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Dr. Sylvia Strange #5
Dark Alchemy
A string of deaths in laboratories around the world has the scientific community on edge -- and the FBI on high alert. To the FBI, the circumstances surrounding the scientists' deaths spell the work of an unusually skilled serial poisoner, and they have zeroed in on a single suspect: the brilliant, beautiful Dr. Christine Palmer. A world-renowned toxicologist and leader of numerous international research teams, Palmer is one of only a handful of scientists with highly classified knowledge of the deadliest experimental neurotoxins and their antidotes.
When a molecular toxicologist is poisoned while working at a top-secret research facility outside Santa Fe, Dr. Sylvia Strange and counterterrorism expert Edmond Sweetheart are recruited to assemble a psychological profile of Palmer in an effort to link her to the crimes. But as Sylvia's investigation of Palmer's charismatic persona draws her ever more strongly into the scientist's orbit, hunter and hunted become perilously intertwined. And when Sylvia discovers that her partner may be withholding crucial information, she no longer knows who can be trusted: is the killer friend or foe?
Sylvia will risk everything she holds dear, only to learn that there is no safe haven from a voyeuristic killer whose weapon of choice may go undetected in the food you eat, the clothes you wear, or the air you breathe.
When a molecular toxicologist is poisoned while working at a top-secret research facility outside Santa Fe, Dr. Sylvia Strange and counterterrorism expert Edmond Sweetheart are recruited to assemble a psychological profile of Palmer in an effort to link her to the crimes. But as Sylvia's investigation of Palmer's charismatic persona draws her ever more strongly into the scientist's orbit, hunter and hunted become perilously intertwined. And when Sylvia discovers that her partner may be withholding crucial information, she no longer knows who can be trusted: is the killer friend or foe?
Sylvia will risk everything she holds dear, only to learn that there is no safe haven from a voyeuristic killer whose weapon of choice may go undetected in the food you eat, the clothes you wear, or the air you breathe.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Lovett
26 books29 followersSarah Lovett is currently collaborating with former CIA covert operative, Valerie Plame Wilson, co-authoring the second book (fall 2014) in a series of “Vanessa Pierson” spy novels for Penguin Books/Blue Rider Press. The series debut, BLOWBACK, is due out October 2013.
Lovett is the author of Dark Alchemy, Dantes’ Inferno, Dangerous Attachments, Acquired Motives, and A Desperate Silence as well as 25 nonfiction travel and science books written primarily for children.
The five novels in Lovett’s crime fiction series, featuring forensic psychologist Dr. Sylvia Strange, have been translated into a dozen languages, her non-fiction books include the award-winning “Extremely Weird” children’s series, which also aired as a network television special. Her short fiction and how-to pieces are included in anthologies, and she has worked as a freelancer for newspapers, magazines, and National Public Radio.
Before becoming a full-time writer, Lovett worked as a legal researcher for the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General, an executive director of a non-profit theater, a jazz dancer, a playwright, a gas station attendant, an upholstery assistant, and a bartender. It was her experience working in the New Mexico State Penitentiary and the exposure to prison issues that led her to write her first crime series. While researching for the series, Lovett earned a degree in criminal justice.
When she’s not on deadline, Lovett works with writers as a coach, teacher and consultant. She has been a presenter at writing conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
A native Californian, she lives in Santa Fe with her family.
Lovett is the author of Dark Alchemy, Dantes’ Inferno, Dangerous Attachments, Acquired Motives, and A Desperate Silence as well as 25 nonfiction travel and science books written primarily for children.
The five novels in Lovett’s crime fiction series, featuring forensic psychologist Dr. Sylvia Strange, have been translated into a dozen languages, her non-fiction books include the award-winning “Extremely Weird” children’s series, which also aired as a network television special. Her short fiction and how-to pieces are included in anthologies, and she has worked as a freelancer for newspapers, magazines, and National Public Radio.
Before becoming a full-time writer, Lovett worked as a legal researcher for the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General, an executive director of a non-profit theater, a jazz dancer, a playwright, a gas station attendant, an upholstery assistant, and a bartender. It was her experience working in the New Mexico State Penitentiary and the exposure to prison issues that led her to write her first crime series. While researching for the series, Lovett earned a degree in criminal justice.
When she’s not on deadline, Lovett works with writers as a coach, teacher and consultant. She has been a presenter at writing conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
A native Californian, she lives in Santa Fe with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 11, 2021
Very interesting
June 3, 2008
When forensic psychologist Dr. Sylvia Strange is asked to profile a suspected serial poisoner working for the government, a game of cat and mouse ensues.
Complex characters, highly suspenseful. Series best when read in order. Recommend.
Complex characters, highly suspenseful. Series best when read in order. Recommend.
May 26, 2019
Great set-up, but the story fell apart in the end.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews