by elitists since it's founding I did not feel that the amount of text spent on this topic and social inequalities did much to enhance a horror story about ghosts and dinosaurs. The corruption of the institution was something I felt added to the story, but the constant groveling and preaching of the author felt unesssary and did little to add to the story.

While I really enjoyed this novel it is not without it's flaws and it is not for everyone. But if you enjoy history, dinosaurs, mystery, and horror, than this book will be a great fit.