In this gripping page-turner, an ex-agent on the run from her former employers must take one more case to clear her name and save her life. She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn’t even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her … they came for her without warning.
Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They’ve killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.
When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it’s her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous.
Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.
In this tautly plotted novel, Meyer creates a fierce and fascinating new heroine with a very specialized skill set. And she shows once again why she’s one of the world’s bestselling authors.
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A former agent is on the run after the agency made an attempt on her life. After spending a few months in hiding her former boss calls her in for one last case. She’s suspicious of his intentions, yet follows his orders to kidnaps Daniel. She interrogated him with chemical torture to cause pain in his body to weaken his mind.
After a few doses of chemicals she’s attacked. Soon she learns that this new individual is someone she can team up with. With three people working together they come up with a plan to draw out the enemies.
Kevin worries about bullets and bombs. While Daniel concerns himself with cooking since he has no weaponry experience. Alex is an interrogator with a chemist background so she focuses on creating poisons.
Overall:
I found it was imperative to read the premise before diving right into this book. Don’t do what I did and jump in with both feet. After a while I realized I needed clues, so I read a few reviews on Goodreads and decided it was best to read the premise. That certainly put things in perspective.
I found the suspense scenes were few are far between. I was hoping for a more action paced thriller.
I was not as invested in the storyline as I had hoped. I did enjoy the three main characters. The pace was way too slow. I found myself not 8n any hurry to finish listening to the audiobook.
I really wanted to like this book more and was excited to read it. In fact I invested in both the audiobook and the ebook. That’s how excited I was. The cover, title, and premise seemed so promising. I was ready for nonstop action and thrills.
Stephenie’s approach to formulate a romance between a normal guy and a sheltered gal was lost on me until halfway into the book. Up until that point I saw no signs of a brooding romance. I was too focused on Alex as a chemical agent getting lost in her gadget world to notice an attraction to Daniel. Had I not been informed by other readers about this romantic situation I would’ve continued waiting for a different outcome to the story. It didn’t hinder the story any nor alter the story, yet it didn’t enhance it either.
The Chemist is a slow building story in both suspense and romance. Because of its slow building nature I found myself with very little excitement and enthusiasm to finish the book. I liked it but didn’t love it. I certainly appreciated the time and effort Stephenie put into the originality of the storyline. But it was lacking the thrill factor. There is no disputing it’s written very well.
Narrator:
There were a few scenes that were skipped over. I’m not sure if this was done intentionally. I followed along with my ebook purchase so I knew these scenes were missing.
Ellen Archer is the female narrator who performed The Chemist. Her performance of all characters was fantastic. I enjoyed the sound and tone of her voice. She is a true performer acting out the scenes with the proper sound, pitch, and tone. Even her performance of the two other male characters was done extremely well.
I chose a listening speed of 1.8x to move the story along a little faster. 17 hours is way too many hours.
Dear Ms. Meyer,
I literally read this book every day.
Its home is in my ‘little girls’ room.
I can’t get enough of Daniel and Kevin.
I think I have a crush on Kevin.
Please ignore any and all negative comments from people.
Please develop a trilogy for this amazing novel.
I would love to see Kevin and Val’s characters in a steamy thriller.
Kevin is so sexy and witty.
Val matches him in sensuality and mystery.
Daniel’s new life has only just begun.
He and Alex are a powerhouse of intellect and love.
I loved Einstein but Kahn’s size, power, and beauty have endless potential.
I can go on.
But, your gift for storytelling can blast Jason Bourne’s male character version to kingdom come!
Please reconsider leaving Kevin as a ‘bouncer’ Alex as a ‘waitress’ Val as a wealthy ‘hooker’ or Daniel’s, now Nathaniel’s, right-sided heart and 5 star Michelin levelness ‘Hidden’ away.
My highest regards, Diane
This book is fantastic!! As a fan of Stephenie Meyer’s other works, I hoped this one would be just as good. The Chemist is probably my favorite of her works (yes, even better than Twilight). I loved the bold and exciting Alex and how she is coping with her changing work life. I enjoyed reading the parts where Alex got to defend/protect herself and others. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!
I liked this book but it did not seem to have the depth of her earlier series.
Strong female character. Interesting events.
Well thought out and an exciting read.
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. It has been years since I read any of Stephenie Meyers books. And I was craving her way of story telling but didn’t want to reread any of my old ones. This hit the spot and I love how complex this story was. The insta love is a little much BUT its all about how Meyer tells her stories. It wouldn’t’ be right without that. This was a great way to get back into here books. I had been on the fence about getting this for several months and finally caved. It was well worth the credit! It is full of action, suspense, a little romance, and alot of crazy fun stuff you wouldn’t expect! I very much enjoyed this and highly recommend it!
This review is also available on my blog: Wine Cellar Library
I hate writing negative reviews, but I do not have many positive thoughts in regards to this novel.
