The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas follows Simon Nealy, a paleontologist who is trading recent tragedy during the COVID pandemic to retreat to a past tragedy over two decades old. He takes a job at a museum where his sister went missing, and he begins to see and hear things that should not, cannot exist. As he looks into a journal left by the fellow who held his position before him, he scoffs at the man's descent into madness while he begins to follow in his footsteps.

I liked that this book committed to the supernatural aspect; I absolutely hate when supernatural elements are teased in the synopsis and then it's all handwaved away as nonsense and impossible. The impossible is the most fun to read, in my opinion; why read about the mundane when you can read about the magical? But I digress. I think some people may find the supernatural aspects a little TOO much to swallow, and the parallel of Simon and his sister Morgan to that of dinosaurs exhibited in the museum may be a little too fanciful, but I enjoyed it. Some of the dialogue seemed a bit stiff, and the setting dealing with COVID may also be raw for certain people, but it certainly grounds Simon's need to flee to his past, even if it, too, contains horrors. The book also gets points for me for the diversity of characters in both race and sexuality; that is certainly refreshing to see.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for Luke Dumas' 'The Paleontologist.'

This is a missing person/haunted house/monster thriller/Jurassic Park story all rolled into one.

It starts pretty slowly.

A paleontologist returns to his home town to work in the museum from which his sister was abducted while in his care as a young teenager.

After that it just goes haywire and in every direction with hauntings, killings, odd relationships, and a ton of great information about dinosaurs.

The whole storyline involving the fundraising efforts and the whims of rich donors was very enjoyable and eminently recognizable in my experience. Some great characters emerge out of that strand.

There's a little too much of the main character, Simon Nealy, 'forgetting' or 'putting out of his mind' within hours some of the more bizarre occurrences so even with disbelief firmly suspended for the duration of the novel, those instances just rang false.

Nonetheless, good fun.

The book is original and if you like dinosaurs or ghost stories and don't mike the combination this sis a treasure for you. It is well written , and I enjoyed it, but am not so much a dinosaur fan as other.ss.

This book was great. The dinosaur horror was so good - it was definitely a great departure from devils and axe murders.
The paleontologist had lost his sister at the museum when a child. It has tormented him for his entire life and took a job that was a step down from his prestigious employment at a noted museum to get to the bottom of what happened. The book just takes off from there. I loved that this book was ultimately a feel good book at the end and I enjoyed it immensely! Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read a well done horror story.

The thrills and chills are certainly there. I just wish better writing was too. Stay for the story though. You won’t be disappointed.

This is a combination of a murder mystery and supernatural thriller, both genres I love. However, I don’t feel the two seamlessly meshed together throughout the entire book but did pull together nicely in the end.

This was not a quick paced, page turner but overall I enjoyed reading, as I am a fan of dinosaurs, archaeology, haunted museums and murder mysteries.

My favorite line from the book “In the bones of the Earth shall the truth be found”

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in return for my voluntary and honest review.

Creepy AF. Delicious hair-raising page turner. Leave the lights on! 😂

Curator of paleontology Dr Simon Nealy never planned to return to his hometown in Pennsylvania, let alone the Museum where his 6 year old sister disappeared years ago.

This book is a frighteningly creepy ghost story. If you like dinosaurs, ghosts, and horror, this one is up your alley! I loved Dumas' writing. He has a talent for creating the perfect atmosphere to raise all your alarm bells and scare the living daylights out of you!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

Dr Simon Nealy takes a job as a paleontologist in a museum where twenty years earlier his sister mysteriously disappeared. Once Simon starts working at the museum he starts hearing noises late at night in the museum. He eventually discovers the museum has ghosts, both human and dinosaurs. And he is not the only one who can hear them. I enjoyed the book.

Wow this book was a lot. I really wanted to love this and have this be one of my new favorite books, and what’s frustrating is that it could have been. The Paleontologist tries to do too many things. I would have liked either just the ghost dinosaurs or just the missing sister mystery, but having both going at the same time was too much. I feel it lessened the impact the book could have had cause the moments I was supposed to be shocked or touched, it was quickly swept away by the other sub plot. With that being said the story isn’t bad, I did still enjoy it overall. I thought the characters were good interesting and I’m a huge dinosaur nerd so that I also loved. Like I said, this just suffers from doing too much.

