Nathan Parker’s Second book ‘The Rise Of The Chemist’, follows on from ‘The Disappearance Of Timothy Dawson’. Both books set in Granville, a town that could be anywhere near me, a dark Northern town with plenty of problems without anything extra thrown in for good measure. The first book introduced us to Tommy and Kirsten and poor Tommy was put through the mill then, well, Nathan Parker isn’t planning anything good for Tommy again!

We pick up a little time after the first book. Tommy is in college and he has drifted apart from Kirsten. He attends a house party and witnesses a death of someone due to the new legal high called Charge, which is the drug choice of the kids now.

Detective Brightwell is back and he approaches Tommy to basically go undercover and try to get in with the local crime family the O’Clearys with the hope of discovering who is making Charge, known only as The Chemist. Tommy is very dubious and scared that The Chemist is connected to his enemy Smiler and he also fears being a grass will impact his family and even Kirsten. The story is led by a young generation of characters and the subjects are very real and current for young adults of today, making this a dark, very gritty thriller aimed at the younger generation, but I loved both books.

Tommy is such a likeable character throughout and we see him facing agonising decisions and dilemmas, as well as shocking revelations. I was by his side all the way through, willing him to do the right thing or whatever was needed at that point. Then we have Kirsten and their relationship. I really liked their relationship and saw that they were both as determined as each other to do the right thing. Obviously we have the characters that are the ones we hate and, boy aren’t they hated!

A dark look at life today for the younger generation for sure. An emotional, sit on the edge of your seat at times, thrilling read which with its conclusion leaves me wanting more from Nathan Parker! Thanks to Sarah Hardy from Books On The Bright Side for giving me the chance to take part in The Rise Of The Chemist blog tour.