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. Either way, Heartsick makes for one of the most extraordinary suspense debuts in recent memory.
Download and start listening now!
"I had few expectations going into this book; my hope was just for an engaging mystery/psychological thriller. In my book, that means good writing, well developed and interesting characters, and a plot that keeps my interest. Cain delivered on all fronts. She writes well, and has a real talent for framing characters quickly enough for the reader to get interested in them, but also for letting the characters continuing to reveal more about themselves as the story unfolds. The story of Archie Sheridan's involvement with Gretchen Lowell, while predictable in many ways, is well told and well incorporated into Tyne "current" mystery. My only gripe is that the present day mystery - the identity of the "After-School Strangler" - is not told with an eye toward letting the reader solve it along with the police. For all of the procedural aspects of the book, we get virtually no clues, no opportunity to chase red herrings, no chance to try to puzzle out the answer on our own. Still, I am going to continue with the series and am glad to have found it."
—
Kerry (4 out of 5 stars)