The Poison Artist by Jonathan Moore, Book Review

General Information
Genre~ Mystery, Fiction, Thriller
Publisher~ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published~ January 26, 2016

Book Summary (Per Goodreads)
Dr. Caleb Maddox is a San Francisco toxicologist studying the chemical effects of pain. After a bruising breakup with his girlfriend, he’s out drinking whiskey when a hauntingly seductive woman appears by his side. Emmeline whispers to Caleb over absinthe, gets his blood on her fingers and then brushes his ear with her lips as she says goodbye. He must find her.

As his search begins, Caleb becomes entangled in a serial-murder investigation. The police have been fishing men from the bay, and the postmortems are inconclusive. One of the victims vanished from the bar the night Caleb met Emmeline. When questioned, Caleb can’t offer any information, nor does he tell them he’s been secretly helping the city’s medical examiner, an old friend, study the chemical evidence on the victims’ remains. The search for the killer soon entwines with Caleb’s hunt for Emmeline, and the closer he gets to each, the more dangerous his world becomes.

From the first pages up to the haunting, unforgettable denouement, The Poison Artist is a gripping thriller about obsession and damage, about a man unmoored by an unspeakable past and an irresistible woman who offers the ultimate escape.

My Thoughts
Enthralling and intriguing.  These are the type of words that come to mind when I think of this story.  Each page holds a mystery that slowly reveals itself as the book ends.  While I was reading I would have seconds where I would question if someone was involved, but it never lasted long because of a new twist or point of view that directed me elsewhere.  The writing style is brilliant and the detail included in this story allowed me to fully experience the world, journey and musings of all the characters.  

Many times I was like wait, what happened to him as a child?  Why don't they talk about it? What caused this breakup? I love how JM gave us these tidbits of information just at the perfect point.  Upon finishing the book I can see where he gave even more clues that I did not notice while reading.  All the characters were well developed, but I loved how he described his mystery woman...everything from appearance, attitude, voice, etc. just aided in building the ultimate seductive femme fatale.  

This is the first book I have read from JM, but his grasp and delivery of such a gripping thriller has me ready and wanting to read more!

Important Links

Link to Purchase Book

Disclaimer~ I received this book in exchange for an honest opinion.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Until my next post...love y'all!!

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