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Heartsick (Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell #1)

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 12,497 ratings · 1,467 reviews

Damaged Portland detective Archie Sheridan spent ten years tracking Gretchen Lowell, a beautiful serial killer, but in the end she was the one who caught him. Two years ago, Gretchen kidnapped Archie and tortured him for ten days, but instead of killing him, she mysteriously decided to let him go. She turned herself in, and now Gretchen has been locked away for the rest of...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published September 4th 2007 by Minotaur Books (first published January 1st 2007)

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Oct 01, 2007 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of well-written thrillers.

Serial killer stories are a dime a dozen but Chelsea Cain's HeartSick is a cut above the rest (no pun intended). Not only is this novel a real page turner, but it's also very well-written with characters you believe in and sympathize with, even when they're doing things you suspect are definitely not in their best interests.

The book opens with Detective Archie Sheridan's moments-too-late realization that he's fallen into the clutches of a serial killer, the beautiful, sociopathic Gretchen Low...more Serial killer stories are a dime a dozen but Chelsea Cain's HeartSick is a cut above the rest (no pun intended). Not only is this novel a real page turner, but it's also very well-written with characters you believe in and sympathize with, even when they're doing things you suspect are definitely not in their best interests.

The book opens with Detective Archie Sheridan's moments-too-late realization that he's fallen into the clutches of a serial killer, the beautiful, sociopathic Gretchen Lowell who has tortured to death 199 people and plans to make Archie number 200. She drugs and imprisons Archie, then begins a brutal and flinch-worthy regimen of torture---and this is just in the first chapter. Archie knows he is probably going to die. He counts the days until he's either found alive by his task force, or finally murdered. Flash forward a few years (chapter two) and we discover that Archie did actually survive his ten-day ordeal at the hands of a psychopath---only after Gretchen called 9-1-1 and turned herself in. But did Archie really survive? His life in shambles and addicted to pain killers, Archie returns to detective work a very different man, breaking his work hiatus only because a new serial killer, one targeting sophomore girls, is on the loose in Portland. The chilling Gretchen Lowell sits behind bars in a maximum security prison, but every Sunday Archie goes to visit her and in a sick and symbiotic relationship, Gretchen reveals the location of more of the bodies she dumped years past while continuing to torture Archie mentally. As the current serial killer investigation team rushes to find the new murderer, Archie allows a young reporter, Susan Ward, to shadow him and write exclusives on the "hero cop" who has returned (addicted, as Susan soon learns) to the force. Susan has her own issues, Archie his, and the imprisoned Gretchen Lowell seems deadlier than ever as she manipulates the world from behind bars.

I was surpised at how absolutely satisfying this book was. I'd read and enjoyed Cain's first novel, a Nancy Drew parody for adults entitled Confessions of a Teen Sleuth which is just about as entirely different from HeartSick as one could possibly get, and I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy her second book. I did, I did, I did. And now I will be encouraging more people to go out and enjoy it too. I just looked up Chelsea Cain on amazon.com and there is an interview with her about HeartSick in which I learned that she has already written a second book in this series. Normally I'm not a series reader, but I will definitely be looking for Sweetheart when it becomes available.(less)

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Mar 04, 2010 Kemper rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-mystery, serial-killers, thriller

Serial killer thrillers are a dime a dozen anymore, but this one added just enough of a twist to make it halfway interesting. It will also make you cringe slightly whenever you have to handle a bottle of drain cleaner for a while after reading.

The main mystery is pretty conventional with a quirky female reporter getting pulled into a police investigation. If that's all there was too it, then it wouldn't be worth reading.

However, the more interesting portion revolves around the relationship betwe...more

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Oct 31, 2007 Shea rated it 3 of 5 stars

I’ve seen reviews of this novel ranging from calling it "the thriller of the year" to "not a very suspenseful read". For me, both seemed to paradoxically be true. At it’s core, it is a decent psychological thriller centering around Detective Archie Sheridan who was captured by a female serial killer, and is forced back onto the job two years afterwards to catch another serial killer. Cain does not follow a strict chronological sequence in her storytelling, and there are two major stories at play...more I’ve seen reviews of this novel ranging from calling it "the thriller of the year" to "not a very suspenseful read". For me, both seemed to paradoxically be true. At it’s core, it is a decent psychological thriller centering around Detective Archie Sheridan who was captured by a female serial killer, and is forced back onto the job two years afterwards to catch another serial killer. Cain does not follow a strict chronological sequence in her storytelling, and there are two major stories at play here: 1) Sheridan’s experiences and thoughts while in captivity of a serial killer and 2) his struggle to find another serial killer two years later while operating in a majorly dysfunctional manner as a result of his torture and eventual release while in captivity. Cain intersperses scenes from the first story into the second (main) story throughout the novel, and she switches back and forth whenever Sheridan experiences a heightened level of stress or turmoil during his search for the current serial killer.

