Elixir

Fountain of Youth or Something Else? – How would you feel if there was a way never to grow old or age on the outside or inside? What would you do to prevent anyone from getting his or her hands on this great Elixir or medicine?

Would you believe that this really existed and what would happen if you used it, marketed it for your company and then the unthinkable happens? Welcome to my review of Elixir by multi-talented and bestselling author Gary Braver and enter the world of Christopher Bacon.

The players are dangerous as we meet each one. A tropical plant, a rare flower is at the center of this story. A plant that could change the course of your life if the end result, an Elixir is perfectly formulated and work to prevent you from aging for a long time. Imagine being over forty and yet looking twenty-something. Wouldn’t that be great especially if the end result last long and there is no side effects from this medicinal plant? But when you get a closer look you might not like what you see. What happens when one waitress thinks she sees a familiar face, the face looks younger and then out of nowhere deteriorates, crumbles and shrivels up right in front of her eyes? What would you think? Added into this intricate plot are some other dangerous players who have a lot to lose if this new Elixir does not work or yield the profits expected. Antoine Duchareme and Quentin Cross are joined together in an unholy alliance.

Quentin having his own private secret dealings with the government and hiring Chris Bacon to do the research for him for this Elixir called Veralox. Darby Pharm is the company that should profit from his research. Antoine does not know about Quentin’s alliance with Chris yet the funds needed for this drug that is supposed to cure cancer and the other funds needed for Tabulone, are not there. What he does to remedy that is totally illegal but if he does not get caught, then everyone wins. However, when Chris comes more into focus in this story and tells his wife about his research and the rationale behind it, she expresses another opinion that many people might agree with. Just how far will Chris go to get what he wants? Just how far will Wendy go to change his mind? There is much more to this story that remains to be seen.

As we learn more about Christopher’s research, his true motives for not wanting to share his research with anyone and just who the victim was that died, we become aware of the fact that he has risked more than just the lives of the people who want to try this new wonder drug but many other lives too. Realizing that it is the drug or plant that caused Dexter Quinn’s death does not stop him from continuing his work.  The best-laid secrets often come out and the best-laid plans foiled as Apricot Cay is bombed and the end of Veralox and one man’s dreams come to an end. The lucrative business is gone but what happens next will definitely let you know that Darby Pharma is not down and out even though the President is not happy with what he learned about the other business dealings they had and the end result puts Chris in a different position that might benefit his company and help stop aging.

Finding out that they found his notes, his thoughts on the new Elixir and more Christopher is not fired but is told to continue his research and find the answers to the financial problems of his company of course what really happened to Dexter and to the mouse that died in order to slow down the aging process. Wouldn’t that be nice except for what happened as a result of something going wrong? Will he be able to fix it? Only time will tell.

The team is in place the research being done and one woman questions it all and places the project in jeopardy as she claims that playing God is not what she signed up for and that this Elixir as it is being called is wrong and stopping the aging process is not what God had intended for people. But, one man was in debt and sold out more than just the company but maybe part of his moral soul too as he gives someone a huge percentage of a drug that has not even been FDA approved or knows what the end result will be. Remember, Dexter Quinn used it on himself and what happened? Now, they are using it on monkeys, it appears to regenerate cells but in the long run, no one really knows. Added to the mix Wendy and Chris are now the proud parents of a boy and her niece Kelly once again is in the hospital. How will this all play out for the new parents when one is concerned with her family and the other obsessed with this drug? This still remains to be seen.

But, there are some working on this Elixir who had a different take on what they were doing and who felt it was morally wrong. What happens to one researcher will send chills down your spine. What happens to another who proves unfaithful even scarier as this drug can prove deadly but the end result still to be determined as many monkeys are sacrificed and one seems to disintegrate in front of their eyes. But, the research and project will go on and Chris will try to find the right amount to use on humans. Who will be the first real human to use it? Imagine being able to reverse Alzheimer’s or many other diseases? What a great feat that would be? As he watches his father fall into another world having Alzheimer’s I truly wish that what he was doing could really happen.

Then the unthinkable happens and everything changes for Chris and his family. The body count rises as one researcher is killed, the head of Darby murdered and Chris realizes he has been framed. What happens next will change his family’s life forever as leaving his home, changing their names and starting over with the help of Wendy’s sister. But, at what cost and what price to them. Just when things seem to be going fun something happens that causes them to go on a downward spiral. What happens when someone from your past thinks that they have seen you in the present even though you are supposed to be dead or just missing? What happens will shock the reader and make you wonder just how far someone will go to live forever? Just how far will one man go to stop others from interfering in his life and preventing him from just living?

How long does this Elixir work? What will finally happen when they have no more? What happened to the primates was horrific and definitely embedded in his mind? What happens at the end will make the reader question whether what Chris started out to do was really worth it? Would you want to live forever even if everyone around you did not? Would you confide in your family and friends and let them in on the secret? Would you share the formula with anyone? What happens will send chills down your spine? The ending you will never forget and ever expect. Chris aka Roger, Wendy aka Laura and Adam their son aka Brett, what happens to them you won’t believe unless you read the book, decide whether you can keep the secret of the Elixir and what it does and of course whether you agree: Should people live forever? Would you want to take Elixir if it meant you would never have to deal with any of the horrors of any of the diseases many face today? Think about it! You decide.

What happens to Roger you will have to learn for yourself as he decides to change directions, ask for help but finds himself in the midst of more betrayals, deceits, and murders. When a religious fanatic decides to get into the act something happens that will change the direction of more than just Roger, Laura and Brett’s lives. Who lives? Who dies? Who will never grow older? Only the author and this reviewer know the answer to that question and one man named Iwati who started it all. If you could prevent people from dying from Alzheimer’s, cancer and other diseases and live longer or forever, would you want the FDA to approve the drug? What does the President of the United States do with this information? Can anyone be trusted? One potent Elixir: Where does it end up? Read this five-star novel to find out for yourself.

Once again author Gary Braver has created a masterpiece plot filled with so many twists and turns and moral questions that the reader needs to ask themselves. What would I do if I was Chris? What could he have done to prevent the final outcome? Characters filled with greed, deceit, betrayals, and one fear: Getting older. One great novel. One potent Elixir. One outstanding author. One thought-provoking plot.