Book Review: The Chemistry of Death by Rebecca Cantrell

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me...or can they?
In the third thrilling installment of this award winning series from New York Times bestseller Rebecca Cantrell, tortured genius Joe Tesla is on the trail of a sadistic serial killer who charms his victims into the bowels of the Manhattan subway system--and who holds the keys to Joe's crippling condition. Can Joe stop the murderous rampage of this silver-tongued killer, or will he become the next victim?

I am an unconditional fan of this series. If the first two books were good, this is even better. Joe Tesla is a rich entrepreneur that is doomed to live in the tunnels of the metro of New York due to his agoraphobia, a condition that only has been present for some months. Developer and owner of some complex identification algorithms, he is trying to find what changed in his brain chemistry to make him scared of open spaces. Tesla is a smart man and can fight on several fronts at the same time. While looking for a root cause and a solution, he is also trying to make his life underground better just in case he can never solve his problem. While he is keeping himself occupied on both fronts, a new mystery dwells in his tunnels: a man is killing women with a similar profile, and Tesla finds, by accident, an expensive purse and a lipstick in a locked room in one of the tunnels.

For the ones hooked to this series, like me, this is the book that we all were expecting. It is not only a new mystery that Joe must solve, but many of the questions from the beginning of the series will have some answers here. This is not the only charm of this book, as the new mystery is cleverly built from the start, with some hidden details and gripping action. I have to say that I couldn’t stop listening, and I blame obligations and life in general for not allowing me to enjoy this book in one listen. Absolutely thrilling and addictive.

I see there is a fourth book, but this one could have very well been the conclusion. The story arc and series arc are resolved satisfactorily with an ending that I could live with. I understand that there is life after this, and I guess this is where the fourth book comes into play.

Jeffrey Kaffer’s narration was simply perfect, as always. He really became Joe Tesla, while also voicing the different characters with subtle nuances to make dialogs a breeze to follow. Kaffer adds value to the book without distracting from the text. He brings the characters to life with heartfelt interpretations, perfect diction, and steady rhythm.

I am looking forward to the fourth book to see what happens next. I believe Tesla’s life will still have many surprises for us.

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lomeraniel

My name is Elena. Since I was a little child I loved science fiction and fantasy, and I can’t resist a good novel. In 2015, while wait I started to listen to audiobooks and I discovered the pleasure in being able to read while doing my daily tasks, so there’s always an audiobook playing on my phone. If you see me with my Bluetooth headphones on, please be gentle, I get easily startled.

I live with my boyfriend, which I met during my six-year stay in Belgium, four cockatiels, eight lovebirds, and a hamster in Madrid, Spain; and I like to spend my free time knitting and sewing while listening to audiobooks.