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Nov 04, 2008

Michael rated it:

Chelsea Cain's follow-up to her "Heartsick" reunites readers with Susan Ward, Archie Sheridan and serial killer Gretchen Lowell for a fast-paced story that works better if you just switch off your disbelief and just go with the story.

Picking up a few months after the end of "Heartsick," Archie has stopped visiting Gretchen, but remains obsessed with her. He's in the midst of trying to solve a case involving a body in a local park. Susan is hot on the trail of a More...

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Feb 13, 2009

Brooke rated it:

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Dec 04, 2008

Jen rated it:

Chelsea Cain obviously enjoys her devious characters and hard-core serial killers. This one isn't quite as good as the first, only because it came second and I sort of knew what to expect. If the series continues, I'll be sure to pick the next one up because it's a quick flight of fancy.

I think the entire book was made better by her acknowledgments at the end, where she thanks her elementary school librarian and tells her friends that she'll name corpses after them. Cute.

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Apr 02, 2009

Barb rated it:

I liked this book, not as well as the first one, Heartsick. I had some issues with the relationship between Gretchen and Archie, Susan could drop out of the next book and it would not bother me at all! All in all - it was a good read. I wonder what surprises #3 has in store for us. I hope that we will find out what it is that makes Gretchen who she is.

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Jan 05, 2009

Tina rated it:

As many readers have noted, Sweetheart takes place about 2 months after the conclusion of Heartsick. Archie continues to be just as obsessed with Gretchen as he was in the first book, even though he's moved back in with his family and has stopped visiting her. The story opens with Archie at a crime scene in Forest Park. A young woman has been found dead and severely ravaged by animals in the area. In the midst of investigating the first crime scene, Archie stumbles upon 2 more dead bodi More...

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Aug 08, 2011

Maya rated it:

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Apr 24, 2011

Alison rated it:

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Feb 15, 2011

Paul rated it:

In her first book Chelsea Cain introduced us to one of the most phenomenal characters in the mystery genre. In her book, "Heartsick", police detective, Archie Sheridan, has been looking for a serial killer for ten years. The serial killer lures Archie into a trap and he discovers the killer is a woman. Gretchen Lowell has killed over 200 people and is now torturing Archie Sheridan. Just before Archie dies she calls 911 and saves his life. She is put in prison, but Archie is total More...

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Oct 08, 2010

Ryn rated it:

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Jul 20, 2010

ICPL added it

If there were as many serial killers in real life as in fiction, we’d all either be dead or be one ourselves. One of the best is the creepy but lovely Gretchen Lowell, back from Heartsick, who has gotten so far into detective Archie Sheridan’s head (and body–she removed his spleen) that the poor guy’s taken refuge in pills. He can’t reconnect with his wife, since he’s always thinking of Gretchen. Blue haired reporter Susan Ward (okay, Atomic Turquoise haired) again inserts herself into the inv More...

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Jun 14, 2010

Kasia rated it:

To me this was Cain's best book to date, I have just finished book three and can safely say that the second part is intense, amazing and irresistible, definitely her best effort yet. After surviving his capture by a serial killer, one who also happened to be his object of wanton desires and fantasies, Archie is determined to solve all the open cases with Gretchen's help. The only problem is his secret desire and hunger for being near her. His marriage is in shambles and his psyche is just as sha More...

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Jun 09, 2010

Denise rated it:

3.0 out of 5 stars Just doesn't satisfy...and that breaks my "heart", July 29, 2008

This review is from: Sweetheart (Hardcover)

I was excited about this book -- I was hoping for some revelations about what makes Gretchen tick and why Archie can't tock. Fresh from a reread of the first one in the series, Heartsick, I immediately went right on to Sweetheart. I hoped I'd get more background information about Gretchen and also about Archie. Unfortunately, neither o More...

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Jun 11, 2010

Khen rated it:

ok... This book is dope. I know we're not suppose to give you a summary so I wont. But, I'll give you guys some anyways, just a little taste. Archie a policeman and this one reporter girl name Susan. They were working on the different case but one case brought them together. It was about the senator Castle dying mysteriously and the girl he rapped (Palmer) which the Senator and his men was trying to cover up was killed too. But the best thing about the story was about Archie's past. More...

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Sep 05, 2011

Emily rated it:

I have to say I almost gave up on the series after this book. I was about half way through it, riding in a car for hours on end, and trying not to vomit from the massively damaging spiral of Archie Sheridan's psyche and Gretchen Lowell's crazy ass hold over him. And also a little bit of carsickness. But not the point.

This book is the definitive be all end all of their catastrophic relationship. It builds, it terrorizes and it comes to a head in the middle that makes you want to throw More...

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Jul 05, 2011

Diana rated it:

This is book #2 in a series of 3. Gretchen Lowell is a MASS murderer. Has killed over 200 people via awful, creul means. Sometimes she even has people who kill for her following her directions.
Gretchen is beautiful and very smart and seems to have a way of being able to get anyone to anything for her. In this book, she is in prison. The detective who put her there, Archie Sheridan, visits Gretchen every week. When he visits, Gretchen usually will reveal to him the location of o More...

