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Synopsis (from Goodreads):
A blackmailer obsessed with gold. A boyfriend who’s more than he seems. And a treasure hidden on the Oregon coast.
Alchemist Zoe Faust’s mentor Nicolas Flamel is back in her life, but catching up with him will have to wait. An elusive blackmailer has threatened to expose a dangerous alchemical secret. Zoe’s boyfriend is out of town protecting secrets of his own. So when rumors of a treasure map reach Zoe, she turns her back on what sounds like no more than a game.
Zoe’s mischievous living gargoyle best friend Dorian, who thinks of himself as a modern-day Poirot, is convinced the map is real—and that it’s the key to proving himself as valuable to Zoe as her human family. With the help of the neighborhood teenagers, Dorian sets out to find the treasure, risking more than he planned in the process. Rumors, treasures, and secrets intersect to unearth more than Zoe could have dreamed—and could leave her family changed forever.
Can Zoe stop the threat to the family unit she’s created?
Alchemist Zoe Faust’s mentor Nicolas Flamel is back in her life, but catching up with him will have to wait. An elusive blackmailer has threatened to expose a dangerous alchemical secret. Zoe’s boyfriend is out of town protecting secrets of his own. So when rumors of a treasure map reach Zoe, she turns her back on what sounds like no more than a game.
Zoe’s mischievous living gargoyle best friend Dorian, who thinks of himself as a modern-day Poirot, is convinced the map is real—and that it’s the key to proving himself as valuable to Zoe as her human family. With the help of the neighborhood teenagers, Dorian sets out to find the treasure, risking more than he planned in the process. Rumors, treasures, and secrets intersect to unearth more than Zoe could have dreamed—and could leave her family changed forever.
Can Zoe stop the threat to the family unit she’s created?
Review:
Gigi Pandian is the author who got me excited about reading mystery novels! There are so many things to love about this series. There's the hip Portland, Oregon setting filled with wonderful characters. There's the twisty mystery that doesn't involve murder. And there's the infusion of gourmet vegan cooking, and fantasy in the form of Dorian, a living gargoyle. All of this makes for a fun reading experience, and will keep me looking forward to each installment of this series.
What I Liked:
Setting:
The novel (and indeed, the entire series) is set in Portland, Oregon. Although I've never been there, I have relatives who live there. It is a place of hipster Gen X'ers, funky art installations, and a variety of shops and restaurants offering vegan goodies. All of this with the ever-present rainy weather. You can just imagine yourself on a rainy day, sipping tea and reading this book in front of a crackling fireplace.
Characters:
Zoe, as an alchemist, has discovered the elixir of life and so is over 300 years old, but she supplements this with healthy exercise, and vegan eating.
Perenelle Flamel, along with her husband Nicholas Flamel (yes, the same famous alchemist mentioned in Harry Potter) are adjusting to life in the twenty-first century. Of course, they are enchanted with the modern world. But Perenelle, has a deep-seated suspicion of Dorian, which makes her quite rude to him. I was offended on this fictional person's behalf! But she is filled with love for her husband, and I eventually grew to like this character as she got over her notions that Dorian must be evil.
Dorian is a delightful character. A gourmet chef who must stay hidden due to his "condition" of being a gargoyle, he manages to find ways to interact with the modern world, and indulge in learning as much as he can about meeting Zoe's vegan requirements.
Story:
The story involves someone blackmailing Perenelle. She needs to create lots of gold or risk being exposed as an alchemist. However, the blackmailer clearly doesn't know the first thing about alchemy. In this world, creating gold is an exhaustive process, and Perenelle can just whip up a bunch of gold.
Zoe and Perenelle work to find out who the blackmailer is, and they come up with some clever ways to figure out who it is. One lead is the ink that the person used on the note demanding gold. It was made by an unusual ink. Since Zoe and Perenelle can feel the kinds of plants and chemicals that are used in paintings, they use that same skill look for the culprit.
One thing I was mixed about, at first, was how the author tried to keep Zoe's boyfriend, Max, in the story. He is away in China, and Zoe and he talk on the phone each morning. I found this annoying, until I understood there was a plot twist behind it. When everything fell into place, I became really happy. It will certainly make the next book in the series very interesting!
Vegan Recipes:
Although the recipes were missing from the galley copy I was given, these are a really fun aspect of each of the accidental alchemist books. I will be buying this book when it comes out, just for the recipes! The author's Mac-n-Cheeze (using cashew cream, instead of a cheese sauce) is amazing and I have made it several times.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Author: Gigi Pandian
Publisher: Gargoyle Girl Productions
Genre: Mystery
Page Length: 299 pages
Source: Publisher
Format: E-Book
Recommendation: If you enjoy your mysteries minus the usual gruesome murders, I think you will enjoy this series. It is fun, and the characters are a delight.
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