Heartsick: A Thriller (Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell, 1) Paperback – July 20, 2010

This is my first introduction to Chelsea Cain and I was very impressed. I thought I had seen all the variations on serial killer plots that there are but this was a genuinely new approach. The writing is of high quality with interesting and believable characters. The story moves along nicely with occassional twists that were unexpected and gave the narrative a new dynamic. Portland is also as much a character in this book as the main protagonists. Having recently visited Portland I recognised the descriptions of the city and, especially, its weather which helps to set the overall tone. Highly recommended and I look forward to reading the next in the series.

I am not into bloody, gory, serial killer novels, with the exception of Thomas Harris's Hannibal Lecter - a real favorite of mine, although I wouldn't want to have lunch with him! However, author Chelsea Cain has come up with a new take on the genre. Her psychopath is a woman, Gretchen Lowell, and an extremely beautiful, brilliant woman at that.We don't hear about many female serial killers, and that may be partly because women aren't as prone to commit this type of crime as men. Criminologist, Eric Hickey, has assembled the most extensive database on demography of serial murder. He states that, "88% of serial killers are male, 85% are Caucasian, and the average age when they claim their first victim is usually around 28.5. Women account for 15% of violent offenders (men are 6 times more likely to commit violent crimes)." Gretchen Lowell makes Ted Bundy look like a pussycat!Detective Archie Sheridan is a hero in Portland, Oregon. Sheridan headed the so-called "Beauty Killer Task Force," and solved the case two years before the novel begins. It was proved, in a court of law, that Gretchen Lowell was responsible for the deaths of 26 victims. She claims she has murdered over 200 people, brutally torturing each one first. She has no profile and is an equal opportunity killer - blacks, whites, Hispanics, young, old, men, women - it doesn't matter. However, she does not victimize children. She is called "The Beauty Killer," not because she is beautiful, but because when the medical examiner was asked to categorize the condition of the first of many corpses, he whistled and said, "It's a beauty!" Autopsies are usually boring, according to the ME - mostly drownings and suicides. He is positively "tickled" by Gretchen's original work. It is just a coincidence that she's a "looker."Archie was the lead detective on the case. He was also Gretchen's last victim. The FBI profiler was sure the killer was a man, an opinion which almost cost Sheridan his life. Ms. Lowell, posing as a psychiatrist, (she was an operating room nurse, in actuality), insinuated herself into the task force by claiming that she gave up her practice to write a book about the killings. She is clever enough to have created a portfolio of credible information which could be backed up when investigated. She told members of the team that she read about the gruesome murders and believed she could be of help. The case had been hell for the detectives, and Lowell "believed" she could talk with them - not counsel - just talk to ease their anxiety. They had been working on the case for ten years and their lack of success was really getting to all of them - all the dead, mutilated bodies, all the grieving, traumatized families waiting for closure, all the dead ends.One afternoon, two years before, Archie visited Lowell in her office. His supposed colleague gave him coffee with milk, sugar and drugs. When he awakened he was strapped to a gurney in a basement, outfitted like an operating room, with medical-looking machinery, and a drain on the cement floor. His captor cooed in his ear, "Whatever you think this is going to be like, it's going to be worse." Now, two years later, Archie remembers all too clearly what was done to him. His spleen was removed without the benefit of anesthetics, nails were hammered into his rib cage, he was given enough drugs, when he wasn't being physically tortured, to become addicted to an impressive cocktail of medication - uppers, downers, you name it. His tormentor doodled on his chest with a scalpel, including a drawing of her signature, a heart...need I go on??However, Gretchen did something different with Archie than she had done with other victims. She allowed him to live for 10 days, although he longed for death. She only gave her other victims 3 days before she mercifully killed them. When Archie began to die, she called 911, reported the situation and asked for immediate medical attention. Then she turned herself in to the police.Archie lives, but after an extensive stay in the hospital, he is placed on long-term medical leave. He is too damaged psychologically to maintain his marriage to his childhood sweetheart, although he loves her and adores their two sons. The couple finally decide to separate. However the worst after effect of his kidnapping and torture is his compulsion to visit Gretchen Lowell in jail every Sunday. His excuse for these weekly visits is that she occasionally divulges another victim's name and place of burial. Her only condition for these revelations is that Archie maintain these weekly visits - thus she continues to exert control over him. Worse still, he is drawn to her sexually. His problem is perhaps a version of the Stockholm Syndrome, "a psychological response sometimes seen in abducted hostages, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger or risk in which they have been placed."I haven't included any spoilers, as this background information is divulged at the beginning of the novel. The plot of "Heartsick" involves a series of murders occurring in Portland, Oregon. Someone is killing and raping teenage girls. Gretchen Lowell does have a role here also, although she is in prison. The police reconvene the "Beauty Killer" task force and Archie is asked to come out of "temporary" retirement to be lead detective on the case. Although he maintains a professional demeanor, he is dysfunctional. To look at him, to work with him, no one would know. He is careful to keep his condition a secret, and, in fact, coming back to work helps keep him sane. He shovels drugs down his throat as if they were candy - just enough medication to relieve his physical and emotional pain, but not enough to really damage his kidneys and liver.Pink-haired Oregon Herald reporter Susan Ward is assigned to the case and is allowed complete access to the murders, crime scenes, and to Archie - she is to work alongside him. Her goal is not only to write a series of articles, but to write a book also. Why does Archie allow a reporter complete access to the case? Why did Gretchen allow him to live? You will have to read the novel to find out.This is a "can't put it down" read. The author writes well, the narrative clips along at a good pace, and Ms. Cain's characters are quite compelling. She really brings them to life on the page. The storyline is told in a series of flashbacks, from the present to the time when Archie was a captive. This book gives the term "psychological thriller" a new meaning."If you like thrillers, you will love this one. Even the gory details are not a real deterrent, given the exciting plot, the depth of the characters and what makes them tick. Highly recommended.Jana PerskieSweetheartEvil at Heart

