Inky Depths

With serial killer Gretchen Lowell locked up, Archie Sheridan can concentrate on more pressing issues, like the Willamette River threatening to overflow its banks, in Cain's fine fourth thriller to feature the Portland, Ore., detective. When a body turns up at an amusement park, Archie thinks it's just another drowning, until the coroner finds a puncture wound. The case becomes a murder investigation when similar marks are found on other recent victims thought to have succumbed to the Willamette's rising waters. Meanwhile, reporter Susan Ward is writing a piece on a skeleton uncovered at the site of what was once Vanport, a town destroyed by a flood in 1948. She tags along with Archie's team as they try to pinpoint not only the killer's motive but also his bizarre toxin. Cain easily weaves the history of the real-life Vanport flood with her trademark heart-stopping moments, and fans will be pleased to see the series flourishing without Gretchen on every page. 150,000 first printing. (Mar.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Devoted readers of Cain’s superb Archie Sheridan novels, starring the Portland, Oregon, police detective, have known all along that eventually the series would have to stand on its own without the mesmerizing presence of serial killer Gretchen Lowell, with whom Archie shares the quintessential love-hate relationship. But can Cain pull it off? Yes, indeed. As the novel begins, Portland is threatened by the worst flood since 1948, when the town of Vanport, just north of the city, was wiped from the map. Cain skillfully incorporates the details of the real-life Vanport flood into her story, which centers on the murders of a random group of victims who have been bitten by a rare breed of venomous octopus. The floodwaters continue to rise as Archie and reporter Susan Ward, elevated here from scene-stealing supporting player to full-fledged costar, track the killer and a boy he has apparently kidnapped. In the earlier books, Cain pinned readers to their seats with a unique mix of horror, black humor, and psychological tension. This time she adds another arrow to her narrative quiver: the interplay between landscape and mood. This may be the best thriller set in a flooding city since Donna Leon’s Acqua Alta (1996). The enveloping floodwaters are every bit as terrifying as the octopus-toting killer (many of the key action scenes take place in or under the black water), and the river itself takes on a kind of evil persona, a superhuman antagonist of unfathomable power. Who knew it would take the Willamette River to prove that Chelsea Cain doesn’t need Gretchen Lowell?

by Bill Ott

Chelsea Cain is a writer who knows no fear. She manages to break all the rules of mystery writing by being as gruesome and gory as possible. You would think this style would turn off readers and repel them. You would be wrong. It attracts them. This is because Cain may be overly gruesome, but she is also a truly terrific writer. Her latest novel Evil at Heart is a prime example of that fact.

She's the most twisted — and most beautiful — serial killer on the planet, and she's back with a vengeance in Evil at Heart, the third novel in Chelsea Cain's fantastic series that began with Heartsick and Sweetheart. Gretchen Lowell has been wreaking bloody havoc on Portland, Ore., and its environs for years. Archie Sheridan, the cop who loves and hates her, and also was once her captive, is still trying to catch her. Cain's wonderfully over-the-top series takes a new turn when fans of Gretchen try their hand at killing. It's not to be missed.

by CAROL MEMMOTT