If that is not enough, Cain sets the story in Portland during the late winter/early spring time period. This is something that I’m sure was more than intentional as she not so subtly alters the weather to reflect what Sheridan is thinking and how is feeling during the investigation and his subsequent flashbacks. While it seems like this could be an all too obvious scene tactic, it actually does not backfire on Cain and works very well throughout the novel.

While the plot was certainly one of the more original ones I’ve seen in a while, I figured out the ending about two thirds of the way through it (i.e. who the killer was and how each main character fit into the "big picture"), but that could just be a product of my line of thinking and/or current studies. ;) I finished the novel in a hurry once I thought I had it figured out to see whether I was correct in my predictions hoping that I had been led astray and there was actually a big surprise in store for me at the end. There wasn’t, and while that did detract from my overall impressions of the story, I can still recognize the decent effort Cain made to prevent people like myself from accurately predicting the ending.(less)

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Jan 30, 2009 Brooke rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, thriller

I've heard Heartsick billed as the next Silence of the Lambs, and I think that description is deceptive. Gretchen Lowell, the beautiful serial killer that Detective Archie Sheridan visits in prison every Sunday, isn't consulting on the current case he's working on. Gretchen kidnapped and tortured Archie when he was investigating the trail of bodies she was leaving. Now he visits her once a week as she slowly reveals locations of her victims, and also because he's mentally dependent on her in a s...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Janie Johnson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Heartsick was a buddy read for me and I was really quite excited to read it. I love crime/mystery/thiller genre a lot. This was a good read, not spectacular, but enough to keep me interested and also interested in the rest of the series.

I really liked Archie's character. I think mostly because he was not perfect, he made mistakes, he suffered great amounts of pain, and he made bad choices because of that pain and suffering. He is involved in a twisted and sick relationship with a serial killer....more

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Dec 05, 2008 Gina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, mystery-detective, mystery, mystery-detective-journalism, suspense, thriller

A deadly nightmare you can only pray to wake up from…

Archie Sheridan is a detective with the Portland PD. During his rookie year as a detective, eleven years ago, he’d joined the task force that had been set up to capture the serial killer known as The Beauty Killer. For years, they tried to capture the killer, who evaded them, until a beautiful woman came into the picture. She approached the task force, introduced herself as a psychologist, and baited Archie until she kidnapped him, and torture...more A deadly nightmare you can only pray to wake up from…

Archie Sheridan is a detective with the Portland PD. During his rookie year as a detective, eleven years ago, he’d joined the task force that had been set up to capture the serial killer known as The Beauty Killer. For years, they tried to capture the killer, who evaded them, until a beautiful woman came into the picture. She approached the task force, introduced herself as a psychologist, and baited Archie until she kidnapped him, and tortured him. She kills Archie, but, unlike her previous victims, she brought him back, dialed 9-1-1 and turned herself in. And yet, she’s not done torturing Archie, and he knows it.

Two years later, divorced from his wife, refusing to see his kids and addicted to prescription drugs, Archie is asked to head a new task force for a new serial killer, one who kidnaps teenage girls, strangles them, rapes them, douses them with bleach and dumps them in the river. With barely any clues or leads, they are on the hunt for the After School Strangler.

Meanwhile, Susan Ward, feature writer for the Herald, is assigned to follow Archie and write a feature about him. Dogging his heels, Susan sees things most reporters wouldn’t unless they were to stumble upon a body themselves. For Susan, the After School Strangler hits close to home, for, years before, she’d actually gone to one of the murdered teenagers.

And all the while, hunting for a new serial killer, Archie continues his visits with Gretchen in prison every Sunday. The reason? Supposedly because she will give up a body of one of her victims; name and location of burial, but it has to be Archie. Does he go simply for closer to her victims families, or is there something more? Will they catch the After School Strangler before the fourth victim is found dead?

Incredible novel! Throughout the book, we visit Archie’s past, during the time when Gretchen tortures him. The torture is described as such that the reader feels it, and it’s gut-wrenching! She not only does a number on his body, but fractures his mind as well. Gretchen is such the narcissistic psychopath that just listening to the way she talks gives you the shivers while your stomach jumps in revulsion. Archie is very much now a broken person in mind as well as body, for her marks may heal, but they scar, both ways.

Susan, the reporter, is as screwed up as Archie, in a totally different manner. Having lost her father at 15, she rebelled, and hasn’t been the same since.

And while this new serial killer is nowhere as bad as Gretchen, the killer is just as screwed up in the head as she is.

