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baearthur's review
3.0
Decent for the genre. The characters were damaged but relate-able enough to care about and the plot had enough intrigue to keep me interested. On to the next in this series.
cekrall's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mirareadssss's review
4.0
Have to stay awake for a day because I just couldn't put this book down. So awesome!
radology's review
DNF/ put down for now ~*
friend rec, can’t get into it , will revisit
friend rec, can’t get into it , will revisit
acrasmussen's review against another edition
Wasn't as in to it as prior reads. And I wanted to read other books.
asteroidbuckle's review
4.0
I am withholding the fifth star from my rating for one reason: the ending was weak. There's a scene where you just *know* who the killer is even before the person is revealed as such. So from then on, the suspense was gone. And the killer's capture was a little too neat as well.
With that said, however, I still really enjoyed this book. The actual hunt for the serial killer took a back seat to what seemed to me to be the main theme in the book: the aftermath of Det. Archie Sheridan's kidnapping and torture at the hands of Gretchen Lowell and his subsequent dependence on both her and prescription meds.
He's high on pills while at the same time leading the task force that's looking into the deaths of three sophomore girls. His life's in shambles - he's lost his wife and children (though not by their choice) and has a complex system of pill-popping that he's managed to make into a science.
He was the 200th victim of psychopathic, sadistic serial killer Gretchen Lowell, who's sitting in prison for infinity for her crimes. But she's still pulling Archie's strings from behind bars, meting out the locations of bodies in exchange for weekly visits from Archie.
The flashbacks (written in present tense) of Archie's torture that are scattered throughout the book are riveting. Gory, yes, but absolutely riveting. And I cared more about that whacked-out relationship than I did the hunt for the present-day serial killer.
I also could have done without, for the most part, the pink-haired writer (not journalist, mind you, but writer). Except, as it turns out, she's integral to the plot. Overall though, I found her to be the stereotypical tough-as-nails bitch whose insides are nothing but mush and whose internal damages manifest themselves in the obvious ways: pink hair, a quirky wardrobe, pot smoking, and multiple affairs with unattainable, married men. She even seems to fall (a little) for poor, damaged Archie.
Oh, and there's an obvious red herring where the supposed killer has been found, but guess what?, it's not the killer! Kind of obvious; I mean, there was still a good third of the book left. Duh!
Read this book for Archie & Gretchen and skim the rest.
More great things than bad; I liked it.
With that said, however, I still really enjoyed this book. The actual hunt for the serial killer took a back seat to what seemed to me to be the main theme in the book: the aftermath of Det. Archie Sheridan's kidnapping and torture at the hands of Gretchen Lowell and his subsequent dependence on both her and prescription meds.
He's high on pills while at the same time leading the task force that's looking into the deaths of three sophomore girls. His life's in shambles - he's lost his wife and children (though not by their choice) and has a complex system of pill-popping that he's managed to make into a science.
He was the 200th victim of psychopathic, sadistic serial killer Gretchen Lowell, who's sitting in prison for infinity for her crimes. But she's still pulling Archie's strings from behind bars, meting out the locations of bodies in exchange for weekly visits from Archie.
The flashbacks (written in present tense) of Archie's torture that are scattered throughout the book are riveting. Gory, yes, but absolutely riveting. And I cared more about that whacked-out relationship than I did the hunt for the present-day serial killer.
I also could have done without, for the most part, the pink-haired writer (not journalist, mind you, but writer). Except, as it turns out, she's integral to the plot. Overall though, I found her to be the stereotypical tough-as-nails bitch whose insides are nothing but mush and whose internal damages manifest themselves in the obvious ways: pink hair, a quirky wardrobe, pot smoking, and multiple affairs with unattainable, married men. She even seems to fall (a little) for poor, damaged Archie.
Oh, and there's an obvious red herring where the supposed killer has been found, but guess what?, it's not the killer! Kind of obvious; I mean, there was still a good third of the book left. Duh!
Read this book for Archie & Gretchen and skim the rest.
More great things than bad; I liked it.