Customer Reviews

Dark Alchemy: A Dr. Sylvia Strange Novel

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Dr. Sylvia Strange is about to marry the love of her life, Matt England, and she should be in a state of prenuptial bliss. Instead, Sylvia is goaded into taking one last case before her wedding. "Dark Alchemy" is the story of a serial killer who uses sophisticated neurotoxins to murder fellow scientists. The FBI suspects Dr. Christine Palmer, the world's foremost expert on these deadly poisons. Since all the evidence against Dr. Palmer is circumstantial, the authorities need more information to move the investigation forward.

Counterterrorism expert Edmond Sweetheart has been asked by the FBI to step in, and he in turn recruits Dr. Strange to help him construct a psychological profile of the killer. Sylvia would prefer to immerse herself in her wedding plans, but the case interests her and she decides to lend her expertise to the investigation.

The book starts out promisingly. Lovett piques the reader's interest with her arcane information on neurotoxins and their deadly effects. Dr. Palmer is an intriguing character. She is beautiful, brilliant and egotistical, but is she also a killer? To make matters more complicated, Sylvia's personal problems keep distracting her. Although she and Matt truly love one another, they still have some unresolved issues that may disrupt their wedding plans.

Unfortunately, after a strong opening, "Dark Alchemy" unravels in the second half of the book. Various suspects are dangled before the reader, and the plot becomes more and more illogical as the book progresses. The ending is rushed and the conclusion is unsatisfying. Had Lovett taken the time to develop her plot with more care, "Dark Alchemy" would have been a much better novel.

This author seems to be on a downward trend. I have read all the books in this series. The first ones were enjoyable. The last one before this was disappointing. This is a dud. The story does not hang together. The plot is inadequate, parts of it are far fetched, and the ending does not work. She neglects the personal relationships which were interesting in the earlier books.

Her scientific peers consider Dr. Christine Palmer the world's foremost expert on neurotoxins. She knows how to make them and how to make antidotes for them. However, law enforcement officials believe that the beautiful, brilliant scientist is also a sociopath serial poisoner though no clear evidence proves the contention. Still Christine remains the prime suspect in the murders of her father, her fiancé and some of her co-workers.

Counterterrorist expert Edmond Sweetheart asks forensic psychologist Dr. Sylvia Strange to work up a profile of Dr. Christine Palmer so when the authorities bring her in for questioning, they will know how to interrogate this one-of-a kind woman. Sylvia agrees to a meeting with Dr. Palmer knowing she is being used as bait and walks away from the encounter a very sick person. Ironically, the only person who can help her is Dr. Palmer if she obtains what she wants from Sylvia.

There is much more to DARK ALCHEMY than a serial poisoner novel. The heroine's partner has his own agenda and is willing to sacrifice anyone including her to make sure a spy/mole doesn't get away with espionage. Sarah Lovett writes an exhilarating, enthralling crime thriller that will keep readers turning the pages until the end because it is not until the climax that the audience finds out whether Dr. Palmer is a sinister villain or a brilliant victim.

Harriet Klausner

The FBI needs the help of Sarah Lovett's most popular Forensic Psychologist, Dr. Sylvia Strange, in this latest psychological mystery. There has been a slew of unsolved deaths, all of which have been researchers in different labs all over the world.

The FBI suspects Dr. Christine Palmer and there is a lot of evidence. But nothing concrete.

The FBI seeks out the help of Dr. Strange and her expertise. Sylvia has enough on her mind with trying to plan her wedding and mend a few bumps in the relationship between her and her fiancé. But she also takes on this case to figure out how this beautiful, confident, world-renowned toxicologist is using neurotoxins to kill off others and how she has gotten away with it - until now.

Sylvia is on a mission to crack this case, get the evidence needed and get back to her wedding plans when another death occurs. She joins forces with counter-terrorism expert Edmond Sweetheart and they begin to link evidence together. But is Edmond on her side or is he withholding the evidence that could crack this case wide open for them?

Lovett uses a lot of forensic and scientific lingo heavily throughout the book. But the action page after page will still hold the readers attention till the very end with it's various plot twists.

This tale of the crazy serial poisoner, with a strong, heroic Dr. Strange hot on her tail, is a nail-biting page turner.

I loved her first Dr. Strange books but have been disappointed in the last two. I thought the storyline was unrealistic and confusing. The end felt forced and and tied up to easily.
Sylvia's relationship issues were just brushed away. I felt this wasn't much of a mystery nor did it have any psychological insight or suspense.