Prehistoric dinosaurs, a spooky natural history museum, a research diary, and a mysterious disappearance made me eager to dive into the pages of The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas. Overall, I thought it was an excellent read! Fans of Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (which I could not put down!), Jurassic Park movies (which I rewatch now and then), missing-person cases, and stories set in museums are likely to enjoy this book.

Dr. Simon Nealy starts work in the natural history museum where his sister disappeared decades ago on his watch, wracking him with guilt ever since, and wants to find her bones. But strange, spooky things start happening—animal sounds, bloody footprints--is it madness? While working to restore his predecessor’s dinosaur exhibit, he stumbles on his research diary and finds a prehistoric mystery. This setup urged me to keep reading, to learn what happened to his sister and whether it had anything to do with the museum hauntings. The story examines the horrors of family trauma, loss, grief, and guilt.

This was an atmospheric read. I felt the spookiness of the museum, enhanced by Simon’s isolation as most of his colleagues worked from home due to Covid-19. The book started very slowly, but when Simon began investigating, things moved forward. I loved the research diary entries and stories behind the dinosaurs. The relationship arcs were very satisfying, especially with one of his colleagues toward the end. I found the details of paleontology work and exhibit creation very illuminating. There were things I felt iffy about like a character being unconscious during a high-conflict moment and the villain’s motivation. But I still enjoyed reading the book, especially the dinosaur story that added a deeper layer of meaning. This was a slow-burn, sprawling thriller with an emotionally satisfying ending. I recommend it and look forward to reading the author’s next books! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for allowing me the opportunity to read an early copy.

Dr Simon Neely is tasked with overseeing a new fossil exhibition in Hawthorne Museum of Natural History, an institution closed due to the pandemic and in desperate need of a new exhibit to draw customers when it reopens. Simon has a complicated history with Hawthorne Museum due to its involvement with his sister's disappearance, but he feels compelled to return and search for answers to unanswered questions. The longer Simon spends within the empty halls and shadowed corners of the institution, the more he comes to believe there's more than initially meets the eye hidden in the deserted museum.

I'm not normally a fan of books set during the pandemic and using it as a major plot point. However, the Paleontologist makes it work, and it works quite well. The pandemic related restrictions helped to move the story forward and acted as an integral part of the plot rather than feeling like an unnecessary detail tacked on. There's a strong sense of events and character's lives being unsettled and in a state of limbo, which adds another layer of tension to the story centering on Simon's search for answers about both his sister and the mysteries of the museum.

I'm convinced there's not much that could be creepier than an empty museum full of dimly lit nooks and crannies and remnants from an earlier time. Add in a man already haunted by the memory of past tragic events and whispers of a curse, and it's a recipe for a book I'll struggle to set aside.

The Paleontologist is loaded with dark, creepy atmosphere and has several different mysteries that had me invested in their outcome. I found the ending both satisfying and surprisingly emotional. This is a slow burn thriller that'll make a nice addition to the to-be-read lists of those who enjoy museum based or dinosaur related mysteries with supernatural elements.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing me a copy to read and review.

Everyone, if you love dinosaurs, get this. It's my favorite book of the year and I can't say enough good things about it. I finished it last night and had to laugh at myself because I was moved to tears over some ancient dinosaur fossils. I felt that high you get after reading a satisfying and cathartic story. I wanted to be a paleontologist when I was a child, and saw the original Jurassic Park in theaters. Not since that night have I had such a dinosaur themed rush of love sweep through me until I met Simon, Evie, and Theo. The monsters in a natural history museum trope has been one I've loved since I was given The Relic by Preston and Child before that movie came out, and this book is now on par with that classic. I don't want to give anything away about the plot, because it's got layers and well, guys, DINOSAUR GHOSTS! Please give Luke Dumas all the success he deserves, as this book gave me characters to love and want to give hugs to, and I really hope he pens a sequel someday as the ending made me wish we could follow Simon on his journey further. The book wraps up perfectly but I really did not want it to end. I'm about to get A History of Fear, the author's first book, and I already know it will be a page turner.

The artwork in this book is wonderful by the way. My inner paleontologist squealed with joy at every one. Also, the cover is just perfect.

