The protagonist: Zoe, a centuries old alchemist who looks like she’s a twenty-eight year old woman except for her white hair.
Her sidekick: A gargoyle who has found the elixir of life and now has his sights set on becoming a Michelin rated chef.
The mystery: Was the painter murdered or did he commit suicide and where is the painting that has was created back in the sixteenth century?
These are the primary elements that provide the framework for The Alchemist’s Illusion by Gigi Pandian. The book has a lightning fast pace that is well written and engaging, moving between present day Portland, Oregon and hundreds of years ago in Prague, Bohemia. It’s like hopping on a bullet train and having the train leave the station before you’ve even found your seat. I’m not sure I could have slowed down my reading, even if I tried.

The characters are engaging, mixing humor, distinct personalities and genuineness that makes it easy for the reader to want them to succeed. The story is so compelling from the beginning that you happily suspend disbelief, perhaps even hoping that somewhere, sometime, you will encounter a living, breathing gargoyle and if you do, he’ll bake you something special. Not that the book is exclusively populated by supernatural beings. There are “normal” people as well, who round out the cast of characters and provide balance to the tale.

Throughout the book you know there is at least one evil villain, and you have the fun of trying to guess who he is. He is right there, in plain sight the entire time, but easy to miss if you aren’t careful and you may get so caught up in the story you are just as content to have his identity revealed to you as to solve the puzzle of his identity on your own.

This was all together a satisfying read, offering classic good vs. evil in a supernatural setting. There is just enough humor to provide a perfect counterbalance to the struggles Zoe and her friends encounter as they try to bring about a successful resolution to the mysteries. The characters are so well drawn it is easy to see and hear them as they move through the story, even down to the gargoyle’s French accent.

While this is the fourth in An Accidental Alchemist Series, it isn’t necessary to have read the first three books to read and enjoy this book as the mystery stands alone. It is my first read in the series, and there may be some personality traits or experiences that have been developed in earlier books, but it did not alter my enjoyment of this book. That said, if you have the option, there might be some advantage to reading the series in the order the books were written.