The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer (2016)

Fiction | Thriller | (Romance)

Blurb:

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 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.

Goodreads | Amazon

pooled ink Review:

I’m sorry, but who said Stephenie Meyer was allowed to be this diverse and talented?? 
If you snatch up this book because of Twilight, then there’s a very good chance you’ll be disappointed because she leaves behind teenage love triangles and beautiful sparkling vampires for a gritty adult black ops thriller that will siphon its paranoia into your thoughts. Sure, the main character falls in love with a civilian, s’cute, but I wouldn’t call this a romance so if that’s what you’re hoping for then…*shrugs*

“The Chemist” aka Julianna aka Alex aka a dozen other aliases is scary smart, scary lethal, and scary good. She gave me Nikita vibes (which, by the way, if you like that show then this book is definitely for you) and I loved it. Meyer crafts not only the characters but the entire setup in a way that will have you looking over your shoulder and double-glancing at even the most innocuous person you pass in the park. There was hardly a moment of downtime, the pace rapid, ever-evolving, complex, and utterly gripping. There simply wasn’t time to bother trying to puzzle through things ahead of the plot and poke holes in it because the story was like a runaway train taking all sense of time with it. I don’t really read this genre, but it hooked me and I think it was really well done.

The Chemist is a detailed work of high stakes that will leave pit stains as you read it. The Host is an artful examination of humanity amidst its doomed ending softened by the dawn glow of sweet impossible romance. Twilight, however, is the sort of fun entertainment that splashes and sells. A lot of people have disparaged Stephenie Meyer and her writing with her Twilightsensation, but her following works, two standalone adult fiction novels, prove she certainly has the talent and the skills…vampires simply pay better lol.

Cheers.

Meet Stephenie Meyer!

Website | Goodreads

Stephenie Meyer is the author of the bestselling Twilight series, The Host, and The Chemist. Twilight was one of 2005’s most talked about novels and within weeks of its release the book debuted at #5 on The New York Times bestseller list. Among its many accolades, Twilight was named an “ALA Top Ten Books for Young Adults,” an Amazon.com “Best Book of the Decade So Far,” and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. 

Meyer graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English Literature. She lives in Arizona with her husband and three sons.