I liked this book. A little bit mystery, a little bit supernatural, a little bit science, a little bit crazy scientist and a museum with a past. Simon Nealy is young, but with a great resume. When the Hawthorne Institute hires him as its Paleontologist, it fits his recent inner calling to go home. Besides, he has just gone through a breakup with the man he thought he would be with forever. The Hawthorne was Simon's favorite place to be when he was a child. He loved the dinosaurs and Morgan, his little sister, loved the bugs. And then, Simon brought Morgan there when he was ten and she was seven. They each went to their favorite exhibits. She disappeared without a trace. His neglectful, drug addled mother blamed him. Soon, his aunt rescued him and took him off to raise him up to the man he is today. He's back. The museum is deteriorating and shabby. COVID is threatening its future as it has been closed down for quite awhile. Simon soon finds the museum has an unassembled set of dinosaur bones. He is tasked with getting the dinosaur exhibit up by the big fundraising gala on a shoestring budget, aided by a very interesting benefactor who he befriends. He works long hours. And after dark, he hears her. And them. Morgan seems to be haunting the museum, her voice calling after dark. And too, he hears the sounds of creatures, has weird, inexplicable visions and the signs left behind suggest he might not be imagining things. **BONUS** Some amazing and pertinent illustrative drawings that are fabulous.

Simon is there to investigate and find out what happened to Morgan. At first a local cop helps. But others are there to stop him and dissuade those who are helpful. His mother is in a mental institution, still blaming him. Has he gone crazy? New in town, he mostly has his coworkers as his connection to the world. He gets along with them, although the board of directors and his boss are a very mixed bag and the woman in charge of fundraising is pushy and resentful of his youthful rise to a well-paid position and friendship with the benefactor. Ultimately, a number of cinematically notable and sometimes horrifying scenes mesh with a bizarre twist or two and--if not all the answers are satisfying, we get--resolutions. The writing is good. The clues are there. Most characters are interesting, some stereotypical, Definitely recommended.

This was out of my comfort zone and I’m so glad I read it.

A mix of supernatural and mystery, The Paleontologist brings a very interesting spin on hauntings and paranormal presence.

When I say out of my comfort zone I mean I need science in books dumbed down because I feel like I can never comprehend it well enough. I thoroughly enjoyed the vast amount of actual paleontology that was in this book. Those were some of my favorite parts.

The human aspect of this book, though, the grief of feeling responsible for the loss of a sibling, the constant feeling of weight on your shoulders, I thought it was so powerful.

And then we get this supernatural thriller of it all. There were parts I was thoroughly spooked! And the crescendo moment of breakthrough in the end was intense!

I really enjoyed this and now know I need to read A History of Fear!

I am very disappointed after how much I enjoyed History of Fear when I read it. I expected this to obviously be a different story but at least be as enjoyable and it was just boring and I kept waiting for things to get interesting as everything just kept dragging on at a snail pace.

Thank you NetGalley and the Atria Books for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date for this book is October 31, 2023.

The Paleontologist is a story about Dr. Simon Nealy, a paleontologist who takes a job at the museum his younger sister disappeared from decades prior. Along with the mystery of her disappearance, there’s an extra layer of creepy secrets lurking within the facility.

This slow-burn thriller feels like a smarter, more adult version of Night at the Museum. Dumas clearly devoted an extensive amount of time to research, and it shows! He also did a great job at writing the story to take place during the COVID-19 pandemic without it being overwhelming or distasteful.


My initial thoughts during the first few chapters were that the prose was unnecessarily pretentious, especially juxtaposed against such an imaginary (sometimes cheesy) subplot. Once the story picks up it becomes more atmospheric, and the overachieving prose bothered me less.

Overall, this was a good autumn read. Perfect for spooky season especially if you want to still sleep peacefully at night. The short chapters (always a plus in my book) really worked well for the story. If you have no particular interest in dinosaurs it helps to keep boredom at bay. Lastly, the side characters are a treat! I am a Fran stan for sure!

