It’s almost Christmas, which, in San Francisco, can be very romantic. So Caleb Maddox should’ve been spending happy evenings with his girlfriend Bridget, but they had a big fight and she chucked a water glass at him. There’s a big gash on his forehead, and things don’t look very good at this point. He knows he should’ve told her what he’d done, but now it might be too late. Can she forgive him? He’ll spend the night at a hotel to give her time to cool off. Maybe they can work things out tomorrow.

But somehow, during that night, Caleb steps over a line. It started out with just wanting a drink to drown his sorrows a little, so he dropped into the House of Shields. Then he went beyond just a little. Sometime during his bout of heavy drinking, a woman came into the bar; she was so compelling that Caleb’s world stopped. He should’ve been thinking about Bridget, but he was transfixed by everything about her: the perfume she wore, the whisper of her voice, the touch of her lips against his ear. Before he could find out her name, she glided out, with a “Maybe next time” tease.

"The cold rain, the swirling fog and the dark streets of the late-night city create an atmosphere that all shroud the truth until the bitter end. THE POISON ARTIST is absolutely compelling."

By morning, Caleb is in pretty bad shape --- from the booze, the fight with Bridget, and his obsession with the woman in the bar. Things aren’t exactly rosy at work, either. He’s behind on his research for a high-dollar grant, in which he’s studying the chemical effects of pain on a person. As a toxicologist, he believes that the results will have great importance on many levels. But the deadline is looming, and his mind is on Emmeline. Yes, he’s learned the woman’s name. And he can do little but dream of his next encounter with her. In fact, it’s almost all he thinks about.

Meanwhile, San Francisco has been experiencing a rash of murders with similarities so strong that the police wonder if they’re dealing with a serial killer. Bodies have been found floating in the Bay, and Caleb has some theories that may provide clues, but he wants to fly under the radar. See, one of the murder victims was in the House of Shields the night Caleb got so drunk, which puts him on tenuous ground with the police. Fortunately, Caleb’s longtime friend, Henry, is the medical examiner. Caleb convinces Henry to enlist his help on the sly. Henry admits that any help would be welcome, but he’s beginning to notice that his buddy is drinking a lot. Considering his past, some of what he’s been saying lately is more than a little disturbing. However, Caleb thinks he knows what’s going on. As the fog rolls in and the holiday lights blur, he discovers that he wants more and more of Emmeline. Each time he sees her, he also finds out that she may be poison.

Author Jonathan Moore is a seductive writer with a rare talent for setting the mood and perfect pacing. He draws readers in with the first sentence, strings them along, and makes them want the next page as desperately as Caleb wants Emmeline. The cold rain, the swirling fog and the dark streets of the late-night city create an atmosphere that all shroud the truth until the bitter end. THE POISON ARTIST is absolutely compelling.