Heartsick
by Chelsea Cain
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Book Reviews of Heartsick
Book Review: Cain tears me up with a twisted tale of love and murder
Summary: 5 Stars
If there was an award for scariest dedication, Chelsea Cain wouldn't have any competition. Her national bestseller, Heartsick, starts off with: "For Marc Mohan, who loved me even after he read this book". I had to pause before I started the first chapter. What in the hell was I getting myself into?
A pickle, that's what. I have a bit of a problem here. I am giving this book our highest marks and I am about to lavish some serious praise on it, but I am by no means recommending this book to everyone. If anyone passed by and bought this book because they saw my five stars, and now you are back to determine what in the world I was thinking, all I can say is: I didn't tell you so. Because you didn't listen.
People I would not recommend this book to: My father, who just had a heart attack and can't stand the stress of watching CNN. My mother, who would love the book, but I wouldn't want her to know that I think she would. Anyone with PTSD. People that live alone or with someone else that they feel is incapable of adequately protecting them. Very young people. Very old people. Squealers. Anyone who has ever fainted.
I apologize to those of you that I left out, you can never think of everyone.
For those of you that are left-oh boy are you in for a treat. Cain has created in this book two characters that I will remember for the rest of my life and details a bond between them that is incomprehensible and real at the same time. First you meet Archie Sheridan, a detective that would seem cliche if not for the justifiable roots of his behaviors. A sullen man addicted to pain meds who can not balance work and the home life sounds like every other gumshoe in the genre. In fact, his melancholy is decidedly noir-ish. But what makes him one of my favorite characters in all of fiction is that we are privy to what made him this way. Instead of a false facade, a broken detective with a vague past of minor abuses, we are allowed inside the process whereby these self-destructive men are made. In gory detail we are presented with the precise steps necessary to completely dismantle good men.
Steps that obviously benefit from a lady's touch.
Steps that could only be carried out by the sickest, most evil, vilest creature perhaps ever concocted for a disbelieving audience. Annie Wilkes from "Misery"? Mother Teresa. Hannibal Lecter? Santa Claus. Meet Gretchen Lowell, Cain's revolting antagonist, the worst fictional abomination I have ever read about. At one point about halfway through the book, as I was lying in bed allowing this foul wench to torment my soul, I realized, looking at the unread half, that there was no guarantee that anyone was safe from her. She is locked in a prison cell and all I can think of is the nefarious nature of this most wicked author who gave birth to a hell-spawn and granted her the power to do anything within her creation. She could set her free on the inhabitants of this book. Sick her on people that I care about. I had to set the book aside for a moment and explain this horrid revelation to my confused wife (one of the people I will not recommend this book to). In short: I had become frightened. Of an imaginary character. Who had done no more than clasp a man's wrist with her manacled hands. Yeah.
That is how good this book is. Heartsick. What a perfect name. I am only realizing it as I write this review, but what Chelsea Cain was able to do for me was to create these polar emotional opposites, further apart than I was prepared for; she forced me to feel the electrical potential between this anode of agony and cathode of catharsis. The resulting sparks between Archie and and Gretchen are the shocking, killing kind.
Because of this, I felt more pure love and pity for Archie than I have for any character since I met Ender Wiggins, 20+ years ago. At the same time Cain was able to instruct me in new levels of hatred and revulsion with Gretchen Lowell. And between these two extremes is where the book takes place. Love and Disgust. Heart and Sick. Bouncing back and forth between them was exhausting and exhilarating. It made me want to finish the book immediately and to have it go on forever. I was loving the book while I wretched repeatedly.
It wasn't until the last page of Heartsick that I finally broke down, exhausted. And then I cried. Not because of the tenderness of a single moment, nor was it due to the culmination of a brilliant journey-it was because I was safe. I cried out of relief. I had made it through to the other side and there was nothing else that Chelsea Cain could do to me, good nor bad.
If you don't belong to one of the myriad groups that I listed above, how can I give any higher recommendation than this? This book was an experience for me. The only complaint that I could make would be its 337 pages. Twice that would have been nice. Which makes me sound tough, I'm sure, but Chelsea has a sequel out there that I could go pick up right now and start reading. There are more pages of torment and satisfaction at my fingertips. And what am I doing to back up my call for an encore? I am wussing out for a few weeks, that's what. I'm going to go read something else, let the wounds scar over, and wait until I am dumb enough to think I can take more.
