HeartSick – Chelsea Cain
St. Martin’s Minotaur
Originally published September 4, 2007
nice nice nice
HeartSick is the first book in a series written by local transplant author Chelsea Cain. Cain moved from the midwest to washington and currently lives down here in PDX with the rest of us crazies. reading books in cities you know is always enjoyable. reading books that give shout out to places, businesses, and other things you frequent is even better.
Original writing that is descriptive and tangible, this book is easy to get sucked into. It has a plot line that both Jennifer and I were able to pinpoint the bad guy during, but only a couple chapters before everything disentangles in the end. Kudos on that Chelsea. Even though we were able to deduce the culprit, the characters are so well written that you are engrossed and have to find out how everything culminates.
The story details the current case of Archie Sheridan, a Portland city detective. his first case when elevated to detective, was that of a serial killer with 200 kills under her belt, Gretchen Lowell. It takes him over ten years to learn who Gretchen is, and that she is the “Beauty Killer”. Gretchen herself is beautiful and evasive, manipulative and calming. She captures Archie during his investigation, tortures him, carves a heart in his chest, and then calls 911 and turns herself in just in time for Archie to survive the whole mess. 2 years later, Archie is a mess, he is in pain constantly and his brain is totally fucked up due to the head games that Gretchen still plays, even from her jail cell.
A new killer is tossing the bodies around the Tri-met area. 14 year old girls, killed, raped, then soaked in bleach. Sheridan is called in for his expertise in an attempt to stop the deaths and track down the killer.
You can really tell that the author love living in the area. Each time she describes a local artifact, the details are enough to make you want to go visit, but not overpowering. The one drawback is that a few things in the book will only be recognized by local residents. There are a number of items that should have literally been spelled out for non-local readers. Using U of O instead of University of Oregon was one example, there were others, but that one was pretty stark. Because of this, HeartSick was engrossing but i bet could still be a bit detached for some readers.
For anyone who is interested, Chelsea has a second book being released. It is a sequel to HeartSick called SweetHeart. It brings back many of the same characters including the incredibly addictive Gretchen. I am trying really hard to stay away from spoilers and advertisements as i do not want any preview as t what will happen. i feel that this second book could be the real bread winner for Chelsea as it will continue a storyline and series of relationships with the arch-enemy and protagonist. Her nemesis style character, Gretchen, is incredibly fascinating and she writes her with an ease and tact that makes you want to go visit her in Jail, behind a big thick sheet of bulletproof safety glass.
This book makes you want to watch the news to see if they have any news on the killings or the psycho running about on the loose..
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The New York times put up their review a long time back, a couple days before the book was released. they also linked a piece of artwork created by Tomer Hanuka (see below). It is a nice companion to the book.
Some people may remember Tomer from other art he has released. One of my favorites being the album cover to Aesop Rock’s Bazooka Tooth (2003).
check out more of Tomer Hanuka’s work at his website http://www.thanuka.com
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NOTE:
Chelsea Cain will be at Powells Books, Downtown Portland Tuesday Sept 2nd @ 7:30pm
I believe there will be a reading and possibly time for book signings as well. If you go, feel free to look for me and come say hi, Jenn and I will be there anxiously listening.
I will try to show up and not look like i am dropping a deuce in my pants as it appears i am doing in the photo on the right.
NOTE NOTE:
anyone who wants to win a set of signed books, check out the following site. The publisher will choose 10 winners on September 2nd
http://us.macmillan.com/sweetheart
Cats:Books / Articles, Reviews
Tags: drug addiction, fiction, hardcover, local, serial killer, suspense, thriller
nice pic of you two……your expression to me says “i’m lucky & i know it so you’d better not give me crap about it”…..kind of hard to tell tho if you’re looking at jenn or the camera
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befril reply on September 2nd, 2008 @ 1:07 am:
Oh he’s a total media whore.
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erisian reply on September 2nd, 2008 @ 7:14 am:
watch who you are calling a whore…
otherwise you wont get your share of the earnings.
(bitch betta have my money!)
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That book sounds really interesting, but I must ask one question before I sign up for the contest ~ what is the torture level when the killings are described? I don’t handle torture very well and that is most true when there is the sexual aspect thrown in. I threw up when I saw The Silence of the Lambs (Buffalo Bill sewing and being creepy, the girl begging for her life in the well, the FBI going one place, Clarice going the other – it was all too much for me). So when you got to the part about bleach being involved, I just had to ask.
BTW, I’ve always wanted to visit Portland and it seems to me that very nice people live there. Your picture confirms it. You both look very happy and, being a Jennifer, I’m pretty partial to most variations of that name (Jenny’s not my favorite). ;)
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erisian reply on September 2nd, 2008 @ 7:12 am:
There is no sexual torture in this book. it is lightly alluded to at one point, but not present as part of the killers “MO”. the bleach is less of a big deal as it sounds.
The place you may have trouble based on your description:
The torture in this first book is pretty prevalent. about every other chapter is the detectives experience while he is captured. the first section made me wince when i read it and i am not squeamish at all. These sections are the most descriptive to be sure. i wont know till tonight how the second book will be.
Overall, the author keeps it pretty mellow, but due to the nature of the book, there are a couple very descriptive parts. The genius of his nemesis is definitely in the details.
Overall, I would say it is worth the attempt to read, worst case scenario is you stop and set it aside.
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my Jenn, also hates the name Jenny. She has a little twitch that occurs each time someone tosses it out in reference to her.
Portland is awesome, if you ever get the chance to visit, please do. our city is fantastic. we would gladly show you around :)
you would love Powells Books, where the reading will happen tonight. They are a local chain, but still considered Indie as they are still locally owned and operated. the main branch is a 3 story book store. organized into 6-8 massive rooms. even this is not enough room as they had to separate all of their “technical” books, car manuals, computer related, text books. they have a completely different building just to house those alone.
http://www.powells.com/info/briefhistory.html
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Literate Housewife reply on September 2nd, 2008 @ 3:43 pm:
You know, you’re right about just setting the book aside if it gets to me. I was able to read several of Stephen King’s books without vomiting. I should give myself some credit. I’m going to head over and enter that contest. You never know until you give it a try.
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The closest I’ve ever come to homicide was when I was working with a contractor I absolutely hated. He took to calling me Jenny and I about wanted to smack him. I corrected him every time to no avail. Bastard!
Okay, I’m so sold on visiting Portland. On top of some great people, that bookstore is fabulous! How did the reading go?
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erisian reply on September 2nd, 2008 @ 10:12 pm:
reading was awesome. i love myself some quality powells time :)
very enjoyable overall.
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[...] stories of nancy drew, told after her death.. a parody,. very very humorous chelsea cain also wrote heartsick and sweetheart.. new book comes out in that series in two [...]