Friday 24 July 2015

CHELSEA CAIN - HEARTSICK (2007)


Synopsis/blurb…..

He thinks he sees a flash of emotion in her eyes. Sympathy? Then it's gone. 'Whatever you think this is going to be like,' she whispers, 'it's going to be worse.' When beautiful serial killer Gretchen Lowell captured her last victim, the man in charge of hunting her down, she quickly established who was really in control of the investigation. So why, after ten days of horrifying physical and mental torture, did she release Detective Archie Sheridan from the brink of death and hand herself in? Two years on, Archie remains driven by a terrifying obsession that was born during his time alone with Gretchen. One thing is clear Archie does not believe he was ever truly freed. Now Archie returns to lead the search for a new killer, whose recent attacks on teenage girls have left the city of Portland reeling. Shadowed by vulnerable young reporter Susan Ward, Archie knows that only one person can help him climb into the mind of this psychopath. But can Archie finally manage to confront the demons of his past without being consumed by them?

Another new author to me, another book my wife read and enjoyed, possibly a bit more than I did. Verdict good not great.

We have a series of abductions and murders of schoolgirls in Portland which sees Archie Sheridan called back to duty from sick leave. Archie is still recovering both physically and mentally from the aftermath of his previous case, which saw him captured and tortured by Gretchen Lowell – a serial killer, before she inexplicably saves his life and turns herself in. Sheridan is a walking pill-popping mobile pharmacy – shake him and I’m sure you would hear him rattle, such is the quantity of medication he is consuming. Our main man bears more mental scars than physical. The Gretchen case ruined him and his marriage and still casts a large shadow over him, particularly as he feels compelled to visit his nemesis every Sunday in prison, where she toys and plays with him before giving up the location of the body of another of her 200 nameless victims.

Cain cuts backwards and forwards with the narrative, presenting our current case and flashing back to episodes when Gretchen was torturing Archie. We discover more about what happened during the 10 days he was held prisoner. At times the descriptions of her physical torture is fairly graphic and explicit.

Cutting to our present day case, Archie and his team struggle to make much progress. The dead girls all look the same physically, but are from different schools in the area. The team worked the Gretchen case together previously and are a tight-knit bunch, all concerned and caring for Archie though he is somewhat aloof from them – no doubt a consequence of the trauma he endured and still suffers nightmares over.

Archie (for reasons I can’t remember) invites a young female journalist to observe and profile him offering her access to his estranged family, the team and Gretchen – assuming she agrees. Susan Ward becomes an integral part of our investigation.

Our investigative team, do eventually get a jump-start on the case and after the odd red herring and a bit of unlikely coincidence (or master manipulation from the evil genius behind bars) we get rolling again.        

Interesting setting – Portland, I can’t recall reading anything from that area previously. Interesting characters – Archie obviously, Gretchen less so for me, though I did like the dynamic between the two. Something which will obviously be explored in our next series book – Sweetheart.

Enjoyable without ever catching fire. I would be ambivalent about reading more from her, if in fact my wife hadn’t read and enjoyed a couple more in the series herself and they weren’t already waiting for me.

Probably a 3.5 out of 5, so I’ll go a 4 then.

Chelsea Cain has her website here.      
  

Acquired second hand last year I believe – probably charity shop purchase.  

21 comments:

  1. Oh, yes, I've heard a lot about this one, Col. I'm glad you thought it was a decent enough read. I'll admit, it's not my cuppa, so I'll probably pass, at least for now. But I do like the idea of the Portland setting.

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    1. Yes probably not your cup of tea Margot. You've mentioned before that the serial killer trope isn't your favourite. Good but not great sums it up for me. I'll get to the second at some point, without having too high expectations.

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  2. Probably not for me, though it's been on my radar a long time.

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    1. I read it because I like to read what my better half does. An okay book, nothing objectionable about it, but I won't remember too much about it in a year's time.....I will read the others, mainly because Sue has, but also because they are there.

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  3. Col, I detect mild shades of "The Silence of the Lambs" though this story sounds pretty gripping in its own way.

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    1. Prashant, I hadn't really made that connection in my head, but thinking about it, they do have similarities.

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  4. As Prashant points out, this sounds like a bit of a Red Dragon/Silence of the Lambs clone -- not just in its jailed-serial-killer-helps-detective aspact but also, seemingly, a glamorization of serial killers. Not for me, in other words!

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    1. I get your point John. I'll see how I feel after the second in the series

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  5. Yep, that sounds about right. Her books never elevated beyond a B for me. Enjoy the sequels.

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    1. Keishon, cheers. I know my wife has her book ONE KICK to read, but she hasn't gone beyond book 3 in the Gretchen-Archie series. I'm kind of hoping that doesn't change!

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  6. Now I remember why I never wanted to read this series. Just the concept of the policeman damaged by his encounter with a serial killer who tortures him... Not going there. I am sure the books must be well done or they would not be so popular. Maybe some day, but I doubt it.

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    1. Fair enough - there's plenty other things out there that aren't so objectionable for you.

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    2. Archie is damaged and he also has a sordid relationship with a serial killer. The dynamics of that relationship is explored in the sequels. I got tired of it and wanted less Gretchen and more Archie but Cain had other ideas which is her right. I did buy the last one she wrote but never finished it. I have ONE KICK as well and plan to read it soon. I do like her voice but....

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    3. Keishon, thanks for expanding on this. There was one scene which I won't elaborate on too much which was a bit uncomfortable for me - Archie was on his own.....hmm, she really messed you up man

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    4. Yes and that character's trajectory didn't seem to improve and didn't seem likely that he ever would improve so I bailed. I'll admit to overstaying my time with this series. I should have quit after the second book.

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    5. Hindsight's an exact science........I think I'll be in for 3 regardless to how the second one takes me! :)

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  7. Talking of which, isn't there a bit of a setup resemblance to Val McDermid's Wire in the Blood series, too? VM's first book in that series, in which a serial killer ensnares a cop and sets out to torture-murder him, came in 1995.

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    1. Another reason I could not read it. That book by McDermid is very well written, a great story, but I could not read any further in the series after that.

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    2. I have McDermid's WIRE-BLOOD series somewhere - I haven't yet started them. The TV series was good, though I'm not a fan of Robson Green.

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  8. I was doubtful about the torture but the characterisation drew me in - not so much the oh-so-perfect serial killer, but everyone around who is drawn into the disasters she created. (And I've read One Kick now too - a difficult theme handled pretty well although a bit unlikely in outcome - don't want to give away anything... Anyway, Cain has a fan here.

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    1. I didn't dislike the book, but I'd be unlikely to keep reading her once I've caught up with my wife. I did like the "team element" of the investigators, even though Archie kind of kept them at a distance.

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