There may not be much action in this novel except at the end, it’s the mind games and past torture that really grip you. You continue reading, as fascinated as you are repulsed, and even though you close the book, thinking there’s no way you can continue reading it, you’ll pick it right back up, wondering what else Gretchen does to Archie, wondering who the new serial killer is. I sooooo can’t wait to get my hands on Sweetheart, book #2 in the series.(less)

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Aug 16, 2008 Geoff rated it 3 of 5 stars

When I started reading Chelsea Cain's Heartsick I didn't really expect to enjoy it. Cain isn't a fantastic writer, she gets very caught up in over describing her characters, her environment and everything in between. I'm in great agreement with Stephen King who wrote in his book "On Writing" that the building of a scene in a book is collaborative and that if an author describes every detail in that scene they take away from the reader and their role in the collaboration. Cain uses description as...more

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Jul 27, 2008 Samantha rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was worried about reading this book. It was being compared to Silence of the Lambs which I felt was fascinating book. I was worried that I would be disappointed, but I definitely wasn't. I can't believe that Chelsea Cain is a new author. The pacing and the interactions between characters aren't what you normally find with a new author. I love how she has intertwined the Stockholm syndrome with a serial killer investigation. In this book, the detective isn't seeking answers about the current se...more

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Apr 01, 2008 Kendra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Consider yourself warned: it's rather gruesome.

Two years before the "present day" events of the book, Detective Archie Sheridan was captured, tortured, and released by Gretchen Lowell, a serial killer that he had been hunting for 10 years. After an extended sick leave, Archie is returning to work to head up a task force that has been assembled to capture another serial killer. The chapters alternate between events from two years earlier and the current search for the new killer. Also explored ar...more

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Mar 31, 2012 İlkim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, loved-the-cover, thriller

Kısa aralıklarla Stockholm Sendromu kitaplarına denk gelmem şaşırtıcı gerçekten. Bu kitaptaki tamamen saplantı haline geliyor hatta. Dedektifimiz Archie, peşinden 10 yıl boyunca koştuğu Gretchen Lowell isimli güzel psikopat katil tarafından kaçırılıyor ve ona 10 gün kadar bir süre işkence ettikten sonra yaşamasına izin veriyor, kendi de hapse giriyor. (ps: ikinci kitapta oradan kaçtığını öğrendim ya yakında dayanamaz okurum) Archie tabi ki tamamen mahvolmuş bir halde hastaneye kaldırılıyor. Gret...more Kısa aralıklarla Stockholm Sendromu kitaplarına denk gelmem şaşırtıcı gerçekten. Bu kitaptaki tamamen saplantı haline geliyor hatta. Dedektifimiz Archie, peşinden 10 yıl boyunca koştuğu Gretchen Lowell isimli güzel psikopat katil tarafından kaçırılıyor ve ona 10 gün kadar bir süre işkence ettikten sonra yaşamasına izin veriyor, kendi de hapse giriyor. (ps: ikinci kitapta oradan kaçtığını öğrendim ya yakında dayanamaz okurum) Archie tabi ki tamamen mahvolmuş bir halde hastaneye kaldırılıyor. Gretchen'ın caniliklerine birkaç örnek vereyim: çivilerle göğsüne kalp şekli kazıyor, lavabo açıçı içiriyor düzenli olarak-sonuçta yemek borusu mahvoluyor-, kafasına göre istediği yerleri kesiyor, onu tam bir uyuşturucu müptelası yapıyor, yani kafası genelde uçuyor. Archie de 2 yıl boyunca dinlenmeye çekiliyor ama karısından, çocuklarından uzaklaşıyor ve düşünebildiği sadece Gretchen. Bakınız nasıl bir takıntı, anlayınız.

Ortada dolanan yeni bir seri katil var ve 15 yaşındaki kızları kaçırıyor, tecavüz ettikten sonra öldürüp çamaşır suyuna yatırdıktan sonra bir yerlere bırakıyor her defasında. Bu davada Archie'nin isteğiyle davayı gözetleyen, dava ve Archie hakkında bir yazı yazacak olan Susan Ward isimli bir gazeteci de var. Kitap Susan ve Archie'nin ağzından gidiyor. Susan'ın sorunlu çocukluğu, babasının ölümünün ardından aradığı baba figürü ve bunun sonuçlarını dinliyorsunuz. Kitap umulmadık bir şekilde karakterleri birleştiriyor ve seri katil yakalanıyor, tabi ki kim olduğunu söylemeyeceğim ama cinayetlerin nedenleri Susan'a dayanıyor o farkında olmasa da. Hastalıklı bir zihnin nasıl çalıştığına şahit olduktan sonra, Archie diğer hastalıklı zihni, yani Gretchen'ı sabahın 4'ünde görmeye gidiyor. Aslında her pazar düzenli olarak gidip öldürdüğü 199 kişinin (200. Arcchie olacaktı ama olmadı) birinin cesedinin nerede bulabileceğini söylerken onu dinliyor. Aslında onu görmek istediği için de gitmek istemesi var. Bu en son gidişinde gayet açık bir şekilde ondan etkilendiğini anlıyorsunuz ve en sonunda kendine hakim olup onu orada terk edip gidiyor. İkinci kitaba göre de 2 ay boyunca onun yanına hiç gitmiyor ve bundan sonra da Gretchen da kaçıyor anladığım kadarıyla. Yazarın anlatımı gayet iyi, kanlı detayları da canlandırıcı bir şekilde vermiş, bir tek bağırsak kısımları rahatsız etti beni (:P). Uzun lafın kısası kitap sizi odakta tutuyor, tabi ki bazı eksiklikleri var benim gözümde ama bu da iyilerden biri. (less)