One never knows which character is manipulating the other in this unique, brilliant take on the typical "serial killer thriller". Gretchen Lowell is one of the most intense, beautifully crafted characters I have ever come upon in the English language. Sick and twisted are words that don't even begin to cover her psyche. Every character created by Cain is deeply interesting and has a hidden motive or secret that is uncovered in real time. The setting of Portland, Oregon was played up perfectly, and while the dialogue had its lame noir moments, I was entirely engrossed. I still haven't let go of Gretchen and her puppets, and I don't want to. Maybe the author has manipulated her readers the way her female protagonist (antagonist!) does, but I don't care. Totally original and deeply rooted in psychology's most interesting facets, Heartsick is absolutely not to be missed by any person that loves literature. While the secondary plot is predictable, the actions of the characters are not. And that is the essence of what drives the novel - intentions that are unclear, and the pathway to discovering those very intentions, and the revelation that we all truly do have a Gretchen inside all of us.

I have never forgotten the story about a detective and a serial killer (female!). I wanted to read the whole series again, but in order. I could not find the first one till I looked here! Now I have them all, and I hear Chelsea Cain is writing a new book about them, so now I can refresh my memory! Thanks!

An unusual plot. Very well written. Good believable characters. Always looked forward to reading more. Will buy more of her books.

Towards the end, I thought I would rate it 4 stars but then the story flowed in an unexpected direction as it had through the entire book.This author is talented.Knows what she is doing.And we got a mutual liking for serial killer stories.I am rating this book very high for the easy reading, the faultless flow and the story.