Every bit of this over-the-top premise was for me, but the writing unfortunately wasn't. I found myself skimming to learn plot twists in order for it to be over quicker.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing- Ballantine for a EArc copy in return for an honest review.

After that Ending I had to take a few days to compose myself. I loved how Dumas just wraps such terror up in a pretty package at the end with a bow. Dumas crafts a suspenseful horror that will have you questioning the sounds and shapes that eminates in the shadows around you. I myself will never look at a museum the same again, especially the bones.

The Good
For starters, I was not expecting the twist at the end or the unlikely friend who aids Simon the ending was wholesome in a way that almost feels too good to be true. Though I was happy with how it turned out.
Next, you can definitely tell that Dumas did his homework on fossil preservation and the workings behind the scene of a museum from funding to exhibit creation. It was told so nonchalantly as 'everyone knows that' so their was no time I felt overwhelmed from info dumping. Dumas' utter passion for dinosaurs is prevalent whenever Simon or Muller  (through his diary entries) discuss their findings about Theo and what stories his bones could tell.
Speaking of Mueller's diary entries, I loved that we got to discover clues alongside Simon and was fascinated to see Mueller change as he wrote more and more entries. The drawings done by Mueller added such an immersive element and allowed someone who isn't as familiar with dinosaurs to glimpse a bit of an understanding. I enjoyed following the multiple mysteries and was happy that we almost got all of our answers.

The Bad
The beginning took a bit for me to get Into and I found myself not caring about his relationship with Kai I wanted to just focus on his settling in to his new job and the mysterious nature of the museum and its dark past. I felt like the pacing was a little too slow to keep me locked in but slowly built, and at the ending the pacing was a whirlwind.
I also found that sometimes Dumas would have the characters say super random and, at times, vulgar things that would take me out of the story. They didn't feel like charachter building choices, so it made them, in my opinion, questionable to add. For example he has Earl say "like a cock in a cunt-hole," Earl said "or in your case a--". It just feels more for shock value and unnecessary. Lastly i wanted a bit more closure on why the museums inhabitants behaved the way they did and if Maurices story was the truth or if their was another explanation.
For these reasons it wasn't a 5 star for me. I will be reading Dumas' backlog and am excited to see what thought provoking idea he will play with next.

Twenty years ago, what was supposed to be a fun trip to his favorite place, the Hawthorne museum, turned into a nightmare when his six year old sister Morgan disappeared. Simon's felt the guilt of losing her all these years and vowed never to return. But now after losing his aunt who helped raise him and his long term relationship, Simon feels a pull to finally solve the mystery. A research position opens at the Hawthorne, but when he arrives he finds a rundown and abandoned museum closed down during the covid crisis. Alone amidst the bones, the janitor warns him, "If you hear somethingin the dark, don't go looking for it".
If Jurassic Park and Night at the Museum combined, this would be the story. The setting of an abandoned museum was eerie enough but add in the noises in the dark, strange visions, and Simon's past history with the Hawthorne and the story had me in the edge of my seat. The dinosaur facts sprinkled throughout the book were fascinating and the journal entries of the former curator who apparently went mad kept the story moving along. The ending was so creepy and totally not what i expected!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A perfectly creepy haunted museum tale. Simon is a sympathetic character looking for clues to his sister’s disappearance. How completely scary is an empty museum?

I loved Luke Dumas first book a history of fear, but the paleontologist although everything that had nothing to do with dinosaurs was so interesting but not gonna lie could’ve done without all the dinosaur talk. Simon and his sister grew up in a single parent dysfunctional home with a drug addicted mother who barely had food to eat after a court sanctioned week of community service his mom was sober and decided to surprise him with tickets to the museum he begged to go to it would be that trip he waited for forever when he would lose his six year old sister. Only to grow up become a paleontologist and work at the same museum. I having him work at the museum during Covid with just the janitor in the building was creepy on its own so made for a great atmosphere for this Gothic type book I did enjoy it but as I said didn’t like all the talk about dinosaurs I love a lot of different subjects and I do mean a lot but unfortunately dinosaurs isn’t one of them I only mentioned my dislike for the subject because there were times where the text would go on for pages and it would be about dinosaurs or a fossil find but if you do not mind that in love a creepy read then you definitely will love the paleontologist by Luke Dumas I want to think the publisher and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This one was such a wild ride!! This book went absolutely unexpected places without missing a beat! I had first read Dumas' work in A History of Fear and while these two books are quite different I enjoyed them both the same. Thank you so much to Atria Books for the ARC.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC of this title.**

