by Chelsea Cain
Part of Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell, book 4
First published 2011
Portland detective Archie Sheridan once brought down the Beauty Killer, among America's most twisted serial murderers. Now he confronts a different threat as brutal rains flood the Willamette River and bodies pile up. The rising waters have killed several people, but Sheridan discovers that drowning wasn't the only cause of death. The first corpse contains a rare poison. Three more victims turn out to be murder cases. Each grisly finding by the medical examiner forces Archie to confront an uncomfortable truth. Even with his most dangerous adversary locked away, his worst fears have returned. The floodwaters have exposed buried secrets and old bones. A merciless new serial killer now controls the darkness, and Sheridan must stop the murders before more victims surface.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, serial-killer, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Portland, Willamette River
Period: contemporary
320 pages · Hardcover · Minotaur Books
Content warnings: death, murder, violence