Review: The Chemist

I have to admit, I went back and forth about getting this one for a bit before I finally decided to purchase it.  I loved the Twilight series (not the movies, just the books) and I was a little bit worried that I would be looking for that same type of writing as I read.  I began the book doing exactly that and I almost put it down after the first few chapters because I really didn't like the main character, Alex, as a person.  However, I don't like to abandon books so I kept trudging along and by the time I got to chapter 7, I was hooked.  I guess I just needed to get used to her as an imperfect heroine who really wasn't that good a person on some levels. Once the first action scene hit though, I found that I was able to appreciate the story and immerse myself more fully in the lives of the characters. 

What did I like?  I really enjoyed the character development once I accepted them for who they were.  Alex and Kevin were both quite unlikable at first but then began slowly to grow, forming an almost family-like bond that even they didn't quite realize they had until an important event in the storyline.  They were both able to find their more human sides. I loved the way dogs were such a big part of the book as well.  Einstein and Lola and the other trained dogs in the story really added to the engagement level.  I only wish we knew more about what happened to some of them in the epilogue. Plenty of action and violence, some romance (albeit a bit of an odd match at first), and some interesting minor characters as well. Val was great! A small amount of snark as Alex and Kevin verbally abused one another added a bit of humor to lighten things up occasionally as well.  If you like mystery thrillers, this is a pretty good story.