Monday, May 30, 2011

Chelsea Cain--The Night Season

Chelsea Cain launches the next stage of her bestselling series as Archie Sheridan works to regain his life and Susan Ward steps in to share the spotlight in this electric thriller from one of today’s most talented suspense writers. — With Beauty Killer Gretchen Lowell locked away behind bars once again, Portland detective Archie Sheridan can finally rest. Meanwhile, the city of Portland is in crisis. Several people have drowned in heavy rains that have flooded the Willamette River. But the medical examiner discovers that in fact the latest victim was poisoned before she went into the water—she didn’t drown. A little detective work shows that so far three of those previously thought to be accidental drownings have actually been murdered. Portland has a new serial killer on its hands, and Archie and his task force have a new case. Meanwhile reporter Susan Ward is following up on an entirely separate mystery: the dramatic flooding has unearthed a skeleton, a man who might have died during catastrophic flooding more than sixty years ago that washed away an entire neighborhood and killed at least 15 people.

{4.5 stars}

Loved it!! I know I'm in the minority on this one, everyone was expecting more Gretchen Lowell action like the first 3 novels. But she is still in prison. So the series trudges on with Archie and Susan, my favorite characters anyway, they are a great duo. It appears that people are drowning in the massive floods hitting Portland, but it's really murder. The flooding and the added mystery of a missing kid adds the perfect backdrop of urgency. All the while the killer has invented a whole new way to kill people. You think that the Vanport story Susan wrote has nothing to do with the murders, but it all ties in at the end. Susan and Archie face death, several times, again, but they always manage to save each other. I don't know if I want them to ever truly wind up together, because the relationship they have now seems to work for them. This story can stand alone without having read the first 3, but I suggest starting with Heartsick. Chelsea Cain is a great writer and I was hooked from the first word, she has an interesting take on killers. It's definitely not your usual murder mystery.

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