The Chemist

*The Sunday Times top ten bestseller*

*A Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month*

* Longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award and The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger CWA award! *

‘Without a doubt the best crime thriller I’ve read this year … A story of loyalties and desperation. A brilliant read’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'A. A. Dhand is masterful within the gangland genre. He grabs the reader’s attention from the start, and we remain gripped to the end' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘The Chemist is absolutely compelling, inventive and original … Simply brilliant. State of the art British Crime fiction. Read it as soon as you can!’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

* * * *

Local pharmacist and pillar of the community, Idris Khan, spends his days doling out methadone to the hundreds of addicts in his care. They trust Idris with their secrets, and so he knows more than his mild manner suggests. So when his childhood sweetheart, Rebecca, doesn't turn up for her daily methadone dose, Idris is worried. Worried enough to go looking for her in the most deprived area of Leeds, alone.

The mess Idris finds catapults him into the middle of a turf war between the two most powerful drug cartels in Yorkshire. Now, he must use every bit of intelligence and cunning he has to keep those he loves safe.

Because a war is on the way. And when Idris goes after his enemies, they won't see him coming.

* * * *

Praise for A. A. Dhand:

‘Dark, daring and utterly propulsive … blurs the lines between hero and villain’ Kia Abdullah, author of Those People Next Door

‘Terrific … dispensing thrills and tension from start to finish’ Trevor Wood, author of The Man on the Street

‘Gritty, dark, and visceral … If I read a better book in the next year, it's probably because I've read this one twice’ Neil Lancaster, author of Dead Man’s Grave

© 2025 HQ (Audiobook): 9780008645823

Release date

Audiobook: 22 May 2025