First Chapter/First Paragraph: The Naturalist by Andrew Mayne

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?

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea. Each week, participants share a paragraph (or two) from a book they are currently reading or are planning to read soon.

Today I’m going to share the first couple of chapters of The Naturalist by Andrew Mayne. I’ll be starting this one soon and I’m really looking forward to it!

Chapter One
1989

“The woods were wrong. That was the only way Kelsie could describe it. There was just something not right. She stared off in the direction Trevor had gone, unsure if she should try to track him down or stay put next to the tiny red tent and wait for him to return from his bathroom break.

He’s laugh at her if she said she was scared, so Kelsie dug through her backpack, searching for the role of toilet paper she’d borrowed from the Conoco station restroom thirty miles back. She found it wrapped up in the cords of her Walkman, resting on the mixtapes Trevor had made for her back at Boston College.” 

What do you think? Would you continue reading?

I’m thinking this can’t be good. She’s sensing danger and her companion is, apparently, a distance away.