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jolietjane's review
3.0
Im not going to lie, I came here for weird serial killer romance and murder mystery per the back of the book, however, this only comprised of about 10% of the book. the other 90% was spending time with characters I wasn't interested in. It’s still a good book tho.
iris_cadaver's review
2.0
This book had two sort-of mysteries going on at once. One was kind of interesting, one was not. Sadly, the latter took up most of the pages, along with overlong descriptions of the weather, the furniture layout of every room, people's hair, what people were eating, how they were eating it, etc. But on the flip side, the author added very few descriptions of characters' personalities, thoughts and pasts, giving so little insight and character building that by the end I did not care a lick for any of them and wouldn't have minded a bit if any or even all of them got shot in the big cliched hostage shoot-out finale.
nancy_vb's review
4.0
Enjoyed the Portland setting. Not my usual genre but it was thrilling and somewhat sickening.
pn_hinton's review
5.0
This is an awesome book with a rarity in the thriller world; a female serial killer. She does very well at establishing the Stockholm Syndrome relationship with Gretchen and Archie Sheridan and this book will leave you wanting to know more about all the characters.
novelesque_life's review
3.0
2.5 STARS
"He thinks he sees a flash of emotion in her eyes. Sympathy? Then it's gone. 'Whatever you think this is going to be like,' she whispers, 'it's going to be worse.' When beautiful serial killer Gretchen Lowell captured her last victim - the man in charge of hunting her down - she quickly established who was really in control of the investigation. So why, after ten days of horrifying physical and mental torture, did she release Detective Archie Sheridan from the brink of death and hand herself in? Two years on, Archie now returns to lead the search for a new killer, whose recent attacks on teenage girls have left the city of Portland reeling. Shadowed by vulnerable young reporter Susan Ward, Archie knows that only one person can help him climb into the mind of this psychopath. But can Archie finally manage to confront the demons of his past without being consumed by them? 'Dark, distressing and disturbing . . . Just pray you never meet Gretchen" (From Amazon)
I thought I would love this book, but I did not care for Archie or Gretchen... the characters or the forbidden lust. A better novelist is Karin Slaughter or Cody McFadyen.
"He thinks he sees a flash of emotion in her eyes. Sympathy? Then it's gone. 'Whatever you think this is going to be like,' she whispers, 'it's going to be worse.' When beautiful serial killer Gretchen Lowell captured her last victim - the man in charge of hunting her down - she quickly established who was really in control of the investigation. So why, after ten days of horrifying physical and mental torture, did she release Detective Archie Sheridan from the brink of death and hand herself in? Two years on, Archie now returns to lead the search for a new killer, whose recent attacks on teenage girls have left the city of Portland reeling. Shadowed by vulnerable young reporter Susan Ward, Archie knows that only one person can help him climb into the mind of this psychopath. But can Archie finally manage to confront the demons of his past without being consumed by them? 'Dark, distressing and disturbing . . . Just pray you never meet Gretchen" (From Amazon)
I thought I would love this book, but I did not care for Archie or Gretchen... the characters or the forbidden lust. A better novelist is Karin Slaughter or Cody McFadyen.
destiel74's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It was a good little mystery. The story was similar to the ones I've read before, but the ending did cause it to stand out a little. I will be getting book 2.
n0sferatu_woman's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
lakecake's review
4.0
One chapter in, six ribs broken....yeah!
So, to update, after finishing the book, it was just as good as those six broken ribs implied. I don't know what that says about me...maybe I don't want to!
So, to update, after finishing the book, it was just as good as those six broken ribs implied. I don't know what that says about me...maybe I don't want to!
wolfchanreads's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
marco5599's review
0.5
So..
Another serial killer on the loose and somebody decides it's a good idea to have the investigation lead by a detective (Archie) who narrowly survived a previous serial killer case, hasn't been able to do anything since and is clearly not over the whole thing.
And that's not all.
Oh no. This wreck of a guy has to team up with a reporter (Susan) for pr reasons. Yes, pr reasons. A not so experienced journalist by the way, on a case that involves someone who will most likely be front page news in the upcoming weeks or more. Nationwide probably.
Still not done yet.
Archie, who swallows more painkillers a day than I suck on mints in a month, is, literally and figuratively, a walking collection of scars. Despite this he still visits Gretchen, the serial killer responsible for his battered body and soul, in jail, on a weekly bases and when his wife told him to stop doing so, because it doesn't exactly help him in any way (duh), he, I kid you not, chose the psycho killer over the mother of his two kids.
There's more.
There's Susan. She bangs her married boss. She has pink hair and dresses like she's about to interview Metallica, so hey, you can't say she's a bland character either, can you? Same goes for Gretchen. Aptly called the Beauty Killer. Yup, she's female, a hottie, an amateur surgeon slash doctor, connaisseur of FBI profiling and a full-blown psycho who loves to torment her prey. Wouldn't be surprised if she was something of a rocket scientist in her free time as well.
I mean, come on.
Maybe, in some universe, these type of characters can be called complex, fascinating or something like that. But not in mine. In my universe these are simply ridiculous. And this includes their actions. The torture for instance. An attempt to be gruesome so desperate, it becomes laughable. Like so much in this book. All one big joke. Not a sick one, as mentioned somewhere, but a dumb one.
Next.
P.S.
I'm a mint sucking monster. Go figure.
Another serial killer on the loose and somebody decides it's a good idea to have the investigation lead by a detective (Archie) who narrowly survived a previous serial killer case, hasn't been able to do anything since and is clearly not over the whole thing.
And that's not all.
Oh no. This wreck of a guy has to team up with a reporter (Susan) for pr reasons. Yes, pr reasons. A not so experienced journalist by the way, on a case that involves someone who will most likely be front page news in the upcoming weeks or more. Nationwide probably.
Still not done yet.
Archie, who swallows more painkillers a day than I suck on mints in a month, is, literally and figuratively, a walking collection of scars. Despite this he still visits Gretchen, the serial killer responsible for his battered body and soul, in jail, on a weekly bases and when his wife told him to stop doing so, because it doesn't exactly help him in any way (duh), he, I kid you not, chose the psycho killer over the mother of his two kids.
There's more.
There's Susan. She bangs her married boss. She has pink hair and dresses like she's about to interview Metallica, so hey, you can't say she's a bland character either, can you? Same goes for Gretchen. Aptly called the Beauty Killer. Yup, she's female, a hottie, an amateur surgeon slash doctor, connaisseur of FBI profiling and a full-blown psycho who loves to torment her prey. Wouldn't be surprised if she was something of a rocket scientist in her free time as well.
I mean, come on.
Maybe, in some universe, these type of characters can be called complex, fascinating or something like that. But not in mine. In my universe these are simply ridiculous. And this includes their actions. The torture for instance. An attempt to be gruesome so desperate, it becomes laughable. Like so much in this book. All one big joke. Not a sick one, as mentioned somewhere, but a dumb one.
Next.
P.S.
I'm a mint sucking monster. Go figure.