Evil at Heart [Paperback]

In Chelsea Cain's "Evil at Heart," forty-year old homicide detective Archie Sheridan has taken up residence in the Providence Medical Center psychiatric ward in Portland, Oregon. After being victimized by serial killer Gretchen Lowell and becoming addicted to pain pills, Archie signed himself in voluntarily. Because of Gretchen's hold over him, Archie wrecked his marriage and is on leave from his job. His goal is to rid himself of his twin obsessions: Vicodin and Gretchen. In spite of Lowell's cruelty, Archie admits that he craved the company of this gorgeous but deadly predator. He has progressed enough to concede that he has serious issues to work through before he can be considered "cured." Unfortunately, Gretchen is still at large and the mayhem has not yet ended. Human bodies and body parts begin to show up all over town; either Gretchen is back at work or a copycat is emulating her.

This is Cain's best work to date. Instead of playing it straight and simply grossing us out with descriptions of nauseating gore, the author injects elements of dark humor that enliven the proceedings enormously. It seems that Lowell, known popularly as the "Beauty Killer," has become something of a folk heroine. Although she has slaughtered and mutilated many men and women, her image is everywhere: She has a Wikipedia page, there are fan sites devoted to her on the Web, and people are wearing T-shirts with her face on them. Gretchen memorabilia is being sold on eBay, and there is even a "Beauty Killer Body Tour. Thirty-five bucks. Twenty crime-scene stops." How did this madwoman become an icon? Cain implies that we live in a warped society whose values have become seriously perverted. At one point, Archie says to some young Lowell groupies, "Gretchen Lowell is a psychopath. She is not some sort of antihero." He wants them to give up their adulation of this monster, but his plea falls on deaf ears.

"Evil at Heart" is a suspenseful and entertaining thriller in which Archie is forced to once again to confront his demons with the help of journalist Susan Ward and Detective Henry Sobol, Archie's close friend and colleague. They are seeking either Gretchen herself or acolytes attempting to mimic her activities. Cain's prose is witty and crisp, her dialogue is clever and often hilarious, the tidy plot is fast-paced, and the conclusion is as satisfying as can be expected, considering the unpleasant subject matter. Susan has a major role in this novel and she is a riot. With her purple hair, tendency to wisecrack, and rebellious personality, she is the poster girl for nonconformity. Even as she mocks herself for being stupid, Susan puts herself in harm's way to get material for her forthcoming book. Cain's themes are that a person can be both physically beautiful and mentally unbalanced, many individuals take a perverse pleasure in violence, and those whom we place on a pedestal are often morally bankrupt. "Evil at Heart" is highly recommended for fans who have read the first two installments in this series.

Seductive serial killer Gretchen Lowell is back and detective Archie Sheridan has her! Or maybe I should say that he STILL has her (and can't get rid of her). More precisely, it's actually Gretchen who has Archie! Together, they form the heart of Chelsea Cain's third installment in her bloody "Heart" series--"Evil at Heart." Introduced in the disturbing thriller "Heartsick," Gretchen Lowell is a delightfully diabolical villain--a sexy version of Hannibal Lector--who uses her charm, intelligence, and feminine wiles to commit the most heinous of crimes. But it is the twisty and co-dependent relationship between her and her victim/pursuer Archie that provides the most satisfaction in "Heartsick" and its follow-up "Sweetheart." The ultimate in dysfunctional relationships, these two toy with one another in a dance of enormous physical and psychological torment. Got to love it!

"Heartsick" and "Sweetheart" were slick and fun entertainment--pretty standard serial killer material raised to new levels of interest with the Gretchen/Archie dynamic. If you enjoyed these novels, I suspect that "Evil at Heart" will also keep you turning pages. Gretchen's actual presence is less than one might expect, but her influence permeates every page. When body parts start to surface at some of Gretchen's old murder sites (she is an escaped fugitive), the old team must try to piece together their significance. Trying to end Gretchen's hold on him once and forever, Archie must get himself out of a mental ward and back into action. And the only thing more disturbing than Gretchen herself is the legion of fans she seems to have inspired.

"Evil at Heart" is a fast and easy read that fans of the series should definitely check out. I don't know how plausible it all is, but it's an effective enough thriller. I, myself, don't like to think that anyone can be turned into a demented killer--but Gretchen seems to be able to convert a whole battalion of weak-willed souls to do her evil bidding (and in three books, there has been a battalion)! One major warning, however. Cain's book presupposes that you are familiar with her story and its characters. This is not a stand-alone novel. So little time is spent with back story or character development, I think a new reader would likely be lost or simply loathe the superficiality of the tale. I give it a pass and a recommendation because I'm already hooked into the Gretchen/Archie dance. Anyone not familiar with these two and their history will undoubtedly find less to love about "Evil at Heart."

I really enjoyed the first book in this series. I thought the second one was very repetitive and I guess I have no one to blame but myself since I bought the third one. Please stop the insanity!!
I think this is a talented author, but she's in a rut! I guess since this doesn't really resolve the Gretchen issue, there will, of course, be a fourth in the series. Please! It's time to go in a different direction!

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