If your hyperbole sensor is beeping, it is broken. A quoted sample of adjectives other people have used to describe Heartsick:
...twisted tale...contorted thriller...razor edged...unyielding...gory...dark, distressing, and disturbing...exquisite pain...downright gruesome...
For those of you that are rushing off to buy a copy, you should be in a database somewhere. They should be keeping tabs on you people. I have a legal right to know if you live in my neighborhood.
Book Review: What a Compelling, Creepy Debut!
Summary: 4 Stars
"The scar on his chest was pale and raised, the fibrous tissue no wider than a piece of yarn. It began a few inches below his left nipple, carved a naked path through his dark chest hair, arced, and then arced again back down to its original point. It was shaped like a heart." -- From the book
In my teens, I loved reading Stephen King and Dean R. Koontz. The year I graduated High School, Thomas Harris came out with the incredibly absorbing The Silence of the Lambs featuring Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lector. It was then that I became fascinated by the world of serial killers...
Despite my interest in the genre, I hadn't heard of HeartSick through normal channels (browsing through bookstores, bookstore email lists, etc.), but learned of it when I became an Amazon Vine Reviewer. Author Chelsea Cain's upcoming book Sweetheart was listed as one of the possible products for review, and once I read about the premise--as well as the publisher including the previous book HeartSick for background--I took the plunge.
Boy, am I glad I did!
HeartSick does not disappoint, especially for fans of taut fiction, well-drawn characters, abnoral psychology and haunting thrillers. Without giving away any spoilers, the premise of the book centers around Portland detective Archie Sheridan, a family man who headed up a task force to catch a serial killer.
Except, HeartSick doesn't follow Archie's attempt to find this serial killer, but rather the story begins as he's emerging from a two-year medical leave after being drugged, imprisoned, tortured and mutilated by the Beauty Killer herself. (Yes, in a fascinating genre-bender, Gretchen Lowell is the rare female serial killer. And, you'll find out why she was so hard to track down for all those years, too...)
Another serial killer is on the loose and Archie emerges from sick leave practically a drug addict as he and his colleagues attempt to profile, and catch, the After School Strangler.
However, the most bizarre part of HeartSick is Archie's weekly Sunday prison visits to Gretchen Lowell--and the twisted Stockholm-syndrome-esque attraction he has for his tormenter who basically destroyed his life and family.
I like the character of Susan Ward, the plucky, pink-haired reporter that follows Archie around. However--and this is one of the reasons I give HeartSick 4 stars and not 5--I just can't believe the idea that Susan dyed her hair with actual household BLEACH (a fact that becomes central to the story), a chemical so overpoweringly toxic and caustic to human skin. I mean, why in the world wouldn't she buy a bottle of peroxide--or even actual hair bleach?
And, the ending was *just* a bit too "tied in a bow" for me, especially in terms of the connection between Gretchen Lowell and the After School Strangler. It seems to me that everything fell into place much too neatly--and much too coincidentally.
Having said that, HeartSick was a book I truly couldn't put down. I was working on editing the proof of my *own* book at the time, and I'd look forward to getting back to curling up with HeartSick on the couch as a cozy "reward" for getting my own work done!
I've begun reading Sweetheart--only a few pages into it--and, happily, it continues with the same colorful characters, mood and fast-paced narrative that HeartSick displayed (except Susan has a new hair color!)
Fans of Thomas Harris will likely enjoy HeartSick, as would fans of Tess Gerritsen and early King and Koontz. Those who love to read suspenseful mysteries and psychological thrillers, especially ones featuring serial killers, will be in for a creepy, but absorbing treat!
Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book (which features a BIT Snapshot of the BTK serial killer)
Book Review: Utterly Chilling.....