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Mar 02, 2009 Big Bertha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Big Bertha by: oej

Gripping, gruesome, compelling - a fabulous read!

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Jun 15, 2012 Keri rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, 2012-read, suspense, serial-killer, chelsea-cain, ntm-author

Chelsea Cain is a NTM author and I now have a new series to glom on. Ok for those that read Ward's Fallen Angel series, know that Devina and Gretchen are soul sisters, because they are both evil incarnate.

Archie, just put on homicide right off the bat catches the biggest case of his life, he gets put on a task force tracking a prolific serial killer. Of course profiles have the profile down as older, white male...blah..blah...blah. The task force have been meeting at a shrink's house in order t...more Chelsea Cain is a NTM author and I now have a new series to glom on. Ok for those that read Ward's Fallen Angel series, know that Devina and Gretchen are soul sisters, because they are both evil incarnate.

Archie, just put on homicide right off the bat catches the biggest case of his life, he gets put on a task force tracking a prolific serial killer. Of course profiles have the profile down as older, white male...blah..blah...blah. The task force have been meeting at a shrink's house in order to get a handle on their feelings for this monster. At this point they have been chasing him for 10 years. Archie is now the head of the task force and is kidnapped by the killer and surprise it wasn't the right profile. The killer is Gretchen and she is going to unleash her worst on him. She wants his heart on a silver platter...litterly.

Boy does she ever, she carves him up, performs surgery and other various sundry lists of torture devices that you will have to read for yourself. He survives barely and when I say survives I mean his heart is still beating when they get to him, but his mind that is another story entirely and where the story gets interesting. I don't want to reveal too much, but his relationship with Gretchen becomes twisted to the point that you are repulsed but you can't stop reading. Gretchen has Archie's life in her hands and she ended up saving him and turning herself in. We aren't sure why though and I am sure that will continue throughout the series.

Now Archie goes and sees her every Sunday without fail..he has too because if he comes to see her, then Gretchen gives up more bodies that she buried across the nation...didn't I tell you she was a prolific serial killer? Now young girls are coming up missing and found dead and the task force has been brought together again to find their killer. Is Archie up to the task? Can he still bring the bad guys in when he feels so broken?

We also have our reporter Susan, who is going teditorialstorial's about Archie. I liked and hated Susan at times, but in the end I understood some of her insecurities and let it slide. If you like suspense with some real twists and turns you might give CC a chance. Be warned the descriptions of the dead was pretty graphic at times. (less)

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Apr 12, 2012 Neide Parafitas rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed, leituras-2012

Um livro um pouco diferente dos moldes de policiais a que estou habituada por se focar numa relação obsessiva entre psicopata/vítima, mas que não me desiludiu nem um bocadinho!

Gostei bastante :)

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Oct 16, 2012 Chad Sayban rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: very-good

Two years removed from his ten-year-long investigation tracking beautiful serial killer Gretchen Lowell, Portland Detective Archie Sheridan is a broken man. Kidnapped and tortured at the hands of the very killer he pursued, she unexpectedly let him live and turned herself in. Now he is estranged from his wife and children as he uses massive amounts of drugs to cope with the mental and physical pain. And while he tells everyone that his weekly visits to see Gretchen in prison are to get her to di...more Two years removed from his ten-year-long investigation tracking beautiful serial killer Gretchen Lowell, Portland Detective Archie Sheridan is a broken man. Kidnapped and tortured at the hands of the very killer he pursued, she unexpectedly let him live and turned herself in. Now he is estranged from his wife and children as he uses massive amounts of drugs to cope with the mental and physical pain. And while he tells everyone that his weekly visits to see Gretchen in prison are to get her to divulge the locations of more of her 200 victims, Archie knows that the truth is he can’t stay away. But when several teenage girls are abducted and murdered by a new serial killer, Archie is asked to come back off of medical leave and lead the investigation. Archie has his own reasons for coming back, and newspaper reporter Susan Ward may be caught in the crossfire.

