“I can’t find her in a lab,” I explain. “That’s not the way the Dark Pattern works. Sometimes you can see it. Other times you just have to be it.”
“The Dark Pattern? Do you even listen to yourself?” [loc. 3922]
Dr Theo Cray is on the trail of a serial killer who works in hospitals; he's also plagued by the fear that he's running out of time. He's certainly slipping up more than before, making mistakes because he's so convinced by his own theories. It takes a visit to his old mentor to shake him out of his own arrogance -- and even then he's convinced that only he can solve the case.
Theo is definitely falling apart in this novel, but he's still fascinating. I was surprised by the ending, but not wholly convinced. I've enjoyed this series -- even when, as with viruses and now hospitals, it's a little too relevant to Real Life -- and found in the four books a tragic arc of rise and fall, hubris, a good man trying to prevent evil and making moral compromises of his own. The scientific asides are excellent, too. Enjoyable, interesting, informative and well-written: I may return to Mayne's work, but for now I need more cheerful fare.
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