Simon Nealy jumps at the chance to return to the Hawthorne Museum of Natural History. It's his hometown museum but also the site where his 6 year old sister was abducted in a case that to this day remains unsolved. It's the pandemic and he enters the decaying Hawthorne with high hopes but finds himself isolated, alone and unmoored.

He begins working on a finding that may save the museum from ruin but hears sounds and see things that can't possibly be true. Is monster living in the museum?

Very scary! Gothic museum story for the win! #atria #Thepaleontologist #lukeDumas

This book will wreck you.

By the end of the book you’ll be horrified and incredibly sad. You’ll want to pet a puppy and surround yourself with Lisa Frank holographic rainbows or something.

It’s a tiny bit of a slower, more methodical read, but it’s not brain candy and that time is spent building up an incredible story and it’s well worth the journey.

I hadn’t read the author before, but I’m now going to read his first book.

An excellent read.

• ARC via Publisher

Simon Nealy is a paleontologist that accepts a job at his hometown museum and returns home to confront the figurative and literal ghosts of his mother’s addiction and his sister’s unsolved disappearance. I found the scientific process descriptions fascinating but the characters and plot didn’t really work for me. I could not form a bond with any of the characters and I found the story itself to be a bit scattered. Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Summary of the plot:

Simon Nealy has been offered his dream job as the Director of Paleontology at the Hawthorne Museum of Natural History. However, he has history with this museum. Turns out, decades ago, his younger sister, Morgan, was abducted in plain sight and never found again. So he sets on a journey to try to find out what happened to his sister and to find her bones again. When he gets to the museum, it turns out that his dream job is way less exciting and way more stressful than he imagined as the museum faces financial struggles caused by COVID-19. Simon also starts to hear creepy noises around the museum and seeing things that shouldn't be there.

Thoughts on the book:

I picked this up because in another life, I would have become an archeologist or paleontologist. I'm also trying to get more into mysteries. Honestly, I thought this book was okay. Simon isn't the most interesting main characters, but his connection with his aunt who passed away and his determination to find out what happened to his sister made me keep reading.

I found that the beginning of the story was really slow, mostly just setting up the museum context. The mystery element didn't quite start until closer to the halfway point of the book. However, the mystery isn't as prevalent as the museum context--the author spends a lot of time talking about the struggles of the museum and how to keep it afloat during rough times.

One aspect of this book that I did enjoy was learning more about dinosaurs--the author did a great job researching all different sorts of facts on the subject.

The plot twist (aka figuring out who killed the sister) was definitely surprising to me, but I should have seen it coming. The Easter eggs were all there, and I thought it was an interesting end to the book.

Overall, I thought this book was okay. Maybe I'm just not a huge mystery fan.

YOOOOO! This was my second Luke Dumas and after the rave of The History of Fear, my hopes were high for this one, and boy, oh boy, did our lovely author follow through on that hype. I THREW my phone across my room when I got my approval email for this one from Netgalley, and yall; just take my word for it and pre-order this baby like yesterday because the eerie, macabre horror of the Luke Dumas literary universe is back and yall aren't ready!

I am SO thankful to Netgalley, Luke Dumas, and Atria Books for granting me very early access, for this gem doesn't hit shelves until OCTOBER 31, 2023, and it will make for the best and spookiest release read!

Dr. Simon Nealy has a haunted past after his 6-year-old sister went missing in his favorite hometown museum when he was younger. Flash forward, and this dino-loving kid is now an adult and a very esteemed paleontologist who has returned home to take a job at that very same museum, "The Hawthorne," that his sister vanished from back in the late 90s.

Simon is met by a small, cranky maintenance worker, Maurice, who is tired of cleaning up the museum messes on his own while the rest of his coworkers have either been furloughed or are working from the safety of their homes after the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Simon very quickly learns that this job isn't all that it was hyped up to be, what with the lack of funding, his role being a tad bit more blurry than he expected, and especially with all the bumps and sounds in the night that aren't his coworkers, and likely something more sinister, and even paranormal.

All while Simon is hiding, he takes the job to search for his long-gone and hopefully still-standing sister before time runs out.

I was also dino-obsessed as a youngster, so this book tapped into my childhood hyper fixations, and the paranormal combination was the cherry on top.