“Something about the way she moves through the world does not lend itself to the care of fragile objects.”

Heartsick is the debut novel for Chelsea Cain. It is also the first in a series of investigative thrillers featuring Detective Archie Sheridan and captured serial killer Gretchen Lowell. I found the premise of Heartsick quite interesting. Cain does a masterful job of revealing the backstory over the course of the book without leaving the reader completely baffled. The best part of the story is Detective Archie Sheridan and reporter Susan Ward. Both characters are portrayed as damaged people who are fighting to maintain some sense of control over what is left of their lives. Cain delves deep into what makes both of them tick. It is an intriguing interaction between the two characters as they try to use each other to their own ends without necessarily hurting the other.

There have been many comparisons between serial killer Gretchen Lowell and Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs). While they are both hyper-intelligent serial killers, the similarities frankly stop right there. Gretchen is her own kind of monster. Not as nuanced or cultured as Lecter, Lowell is an evil in a nearly pure form. She might be even more frightening than Lecter. However, it is that lack of nuance or culture than makes her less interesting than she might otherwise have been. She is bad to the point of bordering on cliché. Cain’s remaining characters serve their purposes, but are not memorable.

The culmination of the pursuit of the serial killer is interesting and done well, although I think it wrapped up a little too neatly in the end. That quibble notwithstanding, it was the actual final page of the book that I found most interesting. While I can’t go so far as to give Heartsick a recommendation, it gave me enough to chew on in those last few sentences that I was compelled to go out and purchase the second book in the series, Sweetheart. We shall see if that curiosity on my part will go rewarded or punished. Given the general quality of Heartsick, I don’t think I will be disappointed – but I am hopeful that the next installment can take things to another level. Heartsick is a good first novel with the promise of more to come.
(less)

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Jan 10, 2013 Maria rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Maria by: Wendy Darling

Shelves: suspense, books-i-own, 2012-favorites

I highly recommend Heartsick.

...Yeees! Oh, how i love thee. *evil grin*

My fascination with serial killers came back with Heartsick. With a woman as the serial killer made it all the more interesting. I miss watching Dexter. =(

Archie and Gretchen have a very complicated relationship. You'd think Archie doesn't want anything to do with her after she abducted, tortured, left him wanting to die, then turn herself over to the police. Chelsea Cain is playing with my emotions, because I felt something...more

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Feb 08, 2012 Monique rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: disturbia-murder-and-nightmare-book

Should be asleep but just finished and wanted to get this down while it was fresh, but something tells me I will remember this book for a while..It is the story of a detective on a ten year manhunt for a calculating serial killer infamous for the victims's "beauty marks" or heart shaped scars inflicted by driving nails in their chest..while Detective Sheridan is hot on the trail of who he thinks is the killer he is surprised and drugged by Gretchen Lowell, the beautiful psycho actual killer that...more Should be asleep but just finished and wanted to get this down while it was fresh, but something tells me I will remember this book for a while..It is the story of a detective on a ten year manhunt for a calculating serial killer infamous for the victims's "beauty marks" or heart shaped scars inflicted by driving nails in their chest..while Detective Sheridan is hot on the trail of who he thinks is the killer he is surprised and drugged by Gretchen Lowell, the beautiful psycho actual killer that is now intent on inflicting some kind of sick, intense control over him in life and death. For ten days Dt. Sheridan is tortured, killed and resusitated, drugged and basically driven insane by Gretchen when she decides to save his life and turn herself in..From prison she delivers the names and locations of more bodies she has accumulated while Dt. Sheridan falls into his own personal hell of isolation, pill dependency and a strange intense obsession to Gretchen that is more than sexual, psychological or even rational..He abandons his family and friends for her and the visitation scenes between the two are eerie and intriguing and I think more time should have been devoted there but I see its a Book One so we'll have to wait and see..Alternating in between the chilling ten day torture period and their weekly meetings there is another serial killer, the Afterschool Strangler that Dt. Sheridan is called on to assist in capturing although he is still mentally unwell from his own ordeal... Doped up on prescription meds and a well meaning honest desire to help people he follows another killer and this time has allowed himself to be followed by Susan, a spunky reporter with pink hair who unknowingly gets closer than she thinks to both serial killers and Dt. Sheridan, her past comes to haunt her and the ending was surprisingly suspenseful as you suspect the killer but are never really sure..I was impressed by this book after reading so much about it from other reviewers and definitely think I will read more, a gorgeous, smart female serial killer, very interesting, piqued my interest and if it would have been longer and alittle more fleshed out would have satisfied me....(less)

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May 25, 2010 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, fiction

