Genre: General Fiction > Mystery & Suspense > Thriller
Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell #1
Damaged Portland detective Archie Sheridan spent ten years tracking Gretchen Lowell, a beautiful serial killer, but in the end she was the one who caught him. Two years ago, Gretchen kidnapped Archie and tortured him for ten days, but instead of killing him, she mysteriously decided to let him go. She turned herself in, and now Gretchen has been locked away for the rest of her life, while Archie is in a prison of another kind—addicted to pain pills, unable to return to his old life, powerless to get those ten horrific days off his mind. Archie’s a different person, his estranged wife says, and he knows she’s right. He continues to visit Gretchen in prison once a week, saying that only he can get her to confess as to the whereabouts of more of her victims, but even he knows the truth—he can’t stay away.
When another killer begins snatching teenage girls off the streets of Portland, Archie has to pull himself together enough to lead the new task force investigating the murders. A hungry young newspaper reporter, Susan Ward, begins profiling Archie and the investigation, which sparks a deadly game between Archie, Susan, the new killer, and even Gretchen. They need to catch a killer, and maybe somehow then Archie can free himself from Gretchen, once and for all.
x-x-x
…Yeees! Oh, how i love thee. *evil grin*
My fascination with serial killers came back with Heartsick. With a woman as the serial killer made it all the more interesting. I miss watching Dexter. =(
Archie and Gretchen have a very complicated relationship. You’d think Archie doesn’t want anything to do with her after she abducted, tortured, left him wanting to die, then turn herself over to the police. Chelsea Cain is playing with my emotions, because I felt something for Gretchen other than hate and revulsion.
The story was compact. I loved Archie‘s POV. He knows there’s something wrong with him, that his life sucked, and his mixed feelings for Gretchen were abnormal. Still, he does a good job being a cop. But the darkness Gretchen showed him during his time with her remained.
Susan the reporter is okay, too. Her life is as f*cked up as Archie’s, but she hides it well. The way Gretchen read her like an open book whe she visited at the prison is so enjoyable. Hee.
I am in love with how Gretchen‘s mind works! Manipulative, smart, and very, very devious. This is the villain to beat!
Heartsick has gore, horror, and pain. I had an unbelievably good time reading it! It takes one to know one, right? So in order for Archie to defeat Gretchen once and for all, he has to think and act like her. like a maniac. 🙂
x-x-x
HEARTSICK by Chelsea Cain
Hardbound, 336 pages
Published September 4th 2007 by Minotaur Books
5/5 stars
reading is the ultimate aphrodisiac. 
Pingback: Book Review: Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain | reading is the ultimate aphrodisiac.
Pingback: Book Review: Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain | reading is the ultimate aphrodisiac.
Pingback: Book Review: The Night Season by Chelsea Cain | reading is the ultimate aphrodisiac.