by Chelsea Cain
Part of Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell, book 2
First published 2008
Detective Archie Sheridan once led the Beauty Killer Task Force, spending years tracking Gretchen Lowell before she abducted and tortured him. After releasing him, she landed in prison while Archie struggled to rebuild his shattered life with his ex-wife and two children. Despite his efforts to move forward, thoughts of Gretchen consume him. When investigators find a young woman's body in Forest Park, Archie recalls discovering a corpse in that same location ten years earlier. That victim became Gretchen's first confirmed kill and Archie's inaugural case. Then Gretchen breaks out of prison. Portland enters a state of emergency, but Archie feels an unexpected sense of relief. He believes only he possesses the knowledge and experience necessary to recapture her. Now he has devised a strategy to break free from her psychological hold permanently, even if executing this plan means sacrificing his own life.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Forest Park, Portland
Period: 10 Years Ago
325 pages · Hardcover · Minotaur Books
Content warnings: murder, violence