Tormented detective Archie Sheridan is summoned to head up a task force to find a serial killer who is kidnapping teenage girls. But Archie is battling his own demons, including an addiction to painkillers, as he races the clock before another girl is taken and murdered. He is haunted by his own abduction and torture at the hands of serial killer Gretchen Lowell, who turned herself in to authorities upon releasing Archie. Many reviewers have compared Heartsick to Silence of the Lambs and the Han...more

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Sep 12, 2008 Christa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: library

Heartsick is a riveting thriller that is not for the faint of heart. The book has flashbacks describing brutality directed towards the hero that I found to be more graphic than what I usually read. The hero, Archie Sheridan, is a man who basically views his life as having ended two years earlier when he was held and tortured for ten days by a serial killer. He is now estranged from his family, addicted to pain killers, and completely focused on his Sunday visits to the murderer who held him host...more Heartsick is a riveting thriller that is not for the faint of heart. The book has flashbacks describing brutality directed towards the hero that I found to be more graphic than what I usually read. The hero, Archie Sheridan, is a man who basically views his life as having ended two years earlier when he was held and tortured for ten days by a serial killer. He is now estranged from his family, addicted to pain killers, and completely focused on his Sunday visits to the murderer who held him hostage. Even so, Archie Sheridan is a sympathetic character - a good man who cannot get beyond the horrors that he endured.

When several high school girls are found murdered, Archie Sheridan is placed back on active duty as lead investigator of the task force. Archie has been on leave from his job for the last two years. For ten years, he was part of a task force investigating a serial murder,but then Archie was captured and brutalized by the killer. For ten days, beautiful Gretchen Lowell committed atrocities against Archie, including hammering nails into his chest, carving his torso, and feeding him drain cleaner. Gretchen assured Archie that she was going to kill him, but when his heart stopped beating, she resuscitated him. When dangerous infection set in, Gretchen called an ambulance for Archie and turned herself in. Now in prison, this killer still controls Archie's life. He visits her weekly, and in return, she occasionally gives information on one of her victims. Due to his experiences with the press during the last investigation, Archie decides to let a young reporter, Susan Ward, trail him and write a feature series on his background. Archie must pull himself together so that the task force can work quickly to stop a dangerous serial killer.

This was a very interesting and sometimes disturbing book. The relationship between Archie and serial killer, Gretchen Lowell is very complicated and troubling. Archie's many issues are still unresolved at the end of the novel, and I am anxious to find out what will happen to him in the next novel, Sweetheart. (less)

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Jul 09, 2008 Crystal rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Lovers of: Hard Boiled Mysteries/Thrillers, Serial Killer Novels, the Not-Easily Offended

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book is reminiscent in so many ways of one of my favorite books of all time and perhaps the book that started my love affair with mysteries and thrillers, Silence of the Lambs. In Heartsick, we meet Archie Sheridan, a detective who, after being on medical leave for a couple of years, has just rejoined the police force to help catch a killer of teenage girls . We also meet Gretchen Lowell, the beautiful psychopath who caused Archie's disappearance from the police force - she's now incarcerat...more This book is reminiscent in so many ways of one of my favorite books of all time and perhaps the book that started my love affair with mysteries and thrillers, Silence of the Lambs. In Heartsick, we meet Archie Sheridan, a detective who, after being on medical leave for a couple of years, has just rejoined the police force to help catch a killer of teenage girls . We also meet Gretchen Lowell, the beautiful psychopath who caused Archie's disappearance from the police force - she's now incarcerated for kidnapping him and torturing him for ten straight days, in addition to the 40+ murders she's confessed to.

Archie and Gretchen have a relationship much like that of Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling, except it is taken to an even stranger level. Gretchen tortured Archie and instead of killing him, called 911 and turned herself in. She now keeps an even tighter hold over Archie's life since he feels forced to visit her weekly in jail since he's the only one to whom she will reveal the hiding places of the bodies she has stashed over the years. Gretchen's hold over Archie seems to have taken a turn toward the romantic side it seems and has resulted in divorce and the devastation of his family.

Besides the relationship between Archie and Gretchen, there is indeed a mystery; someone is kidnapping sophomore girls with the same features and killing them. So as not to spoil the resolution of this mystery, I will only say that I did find the explanation of who was behind this and why a little far-fetched, and I did not think that this portion of the story was given the attention that it should have deserved.

Besides that, Heartsick is an exciting novel, but be warned, it is extremely graphic in its depiction of torture. It is a fascinating study of Stockholm Syndrome, possibly at its most extreme. For those who are easily offended or sickened by violence, you may not want to read Heartsick. However, I did not feel that the violence was gratuitous; I felt like it was tastefully done and the torture scenes were not dwelt on, just described as necessary so that we can understand the relationship between Archie and Gretchen. If you are able to get past this, Heartsick is certainly a page-turner and definitely worth a read.(less)

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Mar 28, 2008 Tarn Allen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Edited to add: I finished this book about a month ago, and just had a very vivid nightmare about it! I guess it stuck with me. *shudder*

Wow, this book is soooo not my cup of tea. It's a bloody gory Silence of the Lambs-style crime story.

