Elixir

by Phil Cleary

Tom Shaw, the mild mannered CEO of Pure Industries, a small pharmaceutical lab in California, is wracked with worry. A terminally sick wife, a distraught young son and a business on the verge of collapse. But these worries dwindle into insignificance for him when Dr Rachael Leo, his young but brilliant Chief Scientist informs that she has made the greatest discovery in the history of science. Following an simple accident in the lab, Pure Industries have discovered the Elixir of Life, the news of which releases a fire-storm of violence and treachery which penetrates to the very heart of the US Government. There are currently over a hundred labs in the US alone trying to devise an antidote to the process of human aging. Elixir is a fast-moving, powerful and thought-provoking thriller that imagines what might happen if one of them actually succeeded.

333 pages, Paperback

First published July 3, 2013

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine you have discovered the secret to eternal life. Then imagine how many other people either want to steal that secret from you or stop you from bringing it out to the world. What would you do to save the secret and those you love?

Tom Shaw is the CEO of a small vitamin company that is going nowhere until one scientist discovers how to give people longer lives. Life changes quickly and drastically for Tom before his new product can be revealed. There is a mole in the company and the secret gets out. One man will do anything to get the formula…..anything, including murder. How will Tom save his company? Does Tom want to save his company? Can he?

About the first third of this book moves quite slowly. So slowly that I was having trouble sitting down to read it, even though it has a pretty good opening. However, when the bad guy steps in it becomes a book that can’t be put down. This bad guy is the “baddest” guy I have read about in a long time. He gave me the willies he was so bad. I categorize this book as a “get comfortable on the edge of your seat” type.

I was torn between giving this a 4 star or 5 star rating but in the end I was amazed, especially during the last few minutes of the book. (Don’t look ahead…………you won’t understand what’s going on.)

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brutal, flawed book about brutal, flawed people. Cleary has created one of the most chilling sociopaths I've read for a long while. A tiny lab accidentally makes a breakthrough discovery...the secret to prolonging life. But the catch, like Gulliver's Luggnaggs, the elixir cannot cure or rejuvenate...only prolong life at whatever level of health a person possesses.

The race is on, pitting the idealistic, clueless company against the US government and said sociopath. Bad, bad things happen to good people. The power of the elixir brings out the worst in everyone...secrets, violence, threats beyond believing. It was tough to read...

The ethical questions of elixir are not explored to the extent I would wish...they are hinted at, and the hints reveal the ugliness of this elixir and the decision-making power it gives the few...a power they may not be ready to admit.

There was one glaring error at the very beginning that nearly made me put the book down: Cleary puts a dome on the White House. His editors should have caught that...and referring to a young man as a "toy boy" made me cringe, too.

This doesn't wrap up in Shakespearean fashion, with the chaos controlled...the worst is just beginning. The elixir of life is anything but.

[Ed Crutchley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything goes in this intense, gory and fast moving thriller set in corporate USA where nothing remains sacred. Even Phil Cleary’s hero, Tom Shaw, is going to kill the president. We discover how and why, as he tries to come to terms with the momentous discovery his company has made. This book is a 339-page sprint and great fun.

[Christine Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent debut novel.