Summary: 5 Stars
2 years ago, Archie Sheridan spent 10 days being tortured by Gretchen Lowell. For 10 years, Archie was on the task force that was investigating the serial killer, dubbed the "Beauty Queen Killer". Then Gretchen Lowell walked into his office and offered her services as a consulting psychiatrist. Not only was she off-the-charts intelligent, but she was also extremely beautiful. Little did anyone expect she was actually the killer. Very few serial killers were woman. Especially one this brutal. Besides, who would have thought the killer would be so arrogant as to insert themselves into the investigation?? But Gretchen did, and she came for Archie.
But in a weird twist, after 10 days of torturing Archie to the brink of death, Gretchen actually saved his life. In fact, she called 9-1-1 for medical assistance and sealed her fate. She was caught, but through plea bargaining, she avoided the death penalty. Part of her agreement was that she would tell the police where to find the bodies of the 200 + victims she had tortured and killed. But there was a condition to this agreement. Gretchen would only speak to one person -- Archie.
Now, 2 years later, another serial killer has surfaced. Nicknamed the "After School Killer", he is abducting high school girls on their way home at night. Archie has been asked to come out of retirement and head the new task force. But Archie is a broken man. Not only has he not worked since the incident, but he takes enough Vicoden on a daily basis to sedate a small elephant. He has a medicine cabinet full of prescriptions from anti-depressants to Xanax to sleeping pills. His wife divorced him. And every Sunday Archie drives to the prison to speak to Gretchen Lowell. He's obsessed with her, and not in a healthy way.
Susan Ward is a features writer for the local Portland newspaper. She'd love to be serious reporter, but so far, she hasn't been given the chance. Spunky and independent,with bright pink hair, Susan has been tapped to do a story on Archie and the task force. She doesn't know why she was requested for this assignment, but she isn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Following Archie around is definitely the biggest thing that has ever happened in her career.
Because Gretchen is in prison for most of this book, there are the obvious comparisons to another literary killer -- Hannibal Lecter. But in my opinion, Gretchen Lowell makes Hannibal Lecter look like a Sunday School Teacher. Through a few small chapters that flash back to the ten days Archie was captured, we get a small glance at how incredibly brutal this woman really is. The kinds of torture she put her victims through are so twised, I had trouble reading about them.. And not only was she brutal in her kills, but she is equally so with Archie. She is a master manipulator. She "killed" most of him during those 10 days. But now she is keeping him in a prison of her own making. He can't seem to let go of her. It's almost like a weird form of Stockholm Syndrome.
The Susan storyline was a little weak in comparison to the Gretchen storyline. You just didn't get as much of a chance to get to know her as well. But her character is likable. She is tough, although not as tough as she thinks she is.
But Archie is such a wonderful character. He is flawed almost to the point of destruction. Chelsea Cain has created a man so human, there are some chapters it's almost painful to read. You just want to yell at him, then hug him the next minute.
On top of the great characters is a really fast-paced, riveting story. One that will keep you turning page after page, just dying to know what's going to happen next. An extremely enjoyable thriller, HeartSick will keep you on your toes. And just praying you never see Gretchen Lowell on a street corner in your neighborhood!! I was so impressed with this book, that I immediately started Book #2 - SweetHeart. If you are a fan of the thriller/serial killer genre, this is a definite must-read for you. Even if you aren't a big fan, this is a very enjoyable book!
Book Review: Descent into Darkness that Left ME Heartsick
Summary: 5 Stars
The comparisons are there in almost every review, Heartsick to Silence of the Lambs. The insidiously manipulative evil of Gretchen versus the coldly charming psychopathy of Hannibal. The broken and damaged Archie to the idealistic and forthright Clarice. And while the bottom line remains that Heartsick is no Silence of the Lambs, it definitely holds its own in the genre and left me with a lot to think about.
I agree with every reviewer that criticized the somewhat wan thread of the After School Strangler whodunit plot. I didn't find it all that tense, interesting, or threatening, and it wasn't given enough breath to add to the tragedy of the other two threads of plot. Not only that, but I thought the connections made at the end of that thread were a bit contrived and stood out enough to be jarringly cliched.
