Review: Literary, etc Review
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 17, 2013
Madeline Pierce's only option is to contact the FBI when she notices mysterious items on shipping invoices. As she begins to question those at her lab, she's told it was a billing mistake, but she knows something isn't right. Most of the items can be used for making meth and she knows a large quality of supplies can be a dangerous combination. Nervous, but determined, she meets with FBI agent, Joe Roberts. Joe and Madeline establish a ruse to get him access to her laboratory; the two begin to pose as a couple and an attraction begins to develop. Joe never mixes business with pleasure, and yet he can't keep his hands off Madeline. When strange animal attacks begin to take place Joe and Madeline know time is working against them. Using all the help they can get, Joe enlists his sister and his brother-in-law to help solve this mystery. Will they be able to uncover the medical mystery before more attacks happen or will they become victims?As far as characterization, this is an ensemble cast. We have Madeline who is our primary character and she's a scientist harboring a secret, which I won't reveal because it's part of the plot. Then we have Joe who works for the FBI and he's undercover. Madeline and Joe decide to pose a couple, but there's a slight problem. Madeline is known as frigid around town and Thompson puts them in compromising situations, which raises eyebrows, but it's all for show. I laughed when he decided to play the dumb jock and there's a particular hilarious scene when he finds out Madeline is a doctor. Then we have Matt and Eva, which we're first introduced to. Eva is Joe's sister and she works in a hospital. Matt is in law enforcement as the local chief of the police. There are a few other secondary characters that play a minor role, but are still important. For example Madeline's aunt, Sylvia, who owns the local bed and breakfast.The writing is good and while it starts off a little slow, it soon turns into a fast paced read. Thompson doesn't feed us the facts immediately and we're on a journey with Madeline, Joe, and company to find out what is going on. I admit, for a while there I had no idea what the meth had to do with animals attacking, but Thompson lays out the facts and when things come together, it all makes sense. I really liked that everything was tied together in some format. There's rich descriptions and you'll walk away feeling as if you're a member of this community. Thompson makes us care about these characters. I do have a slight complaint; I wish she had focused either primarily on Matt and Eva or Madeline and Joe as a couple because even though Madeline and Joe are our primary couple, she focuses equally on Matt and Eva. At times they were more interesting to read, but again I remind myself this an ensemble cast and you need everyone to solve the mystery. I do have to warn you though, the scenes where animals attack aren't gruesome, but they might make you look at your own pet a little differently especially if you're reading this late at night.If I can take a moment to talk about the medical mystery, Thompson does an excellent job detailing the effects of the drug. It's a scary situation and the sad part is, some scientist somewhere is probably working on the exact same thing or something close to it. Although there's scientific / medical jargon in Chemical Attraction, it doesn't take away from the plot nor does it hinder it. Readers will still be able to understand what is going on. I know some people shy away from these types of books, but you'll want to read this.If you're a fan of romantic suspense or medical thrillers, I highly recommend Christina Thompson's Chemical Attraction. I do have to warn you, it ends with a slight cliffhanger and I can't wait to read Chemical Reaction.**This review appears on my blog**