So why did I read it, you ask? Well, it was on sale, first of all. I'd seen Chelsea Cain speak at the Wordstock festival last November with Diana Abu-Jaber, and anyone who knows and associates with my literary heroine Diana is automatically cool by comparison. S...more

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Jun 16, 2011 asteroidbuckle rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: thriller fans, fans of psychopathic serial killer books

Shelves: suspense-thriller, crime-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I am withholding the fifth star from my rating for one reason: the ending was weak. There's a scene where you just *know* who the killer is even before the person is revealed as such. So from then on, the suspense was gone. And the killer's capture was a little too neat as well.

With that said, however, I still really enjoyed this book. The actual hunt for the serial killer took a back seat to what seemed to me to be the main theme in the book: the aftermath of Det. Archie Sheridan's kidnapping a...more I am withholding the fifth star from my rating for one reason: the ending was weak. There's a scene where you just *know* who the killer is even before the person is revealed as such. So from then on, the suspense was gone. And the killer's capture was a little too neat as well.

With that said, however, I still really enjoyed this book. The actual hunt for the serial killer took a back seat to what seemed to me to be the main theme in the book: the aftermath of Det. Archie Sheridan's kidnapping and torture at the hands of Gretchen Lowell and his subsequent dependence on both her and prescription meds.

He's high on pills while at the same time leading the task force that's looking into the deaths of three sophomore girls. His life's in shambles - he's lost his wife and children (though not by their choice) and has a complex system of pill-popping that he's managed to make into a science.

He was the 200th victim of psychopathic, sadistic serial killer Gretchen Lowell, who's sitting in prison for infinity for her crimes. But she's still pulling Archie's strings from behind bars, meting out the locations of bodies in exchange for weekly visits from Archie.

The flashbacks (written in present tense) of Archie's torture that are scattered throughout the book are riveting. Gory, yes, but absolutely riveting. And I cared more about that whacked-out relationship than I did the hunt for the present-day serial killer.

I also could have done without, for the most part, the pink-haired writer (not journalist, mind you, but writer). Except, as it turns out, she's integral to the plot. Overall though, I found her to be the stereotypical tough-as-nails bitch whose insides are nothing but mush and whose internal damages manifest themselves in the obvious ways: pink hair, a quirky wardrobe, pot smoking, and multiple affairs with unattainable, married men. She even seems to fall (a little) for poor, damaged Archie.

Oh, and there's an obvious red herring where the supposed killer has been found, but guess what?, it's not the killer! Kind of obvious; I mean, there was still a good third of the book left. Duh!

Read this book for Archie & Gretchen and skim the rest.

More great things than bad; I liked it.(less)

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Oct 17, 2007 Pam rated it 4 of 5 stars

10/17/07
TITLE/AUTHOR: HEARTSICK by Chelsea Cain
RATING: currently reading
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Thriller/2007/496 LP pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: stand-alone
TIME/PLACE: presne, Portland, OR
CHARACTERS: Archie Sheridan/detective
FIRST LINES: Archie doesn't know for sure that it's her until that moment. There is a dull bloom of warmth in his spine, his vision blurs, & then he knows that Gretchen Loewll is the killer.

COMMENTS: library book. Serial killer has tortured Archie Sheridan for days & f...more

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Mar 18, 2009 Janene rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: thrillers

*yawn*

Forgive the bags under my eyes today. Couldn't turn off the light last night until I turned the last page, and then laid there for an hour with the blankets up to my chin...unable to go to sleep...thinking every creak and groan was Gretchen coming to carve a heart in my chest & force drain cleaner down my throat!

What a GREAT debut from Chelsea Cain!! Sick, horrifying, twisted, heart-wrenching, sad, & hopeful. Many parts very uncomfortable to read, but the story is so well written...more

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Feb 22, 2010 Maggie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, audiobooks, suspense-horror

I love that this debut author undertook writing a thriller that is character driven, rather than relying on the suspense and gore that usually characterize the genre. It was brave, and successful. She didn't skimp on the depravity, blood and guts; but they didn't overshadow her skill with creating very real players in a very twisted game. I can't wait to start the next one.

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May 10, 2009 Allison (The Allure of Books) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries-thrillers-crime-horror, 2009

This was good, pretty much what I expected. A fast paced crime novel. It was definitely the most twisted thing I can remember reading in recent history, I can barely even grasp what Archie must go through, being so involved with the woman who tortured him for 10 days.

Anyway...it was worth reading, and I'll have to read the next in the series soon.

