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

Love it

I have listened to this series more than once and have also read the books. Quirky and fun, Susan Ward is hilarious and random

Not for the week of heart

A doctor who is a serial killer kidnaps a detective who is working on the very case to catch her, the serial killer. He has been getting her help as a consultant on the case for months. The man who walked into her trap will never be the same man ever again.

A great but gruesome story that goes back and forth in time until it all comes together at the end. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Extremely graphic

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No - the scenes were too graphic with the torture of the main character

What could Chelsea Cain have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

left more to the imagination

A Must Listen

The characters in this and "Sweetheart" keep you wanting more. The two main characters have such a chemistry that you want more and more and then the twists come and you are left empty handed because what you thought was going to happen doesn't. You just don't want the book to end. I strongly reccommend these books.

She has a brand new fan.

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 fluffed out character that at the same time managed to provide insight into what makes him tick and keep the largest part of himself secret as to create an enigmatic persona that the reader would want to get to know better.

The narrator Carolyn McCormick was stupendous in her narrating and never grating as some narrators can be at times.

The story is fast paced and intriguing leaving the reader guessing most of the time and the author does a stunning job of distracting the reader from the true facts by exploring the all too human side of the characters in depth. This however is never overdone and does not become tedious.

WaAr

Heartsick

I love this book, I hated to see it over as I looked forward to hearing more and more. It will keep you listening till the very end.

Good Read!

Heartsick is one of those books that makes you think period! It stirs a multitude of emotions, all at once. It was a real page turner that scares and excites you at the same time. Very well done!

Entertaining listen

Enjoyed almost every minute of it, but it was graphic and disturbing. What makes that okay is that most of it requires you to sit back and let the implausable happen. Good to great listen even if the story line is getting a bit played out... (LEO/PI/FBI plus personal relationship with serial killer).

Confronting, well written

A well paced and absorbing book, and confronting in the details of the torture suffered by the lead detective at the hands of the deeply disturbed female serial killer, it avoids gratuitous gore by evoking the horror of the experience rather than depicting every gruesome detail (but it's still pretty tough). The dialogue is clever and convincing, the central characters have some depth, and the story draws you in. For some reason the author insists on describing every item of dress of every character, which seems pointless, but otherwise the writing is crisp and entertaining. The narration of this audiobook is excellent; just be ready for lots of colourful language.

New narrator please

This is a case of the book being let down by the narrator. There is a flatness to the narration which is irritating enough to detract from this gripping (at times sickeningly so) thriller. The dialogue was better done, but in 3rd person narration her voice didn't modulate when it should and it didn't allow you to lose yourself in the story when you should have been able to. I'll be avoiding this narrator though not the author who went places in her study of the psychology of evil which makes me wonder how she sleeps at nights!