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vlyman's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
blondierocket's review against another edition
4.0
The third book in Cheslea Cain’s series is just as intriguing and questionable as the others. Just when I thought I knew what was going on, something changed. I’ve learned never to trust Cain with what she says until she tells you you can … and even then, she might be lying.
This book brings us a couple months after the latest attack, with Archie in a mental facility seeking help and hiding out. His only visitors are his family and Henry – Susan keeps trying but he just won’t let her in.
When a series of murders begin to resemble Gretchen’s previous killings, everyone becomes suspicious that her pact with Archie is no longer valid. With the help of Susan, Archie begins his own quest to find Gretchen and stop her once and for all. Much like the other books, Archie continues to put himself in peril, this time risking Susan’s life as well.
I feel like a fourth book is on the rise and can’t wait to see what happens next.
This book brings us a couple months after the latest attack, with Archie in a mental facility seeking help and hiding out. His only visitors are his family and Henry – Susan keeps trying but he just won’t let her in.
When a series of murders begin to resemble Gretchen’s previous killings, everyone becomes suspicious that her pact with Archie is no longer valid. With the help of Susan, Archie begins his own quest to find Gretchen and stop her once and for all. Much like the other books, Archie continues to put himself in peril, this time risking Susan’s life as well.
I feel like a fourth book is on the rise and can’t wait to see what happens next.
vix682's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alexandrabree's review against another edition
3.0
I can’t decide if I loved this book with all its twists and turns or if I hated it. I was gripped by this page turner but I also felt it was a little bit long. The back and fourth finale between Archie and Gretchen was very serial killer-y but also slightly gimmicky and a little bit silly.
Maybe if I had read the second book I would feel differently, unsure. Totally hunting down the fourth book
Maybe if I had read the second book I would feel differently, unsure. Totally hunting down the fourth book
ancoetsu's review against another edition
5.0
chelsea cain has once again added a page-turner to the gretchen saga. not as gruesome as the first 2, but just as twisted. i love this series.
beastreader's review against another edition
3.0
Evil at Heart is the third book in this wildly popular series featuring serial killer, Gretchen Lowell and detective Archie Sheridan. In Sweetheart, Gretchen promised Archie as he was dying for the second time that she would not kill anymore people. Archie held her to that promise.
Flash forward to the present. Gretchen is gone but not forgotten. Besides, who could ever forget the beautiful, sinister Gretchen Lowell? She is on almost every magazine cover, on the lips of very person in Portland and there is even a book about her. So she may be gone but she has etched a special place in Archie’s heart. After his second close encounter with Gretchen, Archie admitted himself into a psychiatrist hospital. Things have been pretty quiet till now…stuffed in a toilet at a rest stop was the pieces of internal organs as well as a pair of eyeballs cut out and taken from some poor soul. It seems that Gretchen has broken her promise. Archie wasn’t convinced at first that Gretchen is responsible till he sees the hearts. The bathroom wall is covered in hearts. Archie is ready to put a stop to Gretchen one and for all.
Evil at Heart is just a gruesome at its two predecessors. I have to give it up to Chelsea Cain as she definitely knows how to get the heart racing and the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I really like these books. Archie and Gretchen are great. Though Archie and Gretchen do make quite the pair…She is like poison and he is the syringe that takes her all in. I have one issue with this book. There is not enough Gretchen in it. Yes, I felt her presence and she did make an appearance at the end of the story but I wanted her to be featured more like she was in Heart Sick. I do have to say that after reading this book and seeing how messed up her victims are, I would rather be dead than survive at her hands.
Flash forward to the present. Gretchen is gone but not forgotten. Besides, who could ever forget the beautiful, sinister Gretchen Lowell? She is on almost every magazine cover, on the lips of very person in Portland and there is even a book about her. So she may be gone but she has etched a special place in Archie’s heart. After his second close encounter with Gretchen, Archie admitted himself into a psychiatrist hospital. Things have been pretty quiet till now…stuffed in a toilet at a rest stop was the pieces of internal organs as well as a pair of eyeballs cut out and taken from some poor soul. It seems that Gretchen has broken her promise. Archie wasn’t convinced at first that Gretchen is responsible till he sees the hearts. The bathroom wall is covered in hearts. Archie is ready to put a stop to Gretchen one and for all.
Evil at Heart is just a gruesome at its two predecessors. I have to give it up to Chelsea Cain as she definitely knows how to get the heart racing and the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I really like these books. Archie and Gretchen are great. Though Archie and Gretchen do make quite the pair…She is like poison and he is the syringe that takes her all in. I have one issue with this book. There is not enough Gretchen in it. Yes, I felt her presence and she did make an appearance at the end of the story but I wanted her to be featured more like she was in Heart Sick. I do have to say that after reading this book and seeing how messed up her victims are, I would rather be dead than survive at her hands.
cbaker8887's review against another edition
4.0
Evil at Heart is Chelsea Cain’s third novel featuring the beautiful serial killer Gretchen Lowell, and the detective she kidnapped and tortured, Archie Sheridan.