Wow, I really wanted to love this one but ended up incredibly disappointed. The premise - a haunted museum and paleontologist searching for answers about his long missing sister - was right in my wheelhouse. I love dinosaurs! I love museums! I just didn't love this story.

The writing was incredibly emotional and not for me. That kind of writing is fine, but in my opinion it doesn't work in a thriller. I found the pace slow going, in what should have been a page-turner. There was also a lot of back and forth with the themes. Is this about ghost dinosaurs? Is it a police procedural? It really felt like the author couldn't decide and that made it hard for me to get through as a reader as well.

My final and biggest complaint which keeps this from gaining more than 3 stars from me: this was way too political in a jarring way. In a way that detracted from the story line and took me out of the book. From COVID to elitism, (and so much more) I felt beat over the head while just wanting to read a spooky story about dinosaurs. COVID wasn't even mentioned in the synopsis, yet it played more of a part than several key players in this story.

The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas is a recommended psychological thriller.

Dr. Simon Nealy has returned to his hometown, Wrexham, Pennsylvania to become the Curator of paleontology at the Hawthorne Museum of Natural History. His sister disappeared when the two were at the museum as children, so many complicated emotions surround his return. The museum itself is a crumbling ruin and closed due to the pandemic lockdown so no income is coming in. As Simon tries to acclimate to his new positions and set the paleontology department into some sort of order, it seems there is some supernatural element or creature loose in the museum. Either he is loosing his mind or something else is going on and Simon must try to find out the answer.

The characters are fully realized and they all are portrayed as unique individuals with strengths and flaws. The backstory of Simon and the traumatic experiences he has gone through immediately makes him a sympathetic character.

The quality of the writing is excellent and Dumas does a credible job including the scientific information in the plot. With initial comparisons to Preston and Child's Relic, I had high hopes for The Paleontologist. I stuck with it based on the pluses: dinosaur bones, a creepy museum, and a childhood trauma tied into the museum.

Admittedly, the rough spots right at the start were very off-putting with Covid and masking at the forefront of the entire novel. (Authors, please leave this out of novels.) Then something was mentioned when it would have been better to simply provide the facts with a nod to the readers intelligence to figure it out. As the narrative continued it was soon clear that there were simply too many scattered subplots and one of them required an inordinate about of suspension of disbelief for this reader. It is enjoyable, but not the page-turner I was hoping for.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Atria via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Edelweiss, X, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

The Paleonologist
By Luke Dumas

I was attracted to this book because my six year old grandson has decided he wants to be a paleontologist – and he knows what that means! This book is about a twenty year old unsolved mystery, specifically the disappearance and presumed death of Dr. Simon Nealy's then six year old sister, Morgan.

Simon and Morgan lived a life of abuse and neglect, until the day that Morgan and Simon visited the Hawthorne Natural History Museum – and, while Simon visited the dinosaurs, Morgan disappeared. No trace of her has been found.

After this tragedy, Simon is taken in and nurtured by his loving Aunt Colleen. His fascination with dinosaurs leads him to become a paleontologist working in a museum in Chicago. When the Hawthorne Museum back in his hometown offers him a job, he accepts the position with misgivings. He hopes that, while there, he may be able to figure out what happened to Morgan.

Mr. Dumas has created a number of interesting characters – not least of which are Theo and Morgan, the brother and sister dinosaurs, whose spirits, among others, haunt the museum. They are trying to send a message.