Of course, like everyone else, I first read this author in the Twilight Series. I actually did not think very highly of Twilight , but the other 3.5 books in the series were fantastic. I also read The Host , and after some difficulty digesting the premise in the beginning, I absolutely loved that novel.
This is Stephenie Meyer’s first attempt at writing adult fiction. She really ought to just stick to the Young Adult genre. She is amazing at writing about emotions but has never excelled at writing action scenes.
Juliana was a brilliant scientist who was recruited by an agency while still in college to work as an interrogator. Her interrogation tactics do not leave the subject maimed, but give him or her maximum pain in order to force confessions. She was dubbed “The Chemist,” though she did not actually study chemistry. She was also dubbed “Oleander,” which she does not approve of whatsoever.
She has been on the run for years. The agency tried to kill her, and she doesn’t know why. Meyers details her intricate nightly self-protection routine. There are many numbers thrown around. She was “85 percent sure” or “90 percent certain” or could dawn her gas mask in “3 seconds” even when tired (which, by the way, is impossible…I’m in the military and it takes around 7 seconds to dawn and clear a gas mask when on high alert) or the “entire exchange took 2 seconds…” You get the point. It’s exhausting, mentally. We get it. She’s a bad ass. And she likes numbers. Moving on.
She receives a message from a former associate at the agency that leads to her tracking down a target and interrogating him. It’s obvious from the first that he is smitten with her and that she will attach herself to him eventually. The twist that occurs next is laughably predictable. What’s hilarious is that Meyer actually makes fun of herself by having Juliana say that it is as ridiculous as a Soap Opera how things turned out. Because it is… Exactly. Like. A Soap Opera.
The rest is equally as predictable. And long. Sooooooooo long. This book, as an audiobook, took well over 17 hours to “read,” which is twice the average length. There is just no sensical reason why it couldn’t have been truncated.
The character development leaves a lot to be desired. The dialogue is weak. The narrator was monotonous. It was difficult to pay attention. I have so much on my TBR that had this been a hard copy, I would have set it aside for much, much later.
It is the chemistry that matters in learning what we see, smell, touch, hear, taste, feel, etc. in our daily lives and make or select materials for various purposes ranging from healthcare to industrialization. As a chemical engineer I keep good liaisons with prominent chemists for making what seems to be impossible to make from the ordinary persons’ perspectives. “The Chemist” is a book worth reading with respect to getting good insights into the world of chemistry and chemical engineering applications. Hence I recommend “The Chemist” for my friends to buy and read.
The storyline was a good one, with the big government agencies wielding too much power and having no rules to follow and a woman who has been on the run for 3 years and trusts no one. At times I felt as though I had to suspend my reality, although I know the author did her research regarding weapons, chemicals and terrorism. There was a love story intertwined which developed over time, along with a friendship. Good character development and story. I particularly liked the characters of the dogs in the story.
I picked up this book because of the image the title evoked. I was quite leery, because of the author’s vastly popular earlier series; neither of these ‘spoke’ to me…the genre not being ‘my cup of tea’, as it were…
Very glad I did not reject this book, based on the disinclination! The characters, and their strengths & weaknesses, were well-written. The shadowy nature of the rationale for the heroine’s peril was properly left vague, until it gradually coalesced.
An interesting take on the paranoia that results from abuse/corruption of power & privilege.
I was lucky enough to have gotten this book from the library. Fabulous book plenty of twist and turns.
This book was a page turner. It was action-packed and had a little romance and expense. It was an excellent book. If you like chemistry then he would probably love this book. I didn’t but I still enjoyed it tremendously.
Juliana Fortis was an agent for a clandestine government organization. She was an interrogator who used chemicals to get the necessary information. Then the agency killed her mentor and she barely escaped with her life. Three years later she has survived several assassination attempts and is contacted by the agency, wanting her help to thwart a terrorist attack. Instead it is a trap intended to kill her and another agent from the CIA. This was page turner, full of surprises and a little romance.
I really enjoyed it…..kept me interested all the way through.
Waiting on the next one.
Just an all around fun book to read.
This book was outside my usual genre but I had to read it because it was by Stephenie Meyer.
I really had to push through the first couple chapters. I think she was throwing so much background information at you it just didn’t really go anywhere. But I am really glad I pushed through. I absolutely loved the book and wish it hadn’t ended. I have to agree with other reviews that the love connection is quick and kind of unrealistic but I still enjoyed it.
I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and anyone who like suspense/romance.
If I would let my criticism senses go free, I would probably say to myself, “It just can’t be, it doesn’t make any sense.” But this book laughs at every critical sense: it was written so reliably and tense that all guardians of rationality fall asleep while on guard.
The story deals with the conspiracies of the most secretive American agencies, which, like in many books, run pursuit campaigns after their allies in the past. There are thermals and deceptions, haunting chases, and an extraordinary heroine. In short, everything I need in a book.
Great book with a very engaging plot. Hoping there will be more from Stephanie in this line!