Heartsick

By: Chelsea Cain

Narrated by: Carolyn McCormick

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

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 her life, while Archie is in a prison of another kind---addicted to pain pills, unable to return to his old life, powerless to get those ten horrific days off his mind. Archie's a different person, his estranged wife says, and he knows she's right. He continues to visit Gretchen in prison once a week, saying that only he can get her to confess as to the whereabouts of more of her victims, but even he knows the truth---he can't stay away.

When another killer begins snatching teenage girls off the streets of Portland, Archie has to pull himself together enough to lead the new task force investigating the murders. A hungry young newspaper reporter, Susan Ward, begins profiling Archie and the investigation, which sparks a deadly game between Archie, Susan, the new killer, and even Gretchen. They need to catch a killer, and maybe somehow then Archie can free himself from Gretchen, once and for all. Either way, Heartsick makes for one of the most extraordinary suspense debuts in recent memory.

Don't miss this Heartsick extra: Chelsea Cain'svideo tour of Portland! Then listen to Heartsick's sequel, Sweetheart.

©2007 Verite, Inc. (P)2007 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC

Critic reviews

“Heartsick has it all: a tortured cop, a fearless and quirky heroine, and what may be the creepiest serial killer ever created. This is an addictive read!” —Tess Gerritsen, author of The Mephisto Club

“Chelsea Cain's novel is completely entrancing and totally original--what a read. Between the humanity of Portland cop Archie Sheridan and the chilling and twisted design of his beautiful nemesis, Gretchen Lowell, Heartsick is utterly unforgettable. Cain is a wonderful--and terrifying--storyteller.” —Dominick Dunne

“Law & Order¹s Carolyn McCormick does a mean female-serial-killer voice, bringing Cain¹s haunting horror story to life.” —People on Heartsick

loved this book.

loved this book. I can't wait for the next book. Thanks, Chelsea for this series

creepy

Good story but a little too creepy and twisted for me. the graphic violence was a bit much.

Gruesome

If you don't like the the gory details this is not the story for you! They are necessary to depict the twisted female serial killer. The relationship between psychopath Gretchen and victim cop is fascinating. The pace picks up after a slow start. It takes of and goes up and down like a roller coaster.

Entertaining Listen

While I agree that the plot is somewhat predictable, I still enjoyed this book very much. It was very entertaining, an interesting concept that is well developed, interesting characters (I do wish that a couple had been a bit more fleshed out) and, above all, well narrated. The narration MAKES this audiobook move and draws you into the characters. Recommended without hesitation. Enjoy!

I am hooked!

If you could sum up Heartsick in three words, what would they be?

Chilling, intiguing, realistic

Who was your favorite character and why?

Can't pick just one. They all had an important part in the story.

What about Carolyn McCormick’s performance did you like?

Great!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the comments made by the author Chelsea Cain at the end. It was very interesting how it affected her to deal with violence & what she had to do to write a book like this.

Interesting relationship between killer and cop

Solid writing and plotting. The twisted love/hate/lust relationship between cop and killer is what makes it a step above.

Heartsick

Excellent Book, captivating. Chelsia Cain was a wonderful narrator. The story line was surpurb, I found myself captivated by the serial killers mind. I will listen to this book again. The characters were excellent. Many Heart stopping moments.

I SEE A NEW SERIES IN MY FUTURE!

What did you love best about Heartsick?

I enjoyed that the book was not easy to figure out. Suspense and crime novels sometimes give it away too soon. This one has you until the end

What did you like best about this story?

The characters. Well described and they had their foibles which is refreshing. I like characters that are not perfect.

Have you listened to any of Carolyn McCormick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No but I immediately knew her voice as I am a big Law and Order fan. At first I couldn't place where I'd heard it but then I remembered. Even though she is well known, I did not place her in the story as a character. Just a narrator.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wish I could. LOL life doesn't allow that. But I listened ever chance I got.

Any additional comments?

I will definitely listen to the other books in this series and other books by this author. Very talented, creative and well done writing.

Wonderful first book in a series!

Archie, Susan, and Gretchen are all amazing characters. The story and the writing keep you hooked thru the very end!

Little Disappointed

The storyline for this book is very good. I was disappointed by the continued punctuation of four-letter words throughout even if the plot does involve true-to-life crime drama. The author has enough talent for weaving plot twists without it.