The Pharmacist by Gillian Jackson

 

Narrated in a sort of a dual timeline, The Pharmacist is quite interesting and you would engaged to find out various answers.

Alice and Tom are both youthful and immensely in love. So much so, they were married by the time they were done with college. But, as luck would have it, they were not destined to have a child, on whom they could shower all their love and affection. On mutual agreement, they brought Rachel home from the adoption center.

Rachel was a difficult baby. Hardly reacting to anything. She would flinch if Tom & Alice would want to hug her. It was painful for any parent to not be able to show their affection in simple gestures. Tom & Alice consoled themselves that it was probably in the genes that Rachel did not like any show of affection. She neither liked it from anybody, nor exhibited any of her own. As years passed, Tom & Alice were blessed with a baby girl, Jenny. Suddenly, the flood gates of warmth and affection opened up in Rachel's heart and mind. She became a dedicated older sibling, almost parent like, obsessing over her baby sister. She even laughed and hugged the baby. 

But, something cruel happened one fated day. It turned Tom & Alice's life upside down. The story from here is a complete spiral. 

No one has ever understood Rachel's personality. She didn't interact nor mingle with people. She was a brilliant girl and did well at college and graduated in Pharmacy. When she found the opportunity to escape from home, she set up her own place. Even though her parents provided well for her through college and otherwise, she never seemed grateful or obliged or any of the sort. 

Cut to the present scenario - Alice finds herself groggy one morning and greeted by an empty house. Her husband of many years, Tom was not around, nor was the dog, Barney. She dismissed the absence for a short walk with Barney. Soon this absence turns into panic when Tom doesn't return home and Alice calls her daughter Rachel to check if her father was visiting her. All of this confusion leads Alice to a Dementia center where Rachel feels she would recover. Alice claims she is not losing her memory but just feeling very confused over the events of her life. She is desperate to get back home as she is feeling trapped in this facility.

Is Alice really losing her mind? Where has Tom gone? Did he take the dog with him? Why is Rachel such a difficult person? Things are getting stranger by the day and she has to get to the bottom of it before she actually loses all her memory. Listen or read The Pharmacist by Gillian Jackson to know more.

Personally, I didn't like the narrator much, but the story kept me going and I was hoping not to DNF the book. Good one time read/audiobook indulgence. I usually don't critically analyze books or rate them. But, sometimes, a storyline builds expectations and I was hoping the author or the novel would work on that expectation. For those very reasons, alone, I would rate this book a 3. I would have liked a slightly more sinister gaps, something that would make me gasp. Oh well, not all stories live up to expectations, do they?