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HEART SICK
by Chelsea Cain
Macmillan, August 2007
320 pages
10.00 GBP
ISBN: 0230015891


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Did you know that 18 per cent of female serial killers are nurses? Neither did I, but in author Chelsea Cain's world, this is an established statistic. Mind, that is according to Detective Archie Sheridan, captive of serial killer Gretchen Lowell. He has been drugged by the killer, so perhaps his mind is not as retentive and analytic as it might be but we may as well give him the benefit of the doubt.

Gretchen, a psychiatrist, offered herself as an adviser to the task force investigating the murder of 23 people. Archie led the investigation but was himself taken captive and tortured but his abduction differed from that of other victims since he was freed and his captor imprisoned.

Two years on, Archie is a wreck of his former self. His marriage has broken up and he is addicted to painkillers, the torture to which he had been subjected by Lowell making these necessary. Archie's health notwithstanding, his former partner wants him to return to work as head of the task force. There is a new killer on the loose.

Susan Ward is a young journalist sent to cover the investigation, or, more specifically, to write a story about Archie Sheridan. Since she had attended the school from which victims have disappeared, it seems logical that she write the story.

There is something reminiscent of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS in this work. Archie, who feels a bond with Gretchen since her attack on him, feels the need to consult her about the case. After all, she is a psychiatrist as well as a serial killer, so what can he lose? His need makes an interesting twist for the tale.

I liked the picture Cain painted of the only partially rehabilitated Archie Sheridan. It seemed to me to be very convincing. His teaming with the damaged Susan Ward was appropriate, his addiction to the presence of his captor perhaps a trifle less so. Somehow, were I taken prisoner and tortured by someone, I can't see me being determined to see the person who hurt me as frequently as possible.

Although Chelsea Cain is an established writer, this is her first attempt at a crime novel and she has done a good job of it. Apparently there are further books planned for the series – and interestingly, they will be based on Gretchen Lowell rather than on the detective.

Reviewed by Denise Pickles, August 2007

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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