Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

Archie Sheridan, one of Portland’s brightest detectives, is heading a special task force to catch a serial killer. After ten painful years on the case, the killer caught him instead.

Gorgeous, psychotic, Gretchen Lowell captured Archie, torturing him to the brink of death, finally doing the unthinkable and turned herself in to save him. Now they are both prisoners Gretchen is in the penitentiary and Archie is in a prison of another kind, addicted to pain killers and the woman who held him captive.

Now suddenly Archie has to pull himself together. An ambitious newspaper reporter, Susan Ward, is doing a story on him and a new serial killer is on the loose. Will Susan expose his secrets before he can catch the killer?

This is one of the best thrillers I’ve read this year. Cain has created a unique anti-hero in Archie, a man broken physically, mentally, and emotionally, dependent on a buffet of pills for survival. And yet we sympathize and cheer Archie on as he fights his demons and uses his abilities to catch another serial killer.

Susan Ward has her own flaws that makes her a personality who is relatable and interesting, but Gretchen is one of the most unique and diabolical characters I’ve ever read. She’s truly terrifying as Cain takes us back to when Gretchen had Archie in her clutches, her ultimate plaything.

The flashbacks taking us back to Archie’s captivity were flawless, giving important background that I was dying to discover in spite of myself. The torture he survived was nothing short of cringe-worthy.

Thrillers are my personal favorite, and I found this to have a tightly woven plot with captivating (no pun intended), unique characters and an ending that will leave you with a lovely satisfied feeling. HEARTSICK has it all. Not since Hannibal Lector has there been a more frighteningly fascinating villain. It is my sincere hope that we see more from Archie Sheridan, Susan Ward and Gretchen Lowell! What a fantastic series this would make!