This story, while somewhat fantastic, allows the reader to suspend disbelief and root for Simon and his dinosaurs. Although Simon's long term plans, as explained in the epilogue, may seem unreal, I couldn't help feeling that I wish his crusade were more than fictitious.

The Paleontologist review

4/5 stars for this unique horror story! I read Luke Dumas’ History of Fear and really enjoyed it, so I was excited when I was approved for his newest book on NetGalley (big thank you to Atria Books for the chance to read and review The Paleontologist). While I had a few issues with the pacing and story, I overall really enjoyed it and found it to be unlike anything I’ve read before!

The book is one part murder mystery, one part supernatural horror story, and one part character study. It fully immerses you in the world of museum curation and paleontology, and this is one of its strengths. Another high point is how much you feel for Simon, our MC, as he struggles to make sense of his sister’s disappearance. One issue I had is that I think the spirits of the museum were not given as much attention or explanation as they could have. I also felt the book dragged a bit in the middle. But those were minor issues in an otherwise solid book.

I want to preface this review with the note that I was very excited about the premise of this book based on the synopsis, maybe I had hopes that were too high going in to my reading. Dinosaur ghosts sign me up! That said as I began reading this I really struggled to stay invested in the story. Was it because of the COVID references? Maybe, but while I’m a bit tired of this storyline I’ve haven’t let it impact me in the past. I think where I really struggled was that as I read this I couldn’t stop thinking of this being a ‘Dino Dana’ knockoff. There was also a repetition to this story that made it difficult for me to get through.
Many thanks to Atria and NetGalley for an ARC in return for my honest review.

Museums can be awesome and full of wonder, but they can also be an excellent setting for a thriller. The atmosphere and setting here are perfect for the story. Altogether this was a great combination of creepiness and mystery (plus dinosaurs!) that made this a great read.

Note: arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for honest review

Simon is a paleontologist who has returned to his hometown in PA to work in a museum that holds bad memories for him. When Simon was young, he was in charge of his younger sister in the museum when she went missing and was never found. He decides to return to see if he can solve the crime. When weird events begin to happen while he attempts to rebuild a dinosaur, he starts to doubt his sanity. The book is interesting and has some very vivid horror scenes, but seems a bit long and repetitive, with Simon repeatedly mourning his sister. Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing an ARC.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I loved the sound of the premise. I was not dissapointed. I really enjoyed reading this and the attention to detail about museums and exhibits was spot on.

Thank you to net galley for the digital ARC.

Top 5 favorite book, maybe ever.

Fair Warning - This book is 100% for readers who like when a character's career or passion, in this case both, is at the center of the story. Meaning, if you don't want to read about dinosaurs, fossil collection, the politics of non-profit organizations, or museum exhibit design. Don't read this. It will be boring to you. However, if those subjects sound interesting, you might love this as much as I did.

The level of detail in which Simon's day to day work is described made this one of the most real-feeling, and atmospheric books I've ever read. You're in the archives. You're rifling through file cabinets. You're dealing with donors. You're reading field journals. You're meeting with the board. All against the backdrop of an old, shuttered museum with a sordid past. It almost felt like reading non-fiction at times, which made it all the more eerie when the ghosts came out. The mystery involving Simon's sister is both intricately plotted and chilling. It takes patience to put the pieces together, but the payoff is high.

This just really had everything for me. Fascinating, spooky, with characters I was rooting for. Highly recommend to anyone who thinks the extensive dino/museum details would work for them.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC of this novel.

I wanted to read this novel because I like horror and am interested in paleontology. I think the novel is at its best in the sections focused on paleontology and museum politics. The MCs guilt and trauma feel real as well. The prose moved briskly. The plotting was questionable. Between the Night at the Museum stuff and the disappeared sister. there was a lot going on both in terms of plot and genre, and it did not sync together very well all the time. The horror part was lost in the shuffle. My overall impression was that the book lacked focus.