In a review of Heartsick, the first novel in this series, I commented: “HeartSick introduces one of the most diabolical, psychopathic, frightening serial killers in fiction – the beautiful Gretchen Lowell. Gretchen Lowell makes Hannibal Lecter look like a boy scout. Not only has she killed hundreds of victims, she likes to torture them for days before finally putting them out of their misery. She is one nasty piece of work.”
Archie Sheridan was the detective tasked to hunt her down, but Gretchen lured him in and kidnapped and tortured him. In Sweetheart, the second novel in this series, we see just how twisted Archie Sheridan really is, with his love, hate, love relationship with Gretchen that has erotic, violent overtones.
Evil at Heart finds Archie Sheridan voluntarily convalescing in a mental home getting over his addiction to painkillers. Meanwhile a “womanhunt” for Gretchen goes on, as she escaped in the last novel. But don’t think Archie is far from her mind or her heart.
As Gretchen is on the loose, a series of murders take place that appear to be copycat killers or Gretchen playing games. Archie is lured out of the hospital and onto the path of either finding Gretchen or the killer mimicking her. What he discovers is a weird cult following of the Beauty Killer and to stop the murders he has to figure out if it really is Gretchen or one of her fans.
Archie’s partner Henry and the reporter Susan Ward once again play a large role in the novel, both trying to help and protect Archie, but in their own ways.
This novel, like the previous two, is fast paced and the characters are well drawn. It was a fun and entertaining read but it does have a few minor flaws. First, even though a mystery exists to be solved, in many respects this novel is more about the cat and mouse game between Archie and Gretchen than anything else. And while I really like the characters, the novelty of Gretchen and Archie and their twisted relationship has worn off a bit. By the end of the novel I had a “been there, done that” feeling. While I still greatly enjoyed this novel, it does have a slight staleness to it as it feels a bit repetitive of the previous two. I am not sure how long these characters can be sustained placed in the same settings with the same general interactions between them.
Thus, while I definitely recommend this novel, I hope to see the author take the characters in a new, fresh direction, or move on to something new.
In a review of Heartsick, the first novel in this series, I commented: “HeartSick introduces one of the most diabolical, psychopathic, frightening serial killers in fiction – the beautiful Gretchen Lowell. Gretchen Lowell makes Hannibal Lecter look like a boy scout. Not only has she killed hundreds of victims, she likes to torture them for days before finally putting them out of their misery. She is one nasty piece of work.”
Archie Sheridan was the detective tasked to hunt her down, but Gretchen lured him in and kidnapped and tortured him. In Sweetheart, the second novel in this series, we see just how twisted Archie Sheridan really is, with his love, hate, love relationship with Gretchen that has erotic, violent overtones.
Evil at Heart finds Archie Sheridan voluntarily convalescing in a mental home getting over his addiction to painkillers. Meanwhile a “womanhunt” for Gretchen goes on, as she escaped in the last novel. But don’t think Archie is far from her mind or her heart.
As Gretchen is on the loose, a series of murders take place that appear to be copycat killers or Gretchen playing games. Archie is lured out of the hospital and onto the path of either finding Gretchen or the killer mimicking her. What he discovers is a weird cult following of the Beauty Killer and to stop the murders he has to figure out if it really is Gretchen or one of her fans.
Archie’s partner Henry and the reporter Susan Ward once again play a large role in the novel, both trying to help and protect Archie, but in their own ways.
This novel, like the previous two, is fast paced and the characters are well drawn. It was a fun and entertaining read but it does have a few minor flaws. First, even though a mystery exists to be solved, in many respects this novel is more about the cat and mouse game between Archie and Gretchen than anything else. And while I really like the characters, the novelty of Gretchen and Archie and their twisted relationship has worn off a bit. By the end of the novel I had a “been there, done that” feeling. While I still greatly enjoyed this novel, it does have a slight staleness to it as it feels a bit repetitive of the previous two. I am not sure how long these characters can be sustained placed in the same settings with the same general interactions between them.
Thus, while I definitely recommend this novel, I hope to see the author take the characters in a new, fresh direction, or move on to something new.
janedreader's review against another edition
3.0
Sadly this was quite a letdown after the previous book. But since the first two were so good, I’m going to keep reading the series
suebee135's review against another edition
4.0
This is the third book featuring detective Archie Sheridan and serial killer Gretchen Lowell. Gretchen, also known as the Beauty Killer, is on the loose. Archie is in a mental health facility attempting to recover from the physical and psychological wounds she has inflicted on him. The media has glamorized the vicious murderer and now Beauty Killer fan clubs are springing up left and right. When body parts start turning up at previous murder sites, Archie is called upon to help capture Gretchen once and for all. Is it really Gretchen leaving these gruesome calling cards? After all, she did promise Archie she wouldn’t kill again, right? If you can’t trust a serial killing psychopath to keep their word, who can you trust? “Evil at Heart” is a thrilling cat and mouse chase, although you’re never really sure who the cat is and who is the mouse. From eyeballs to spleens, no part of the anatomy is safe from this scalpel wielding lunatic so you might want to read this on an empty stomach, unless you’re a seasoned veteran of grisly thrillers like me. Fast paced with page turning suspense, this is a great book.