Blurb:

Local pharmacist and pillar of the community, Idris Khan, spends his days doling out methadone to the hundreds of addicts in his care. They trust Idris with their secrets, and so he knows more than his mild manner suggests. So when his childhood sweetheart, Rebecca, doesn’t turn up for her daily methadone dose, Idris is worried. Worried enough to go looking for her in the most deprived area of Leeds, alone.

The mess Idris finds catapults him into the middle of a turf war between the two most powerful drug cartels in Yorkshire. Now, he must use every bit of intelligence and cunning he has to keep those he loves safe.

Because a war is on the way. And when Idris goes after his enemies, they won’t see him coming.

Review:

The Chemist is an amazing, wild ride that is one of my favourite books of the year so far. From the beginning, the reader is plunged into such a fast paced, high stakes situation that I could not stop reading!

The titular character is Idris Khan: he’s a community pharmacist who always has time for his patients – even the ones that no one else wants to deal with. AA Dhand conveys his humanity so well, and it is this humanity that made me root for him even when he’s doing some unspeakable things. It made me wonder what I would do in his position. I loved his friendship with Al-Noor, whose own situation is absolutely heartbreaking. The author delves into Idris’ past, which is especially colourful and this adds many layers to his character.

The Chemist is set in Leeds and Bradford, so the locations in the novel were very familiar to me. This really helped me to picture what was happening and also understand the dynamics between the characters.

AA Dhand’s pharmaceutical knowledge is obviously very strong, given he worked as a pharmacist himself. I never felt overwhelmed by the information, and I actually found it incredibly interesting to learn about the effects of different drugs and the practices within the pharmacy. I do feel slightly wary about picking my own medication up next week!

The novel is left open for a sequel and I really hope it’s coming soon!

The Chemist is available from Amazon.