Kill You Twice: An Archie Sheridan / Gretchen Lowell Novel

I'd been waiting for this book to become available in paperback for a while, and was chomping at the bit for it to arrive in the mail. I've loved the Archie Sheridan / Gretchen Lowell series from the start, and though this was a great, thrilling crime novel I feel like each book is sliding down hill a little. Half the book was about the crimes, two victims seemingly chosen at random, one skinned alive, the other burned to death. Only one clue linked the two together and it was fun trying to pick up on Cain's subtle clues and hidden links. Cain writes truly great crime investigations and I am a detective at heart. Through in a psycho serial killer who happens to be a woman (for a change) and I love this type of genre. The other half of the book was about Archie, and his continuing struggle to deal with his issues and conquer his bizarre attachment to Gretchen once and for all. His surly attitude was beginning to grate, but his growth as a father and his sweet relationship with Patrick showed a more endearing side. It was fun to see something else to Archie besides being the tortured victim all the time. My favourite character is now Susan. She's a firecracker, with sharp wit, a keen eye and, in this book, bright orange hair. She's nosy, childlike but sexy, and is a good sidekick for Archie. But I haven't forgotten Gretchen, serial killer extraordinaire and all round nut job, who lays demurely in her hospital room but isn't fooling anyone. There is no rehabilitation for someone like Gretchen, and she bides her time, waiting for her chance to strike. A plot twist had me second guessing who the true identity was of a couple of characters, as some were more suspicious then others, but Cain was too good and I was blind sighted by who several really were. An explosive ending set things up nicely for the next book "Let Me Go", and I can't wait.

As much as I like mysteries - and mysteries that are part of a series - it is always a concern that the characters over time will become stale or the plot will stall. It is comforting to see that, five books in, Cain still has something fresh to offer in her Archie Sheridan / Gretchen Lowell series. ( Heartsick , Sweetheart , Evil at Heart , The Night Season .) In _Kill You Twice_, Archie Sheridan is no longer under the thrall of serial killer Gretchen Lowell, although her insight and help is needed in tracking down another serial killer, possibly a protoge of Gretchen's. The plot moves quickly, as Cain reveals tantalizing clues about Lowell's past, an increasingly tenuous relationship between Archie and former newspaper reporter Susan Ward, and a character from Evil at Heart , the angsty teen, Pearl. The development of these characters and the increasing complexity of their relationships kept my attention leaving me wanting more. For fear of revealing too much and spoiling a fun read, I'll remain vague with further details. Of course, a primary reason I return to Cain's work is the was she writes about our city. It is a vicarious thrill to intimately know the places in which bodies are found, the haunts characters frequent, and the thinly veiled allusions to contemporary news stories - in _Kill You Twice_, a subplot revolves around a church group that "faith heals" their congregants. In Portland, members of just such a group were convicted of criminal negligence for not taking their infant daughter to a physican, instead relying on the laying on of hands and prayer to heal a sick child. Tragically, the child died. Cain's writing has a similar dark and sinister texture to it, in spite of the hippie, eco-friendly demeanor of both the city and its residents as she describes it. I recommend the series; I am admittedly biased in my favorable reviews of the book because of our common affiliation to the Northwest, but even putting this subjective measure aside, Cain's series is entertaining and continues to go in new and interesting directions. As relationships (and interrelationships) become more complex, I am a bit anxious that she will be unable to balance the integrity of the characters with the intrigue and fresh plots she has done so far, but in _Heart Sick_, Cain continues to impress.

Good

Chelsea Cain has once again astounded her audiences with the chemistry between Archie and Gretchen still as explosive and compulsive as her first book… For all of her fans this is a fantastic read which has you questioning just how the writer can make you at times fearful of turning the next page, and just how Gretchen Lowell gets into your own head. An amazing author who will forever be on my top list of reads. If you have never read any of Chelsea Cains books I truly urge you to start at the beginning.... Cannot wait to see what happens next.....

Toujours dans l'ombre de Gretchen Lowell, Archie et Susan poursuivent leur chemin pour notre plus grand plaisir. On pourrait craindre une certaine redondance - la relation entre Gretchen et Archie n'avance jamais vraiment - mais ce n'est pas le cas. Le livre est bien rythmé, plus sanglant et sombre que les précédents aussi, on a du mal à s'en décrocher avant la dernière page.

Ms Cain really hit her stride with the instalment. Characters are completely developed and the plot moves along smoothly. Look forward to more.

Really good. I wish I had started from the beginning of the series. Can't wait to read all of her books