Ein Ermittler, der die Ergreifung eines Serienkillers beinahe nicht überlebt hätte und nach einer langen Auszeit wieder reaktiviert wird, um eine neue Mordserie zu stoppen – einen Thriller mit einer solchen Ausgangssituation kennt man z.B. von Thomas Harris' “Red Dragon”, dem ersten Auftritt des berüchtigten Serienmörders Hannibal Lecter. Fast identisch beginnt jedoch auch “Heartsick” von Chelsea Cain: Auch ihr Protagonist Archie Sheridan ist nach einem verhängnisvollen Fall schwer traumatisiert aus dem Dienst ausgetreten und wird nun von seinen ehemaligen Vorgesetzten und Kollegen um Mithilfe gebeten. Der wohl auffälligste Unterschied zum Harris-Roman: Cains Teufel in Menschengestalt ist kein kannibalischer Intellektueller, sondern… eine Frau, noch dazu eine äußerst attraktive und gebildete, die als Psychologin sogar an den Ermittlungen gegen sich selbst mitgewirkt und die Ermittler auf eine falsche Fährte gelockt hat – bis es zu den eingangs erwähnten zehn Tagen kam, die das Leben beider dominierender Charaktere von “Heartsick” unwiderruflich verändert haben.Was damals genau passiert ist, darum macht die Autorin lange Zeit ein großes Geheimnis und ködert ihre Leser lediglich sehr geschickt mit einigen spärlich gesäten Erinnerungsfetzen, in denen Archie auf sein Martyrium in den Fängen von Gretchen Lowell zurückblickt. Abgesehen davon macht sich die Serienmörderin in der Geschichte lange Zeit rar, schwebt aber dennoch wie eine schwarze Gewitterwolke über der gesamten Handlung. Man erfährt weder Details über ihre Mordserie noch über die Einzelheiten ihres seltsamen Verhältnisses zu Archie Sheridan und selbst mit Äußerlichkeiten hält sich Chelsea Cain auffällig zurück. So wird schon früh ein regelrechter Mythos um Gretchen Lowell aufgebaut, lange bevor diese dann auch aktiv in die Handlung eingreift. Diese Aura des Geheimnisvollen und zugleich Verstörenden sorgt schnell für einen hohen Suchtfaktor der Lektüre, da man unbedingt mehr über die Hintergründe erfahren möchte.Archie Sheridan ist als Ermittler aber mindestens ebenso interessant wie seine Gegenspielerin, auch wenn auf den ersten Blick alles nach dem typischen Klischee eines gebrochenen Polizisten aussieht, dem der Beruf scheinbar alles genommen hat. Trotz gescheitertem Familienleben und besorgniserregender Medikamentenabhängigkeit hebt sich Archie aber wohltuend von seinen Genre-Kollegen ab, nicht zuletzt weil sich Cain auch dieser Figur auf ungewöhnliche, aber sehr wirkungsvolle Weise nähert. Sie stellt ihren Lesern nämlich die Journalistin Susan Ward zur Seite, aus deren Sicht man dem Detective nach und nach seine Geheimnisse entlockt – zumindest diejenigen, die er ihr preisgeben will. Zudem kommt Sheridan trotz all seiner offensichtlichen Probleme erfreulich umgänglich daher und trägt sein Leid bei weitem nicht so schwermütig zur Schau wie es bei manch anderer Reihe der Fall ist. Das macht ihn zusätzlich sympathisch und erleichtert die Identifikation mit der Ermittlerfigur.Dann wäre da natürlich auch noch die eigentliche Handlung des Thrillers mit der Mordserie an den Teenie-Mädchen, wenngleich diese bei all der Faszination um Archie und Gretchen fast schon wie eine Dreingabe wirkt. Trotzdem ist auch dieser Teil der Story für sich genommen spannend, temporeich und voller böser Überraschungen, auch wenn die Auflösung dieses Handlungsstranges vielleicht nicht ganz so spektakulär ausfällt. Dennoch ist “Heartsick” vor allem aufgrund der extrem interessanten Charaktere ein grandioser Thriller, den man als Fan des Genres unbedingt gelesen haben sollte und der auch für die nachfolgenden Bände der Reihe knisternde Spannung verspricht. Denn Chelsea Cain hat mit Gretchen Lowell eine beängstigende Figur geschaffen, neben der ein Ungeheuer wie Hannibal Lecter fast schon wie ein netter alter Mann wirkt – und ihre Geschichte ist noch längst nicht zu Ende erzählt…

Excellent read, kept you guessing