by Chelsea Cain
Part of Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell, book 5
First published 2012
Portland detective Archie Sheridan believes he can finally recover. Gretchen Lowell, the serial killer who tortured him and left him with devastating injuries, sits locked in a psychiatric facility. Then a cyclist finds a body in Mount Tabor Park. The victim was gagged, his skin removed, suspended from a tree by his wrists. Someone tortured this man for hours in broad daylight in a crowded public space without leaving evidence behind. Archie has no leads until Gretchen contacts him. She claims to know details about the murder. Archie tells himself he visits her only to solve the case, but his connection to Gretchen runs deeper than he admits. She has drawn him back into her web. Now Archie must determine what game Gretchen plays while hunting a killer clever enough to operate in plain sight. Someone will kill to protect secrets from Gretchen's past.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Portland, Mount Tabor Park
326 pages · Hardcover · Minotaur Books
Content warnings: murder, torture, violence