So why the five star rating, as I'm usually very critical of things like that in books? Not to put too fine a point on it, but frankly, the psychosexual tension between the icy death queen Gretchen and the emotionally, physically, and spiritually crippled Archie was written SO well (scarily, horrifyingly, DISTURBINGLY well) that I just can't give this book less than 4.5 stars, rounding up because there were true flashes of authorial brilliance that I haven't SEEN in this genre SINCE Silence of the Lambs. Kudos to Cain for the deft hand at character development with a brilliance for creating a tense, atmospheric pressure cooker of human destruction. This book is not for the faint of heart. I finished it in three days only because I had to keep putting it down. Archie...and to a lesser degree Susan...just made me...well...heartsick.
I love flawed characters. I do. I think they make the most FASCINATING decisions and always have the BEST plots in books. But to say that Archie is flawed would be roughly akin to saying the Grand Canyon is a bit of a crack in the earth. The deep and depraved addiction to Gretchen and to drugs...both for the pain he's still in AND the guilt for that very depravity...were hauntingly real and disturbing. Sympathetic...but only to a point...because like all addicts, Archie goes a long time without seeming to hit rock bottom. And that's a horrifying, terrifying thought. It's also disturbing that he almost seems to like the journey down - definitely seems to almost need it.
I can't remember an aspect of any book I've read that disturbed me more than the brutal codependency of Gretchen and Archie.
Heartsick wasn't by any means an enjoyable read. Not in the way I mean it anyway. It was one part sheer brilliance, one part very, very good (Susan's flaws and damage were also extremely well done and HER thread believable), and one part almost an afterthought (the After School Strangler thread), but as a whole I wouldn't call it "enjoyable." It's definitely something I'd consider a must read, though, if you favor the sort of deconstruction of depravity and descent into the darkness capable by the most extreme humanity that books like Silence of the Lambs provides. I loved it...with my mind. My heart, though...it's still recovering.
Book Review: Twisted, Violent, and Not a Word Rings True
Summary: 2 Stars
Book Club Review
SWEETHEART
by Chelsea Cain
Our book club's book for June was SWEETHEART, by Chelsea Cain. We seem to have managed to pick up a lot of newer authors lately, but not with their first books. We took a "field trip" to a local Barnes & Noble one night to do a little scouting, and we found this book on the remainder table, in hardcover, for a really good price! We had read a Jane Whitefield/Thomas Perry novel recently, and we decided we like thrillers (we also read SHARP OBJECTS, by Gillian Flynn, which falls into that category as well). So, SWEETHEART it was.
This is a serial-killer book/thriller, the second in a series that began with HEARTSICK. The hero is Archie Sheridan, the detective who has found and brough to justice the so-called Beauty Killer, who is a stunningly beautiful female psychopath named Gretchen Lowell. If you want sick, look no further than Gretchen. She's truly and viciously violent under her stunning and erotic exterior. Prior to the opening of SWEETHEART, Archie has embarked on a twisted romance/friendship with Gretchen, who is locked up but still manages to exert a strong influence over Archie, who has become addicted to pain pills as his dark relationship with Gretchen continues.
SWEETHEART begins with the finding of some new bodies in the woods, combined with a young journalist's pursuit of a story that will take down a pervy old senator. Before we know it, Gretchen has escaped and started to kill again, all while drawing Archie deeper into her Web. Who will win this time? Gretchen tried to kill Archie once; will she do it again? And is Archie suicidal enough to let her?
This isn't a book for those who can't handle graphic violence, because there are some really sadistic scenes in this book. That aside, as a group we just didn't think the book worked. Every single character seems derivative of someone who's been done before. Gretchen Lowell is literally a female Hannibal Lecter, doing the same things he does, even using some of the same words and techniques. The ties that bind Archie to this monster are clearly strong, but the author provides no psychological background into Archie's life or what would draw him to such a hideous being at the expense of his own wife and children. The supporting characters, while likable enough, have no personality and seem to serve mostly as filler. The plot is predictable, right up to the "set up the sequel" ending; but not one of us felt any desire to read any more installments.
While the whole book is pretty unbelievable from beginnign to end, there is one scene (near the end of the book) in which a supposedly smart character does something so incredibly stupid that that scene alone could make the entire book fall apart. If you end up reading SWEETHEART, you'll know it as soon as you see it.
Sad to say, overall we give this one a thumbs down. It's a fast enough read, competently written, but feels more like a pre-screenplay than a novel; and as a group we were quite underwhelmed.