Review: HeartSick by Chelsea Cain
by Jenners • 01/23/2010 • 3 Stars, C Authors, Fiction, H Titles, Mystery/Thriller • 11 Comments
2 Words that describe the book: Serial killer thriller
3 Settings where it took place or characters you met:
- Setting: Portland, OR, present day
- Archie Sheridan—a damaged, painkiller-addicted ex-cop who returns to the force to catch a nascent serial killer who is targeting high school girls
- Gretchen Lowell—an imprisoned female serial killer who is the cause of all of Archie’s problems and may or may not have information about the new serial killer in town
4 Things you liked and/or disliked about it:
- I liked the idea of a female serial killer. You don’t come across one too often.
- I liked the weird dynamic between Gretchen and Archie. The book includes flashbacks to the 10 days that Gretchen tortured Archie before inexplicably turning herself in, and the readers gets a glimpse into the disturbing relationship between the two.
- I liked the character of Susan Ward, a young punk-rock reporter who is hand-picked to cover the police investigation and write a profile of Archie—and who ends up getting a little too involved in the case.
- I liked the fast pace of the book, and the fact that there are more “Archie and Gretchen” books to read.
5 Stars or less for your rating?
I’m giving the book 3 stars. The book is a fast-paced thriller that departs from the usual “template” by having a female serial killer and a cop/killer relationship that somewhat echoes the dynamic between Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter in “Silence of the Lambs.” The reader gets oddly sucked into the relationship between Archie and Gretchen, and I’m curious to see how this plays out in the rest of the series. I liked that Susan Ward was more than a young reporter; she had issues of her own as well as “spunk.” I also liked the Portland setting as I went to college in Oregon and am a little familiar with the city. If you like serial killer thrillers, I would highly recommend this one. (Note: As with all books of this type, there are graphic depictions of violence. It certainly isn’t a “cozy” mystery.)
Why and Where I Got The Book
I got the book from Paperback Swap and already swapped it out again. I got the book after reading this review of the third book in the series by Caite at a lovely shore breeze. I’ll be reading the next installment sometime this year.
To find out what other book bloggers are saying about this book or author, visit the Book Blogs Search Engine created by Fyrefly’s Book Blog.
And it seems that our Show Me 5 Saturday hostess is missing in action since November so I thought I’d include a Mr. Linky with my post in case you want to hook up your own contribution. Hopefully, she’ll be back to blogging soon.
My mom has enjoyed this series.
I've never read about a female serial killer…that should be interesting
Sounds like an addicting series. Gotta love PaperBackSwap.
I've read most of the Gretchen & Archie books and really like them.The dark side of me loves a good serial killer tale!
It seems like a lot of people love Cain's work. I think I need to add her to my authors to try list.
This sounds like my kinda book! And I'll get to mark Oregon off my states read list
This book sounds great! I love this meme I will definitely start participating next week! Thanks so much!
I linked to you and Mary too. I wish we could get a few more players to spread the fun around.
I don't think I've read any Chelsea Cain books before but the concept is interesting. Glad you enjoyed it.
I just don't go there (there being serial killer/disturbing fiction books. I'm such a baby. That said, I've seen this author's name a lot and know there is a huge following of her work.
Thanks for taking the reins on this meme. I really enjoy participating. I linked to your blog in my SM5 review.
It does sound interesting to have a female killer. And I love Portland. But too bad she has to target other females!
This series is awesome; I've read them all. The audio version's are really good as well.