"We've been down Hannibal Lecter Avenue many times, and these two books shouldn't work...but they do. Chalk it up to excellent writing and Cain's ferocious sense of humor."
--Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly | Top 10 Books of 2008
(HEARTSICK & SWEETHEART)

"There are echoes of Lisbeth Salander, Stieg Larsson’s steely heroine, in Kick Lannigan…but she’s a far more human and likable protagonist than Lisbeth Salander could ever be."

--The New York Times Book Review on ONE KICK

EVIL AT HEART, Booklist

Jul 1 2009

STARRED review--After his last encounter with bewitching serial killer Gretchen Lowell (Sweetheart, 2008), Portland, Oregon, police detective Archie Sheridan checked himself into a mental hospital. And why not? The man has suffered enough at Gretchen’s beautiful but deadly hands. Let’s recap: first she tortured him unmercifully, cutting out his spleen sans anesthesia, before inexplicably letting him live (Heartsick, 2007); then, after escaping from prison, she drew him into her web again, seduced him, and sliced his jugular vein, not quite badly enough to kill him. But, of course, Gretchen isn’t through with Archie.

When bodies with missing spleens start turning up around Portland, usually in locations where Gretchen has plied her trade in the past, Archie’s police colleagues come calling at the loony bin: they need his help if they are to have any chance at catching the “Beauty Killer” this time. But is Gretchen really back, or has she spawned a generation of copycats whose taste for removing internal organs is every bit as voracious as her own? A few more spleens are sacrificed before that gets sorted out, and Cain packs plenty of surprises for us along the way (don’t even ask by which male part one hapless fellow is suspended), but don’t panic: it isn’t all spectacular gore. Cain continues to display her remarkable ability to probe the psyches of her characters the way Gretchen probes our squishy parts. She’s no slouch at narrative strategy, either. Remarkably, both Gretchen and Archie are offstage more than on this time around, but that proves a clever ploy, both because it heightens our anticipation for the inevitable confrontation and because it gives more screen time to punky, spunky reporter Susan Ward, whose charisma demands a starring role eventually. Popular entertainment—the kind that mixes crime, horror, and even a little comedy—just doesn’t get much better than this.

Contact Chelsea's Publicists

Press inquiries related to GONE, the TV show based on my book, ONE KICK, contact Tracey Raftery at [email protected], or Daniela Urso at [email protected]

Inquiries related to the book One Kick, contact:

Adam Reed, Joy Harris Literary Agency, 1501 Broadway, Suite 2310 New York, NY 10036 [email protected] t: (212) 924-6269 | f: (212) 840-5776

For inquiries related to the Archie Sheridan/Gretchen Lowell series:

Hector DeJean
Minotaur Publicity Manager
St. Martin's Press
175 5th Avenue, 15th Floor
New York, NY   10010
email

Inquires related to MAN-EATERS, my monthly comic book published by Image Comics, please contact Kat Salazar at [email protected]

Inquiries related to my comic book, SPY ISLAND, contact Kate Jay at [email protected]