The Rise of The Chemist (The Granville, #2)

by Nathan Parker

[zooloo1983]

I have finally managed to get book 2 in my grubby hands and all I want to know now is when will I get book 3 in my grubby hands! I fell in love with Tommy in The Disappearance of Timothy Dawson, he was thrown into such a big black dark deep end of s@!t street and it doesn’t look like Nathan has been any kinder in this book!

It’s not been that long after TDoTD, but Tommy is at college but he and Kristen aren’t talking anymore, wait what! How could they not!!!! Man!

We meet him at a party, a house party he doesn’t want to be at when a boy called Seb just happens to sit next to him, within the next few minutes, events happen that will change Tommy’s life for the foreseeable future and with it is the introduction of a new drug, Charge. This drug is so much stronger and way more lethal than what Smiler (the bad guy from book 1!) could come up with and that is what is terrifying. This stuff kills people and in record time.

We have a new gang family we meet called the O’Clareys and they are a brutish lot, Finn and Shay the brothers are the ones we see the most in the book and to say Finn is not a nice person is an understatement.

Brightwell is back, but this time this case of Charge is a personal case for him and unfortunately, lines have been drawn and crossed. The Chemist, the created of Charge will have such a devastating effect on the people involved and I really did not see it coming, I really feel like I should have!!

I loved catching up with Tommy and seeing his brother Derek and a small part of me was glad his mother was back. I would say you can read this without book 1, but you really shouldn’t. Smiler, is mentioned a lot throughout and you are caught up with summaries of book 1, but you need to read it, you need to meet Tommy and the “gang” but you need to see the bigger picture.

The events to start with are slow as we meet the new players, learning at Tommy’s speed how everything ticks and still not fully understanding. The initiation that Tommy had at the football game, Jesus heart = in my throat! I couldn’t bear to watch how it was going to go down but I got there. Tommy has come a long way but he is also so young and he needs protecting. So maybe Nathan, you know, maybe go easy with him on the next book, please!

Nathan has such a way with words, he will take you to the dark and gritty world of Granville. You are left believing that this town is dark, grey and smoggy. That the only way to survive is with a high and a drink, just to be in oblivion. Tommy is really a light in this smog, he just wants to live his life the best he can, he doesn’t want to be caught up in the life, he wants to go to college and get away and be with the girl he loves.

I have to say with the ending that we have, it has really got me excited for the next one. It’s going to be explosive I can just feel it. It’s going to be a war and I can imagine this will have even more heartbreaking this time. I am excited but I am apprehensive I have a feeling who some casualties might be, the ones that will have the impact and that’s why I am waiting with bated breath and will be reading it with trepidation.