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Feb 27, 2009

Carmaletta rated it:

What lessened the enjoyment for me in this book is the same that lessened it in her previous endeavor Heartsick. I can't stand the character Susan. I found myself drawn into the story every time we got into Archie and Gretchen, but when Susan's chapters came up, I wanted to skip them and get back to the story. I don't find her as a likable character, and the more I read her, the more I'm turned off. She cares about her story, and that's it. To her, the people in the story are just a means to More...

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Nov 01, 2011

Charles rated it:

*Mild Spoiler Alert* Ok. I have some issues with this book. Chelsea Cain, in my opinion, tries too hard to write "smart" and show her [presumed] writing prowess. With phrases like, "...small table squatted...". But most of all, she breaks some rules of basic, GOOD storytelling: 1) Her antagonist, a flawless, blonde beauty...flawless skin...who has this secret hold on our would-be hero/detective [who she happened to torture and almost kill] is this highly dangerous killer [the More...

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Jul 12, 2009

Ron rated it:

There's a loose plot thread dangling at the end of Heartsick, where Susan has been trying to track down a young woman she believes was the victim of statutory rape by a United States Senator when she was 14. At the beginning of the sequel, she's on the verge of running with that story when the senator dies in a suspicious car accident... meanwhile, three bodies have been discovered in a park, which means Archie Sheridan has his serial killer task force up and running again.

It's a per More...

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Aug 05, 2011

C. Teresina rated it:

Chelsea Cain has created an interesting, if not damaged cast of characters, lead by the Beauty Killer's only surviving victim, Archie Sheridan. Between him, his long-time friend Henry, their new ally, Susan, who's hair is ever-changing in color, and the seductive serial killer Gretchen, she draws readers into a story where the stakes are always being raised and the suspense never stops. I couldn't put this book down once I started it. It's a worthy follow-up to "Heartsick" that leaves More...

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May 26, 2011

Sue rated it:

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Dec 04, 2008

Debi rated it:

I enjoyed Chelsea Cains' debut but her sophomore outing was over the top. I wanted to turn my head, cover my eyes and avoid looking at the the train crash I knew was coming, but I kept peeking through my fingers. This is not for the faint of heart reader. It is graphic. If you don't have a strong resolve this is not your book.

Sweetheart starts where Heartsick ending. We think Archie's better but he's still captivated and manipulated by the serial killer Gretchen. This was my one lit More...

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Nov 12, 2009

Lori rated it:

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Aug 16, 2011

Laineypoz rated it:

I liked the first one, "Heartsick", better. There I said it. I wanted to like this follow up, and I did, but I couldn't love it.

The character Susan got on my last nerve. It bothered me that a main character was so impulsive and not in a good way. She made stupid choices that, I guess, were designed to add to the suspense, but only made her seem inept. Bummer. I'm always looking for a strong lead.

At least Gretchen, while homicidal as all get-out, was a strong woman More...

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Nov 01, 2010

Meaghan rated it:

This book is the 2nd book following the lives of a detective and an imprisoned psychopath. The detective was once the victim of the psychopath and now she has escaped from jail. I enjoyed the first book and this book was quite interesting as well. It took me a little while to get into it. The detective in the book is addicted to drugs and self-destructive. At times I must admit that I really couldn't sympathize with the detective regardless of what he had been through. Even with all the support More...

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Dec 01, 2008

Sarah rated it:

I don't actually know exactly why I bothered to read this, given my opinion on 'Heartsick' -- the first of the Gretchen Lowell books. In many ways, this second book is even sillier -- more implausible and even a bit boring.

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Jul 10, 2011

Chris rated it:

This was enjoyable. Not as good as the first book in this series of characters but I did seem to easily fly through this audio book. When I worked at Barnes and Noble I was given the advanced copy we got by my manager and started it right away. I was intrigued by the characters and the story. It was not amazingly written but it was enough to keep me entertained.

Years later I finally decided to give the second book a try. This time around I was interested in the story and it was very More...

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May 18, 2010

Tom rated it:

Cain has in Archie Sheridan, created one of the most flawed characters in mystery genre history. And in Gretchen Lowell, the Beauty Killer, she has created a bad guy comparable to the infamous Hannibal Lecter. In events which began before the timeframe of her first book, HEARTSICK, Sheridan, a Portland OR homicide cop is captured by Lowell, the criminal he is tracking. Lowell removes his spleen (she's not a surgeon), drives nails into his chest, and feeds him drain cleaner. Sheridan escapes, and More...

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Apr 20, 2010

Barbra rated it:

This series is just so good. This is another serial killer thriller but oh, what a serial killer. The characters in this series are just so engrossing. Gretchen has to be a female Hannibal Lecter.

Back Cover Blurb:
Investigative journalist Susan Ward is about to print the story of her career - but the day before her story is published, the senator she is about to expose is killed in a car crash.
Detective Archie Sheridan is trying to rebuild a life with his family. And w More...

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Nov 30, 2008

Kelly rated it:

A good concept taken too far. The escape of Gretchen taints the conspiracy/mystery. The relationship between Gretchen and Archie becomes unbelievable and ruins the end of the book.

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May 26, 2010

Linda rated it:

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