The Chemical Detective

Jac Silver Thriller, #1

by

Fiona Erskine

Intrigue galore with plenty of twists and turns to keep readers guessing.

The Chemical Detective is the first book in the Jaq Silver Thriller series by Fiona Erskine and features a female chemical engineer who specializes in the research of explosives. When a pallet of a suspicious powdered substance is mistakenly delivered to her research facility with the regular order of explosive components and the samples she takes suddenly disappear, Dr. Jaq Silver starts asking for an explanation. But her inquiries are dismissed, and she is told to look the other way and forget about it; she can’t help but probe deeper. Her suspicions about what’s going on at the facility skyrocket when a scientist from the supplier surreptitiously contacts her, asking her own questions and hinting that something illicit and dangerous is going on behind the scenes. When the explosives warehouse is broken into, a security guard is injured, and an explosion occurs, Jaq’s boss does all he can to blame her for being negligent. However, when people go missing and there’s a suspicious death, the police start asking their very own pointed questions.  

The main character is Dr. Jacqueline ‘Jaq’ Silver, a chemical engineer working in Kranjskabel, Slovenia, for Snow Science, a company researching the means to reduce the number and severity of avalanches in areas devoted to the skiing tourist industry. She’s got a complicated backstory that the author subtly weaves into the current narrative that includes an unpleasant history with the Zagrovyl company, one of Snow Science’s suppliers and a critical player in the shady goings-on that Jaq inadvertently uncovers. Jaq is an outlier in the latest trend of more mature detectives in that she legitimately has the chops to investigate what she’s discovered, and technically, while she is a grandmother, she’s younger, more youthful, and in peak physical condition than what we normally expect of these older female amateur sleuths. She’s immediately determined to find out what Snow Science and Zagrovyl are involved in despite being gaslighted from all sides, and that’s before she becomes a person of interest to the police in a murder investigation. 

The story unfolds from multiple viewpoints as shady characters scramble across Europe to hide what they’re doing with one determined woman on their trail. After establishing the scenario, the plot moves quickly as characters pursue their plans across Europe, with Jaq on their heels. I loved that there was more than one set of bad actors out to stop her, which really threw a wrench into Jaq’s efforts at figuring out what was going on. The action is tight and suspenseful, keeping me completely engaged; some interesting twists really took me by surprise, adding another layer of complications. The descriptions of the settings are often just enough to give a sense of place, but the author chooses what is highlighted well, and there is always an evocative feeling of recognition. 

This title was originally published in 2019, but the edition I read for this review is a recent re-release, so three subsequent books in this series are already available to continue Jaq’s journeys. I recommend THE CHEMICAL DETECTIVE to readers of action and adventure, thrillers, mystery, and suspense who are looking for a strong, capable, and intelligent female protagonist.

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