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Mar 22, 2009 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars

The sequel to Sweetheart, this is even better. Please, Ms Cain, keep writing about the fabulous Gretchen!

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Jan 05, 2012 Kieran Delaney rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: serial, killer, fiction, thriller

I'll admit I was a little apprehensive before I read this book. Whilst I liked Silence Of The Lambs, I couldn't really see the serial killer inside, serial killer outside dynamic being fresh or original... but i was utterly wrong.

I'll go out on a limb and suggest this book is better than silence of the lambs - the sexual chemistry between Gretchen Lowell (the killer inside) and Archie (her surviving victim) twists things nicely, and their relationship is carefully built through a series of inte

...more

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Dec 29, 2011 Hoover Public Library Adult Fiction rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-fiction, mystery, thriller

Heartsick is the debut novel, and first of Chelsea Cain’s ongoing series starring emotionally—as well as physically—damaged detective Archie Sheridan. Much praise has been lauded on Ms. Cain’s novel for its scene-stealing antagonist Gretchen Lowell—a femme fatale and serial killer mastermind all wrapped into one. Gretchen’s character has received many comparisons with Thomas Harris’s own serial killer creation, the indomitable Hannibal Lector. Really, this is an unfair comparison, because with G...more Heartsick is the debut novel, and first of Chelsea Cain’s ongoing series starring emotionally—as well as physically—damaged detective Archie Sheridan. Much praise has been lauded on Ms. Cain’s novel for its scene-stealing antagonist Gretchen Lowell—a femme fatale and serial killer mastermind all wrapped into one. Gretchen’s character has received many comparisons with Thomas Harris’s own serial killer creation, the indomitable Hannibal Lector. Really, this is an unfair comparison, because with Gretchen Lowell, as well as the entirety of Heartsick, Ms. Cain delivers us one of the most unique and inspired novels to come out of the crime genre in years. The story is a familiar one: a young, ambitious reporter and a worn-and-weary detective join forces to hunt down a killer preying on young, teenage girls in the rain-dreary city of Portland. The surprises in Heartsick (and there are many) don’t come from the police procedures (which are handled confidently and convincingly on Ms. Cain’s part), but instead from the characters and their complex relations with one another—in particular the twisted relationship between Archie and Gretchen, the woman who tortured and nearly killed him. It is important to note that though a novel of detection, this is not a book of self-revelation. The characters of Heartsick spend a great deal of time hiding their feelings and motivations for their own actions. And in this way, Portland works as a perfect conduit for these troubled souls. The city is a naturally rainy, gray –clouded place, and Ms. Cain does a good job describing it in a literary—but never pretentious—manner. Over the course of days that spans the length of the novel, one of the main protagonists, Susan Ward—a young, punk-chic reporter—notes time and time again her sense of unease that the weather is sunny, and clear. Everyone in this novel squirms when anyone tries to get a good look at them; they want to control what others know about them. In this way, Ms. Cain does a brilliant performance of putting her finger right on the dark pulse that drives her characters needs and desires. The results are difficult, and oftentimes disturbing, but never dishonest. With Heartsick, we get the debut of a fresh and powerful literary voice in the well-treaded serial killer/detective genre.(less)

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Feb 06, 2009 Vannessagrace Vannessagrace rated it 4 of 5 stars

Heart Sick is the first novel I’ve read by this author and I was impressed how quickly the author drew me into the story and made me care about the characters. Portland detective Archie Sheridan was working on a murder case when he became the prey and was kidnapped and tortured by serial killer Gretchen. Gretchen killed Archie then brought him back to life, called 911, then turned herself in. Archie, now living on pain pills and estranged from his wife and children is pulled off medical leave to...more

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May 16, 2013 Wanda Panda Hartzenberg rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: serial-killer-fiction

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain
I absolutely adored this book and found it surprising all at once. I have never before read any work by this author but after listening to this book on audio I am sure to hunt down more of her work until I have read it all.

From The Beauty killer to the After School Killer this is a nonstop layered book fascinating me with deep character formations and a pull towards the next page like a morning body toward coffee. I needed my fix. I got it. Archie is a well rounded fluff...more

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About Chelsea Cain

Chelsea Cain is the New York Times bestselling author of the thriller detective novels Heartsick, Sweetheart, Evil at Heart and The Night Season. Both Heartsick and Sweetheart were listed in Stephen King's Top Ten Books of the Year in Entertainment Weekly. Chelsea lived the first few years of her life on an Iowa commune, then grew up in Bellingham, WA, where the infamous Green River Killer was "th...more

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“Something about the way she moves through the world does not lend itself to the care of fragile objects.” — 30 people liked it

“Our relationship is complicated by the fact that I am emotionally retarded.” — 24 people liked it

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Heartsick (Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell #1)

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