Friday, August 27, 2010

EVIL AT HEART by Chelsea Cain


Title: Evil at Heart
Series: Gretchen Lowell/The Beauty Killer
Author: Chelsea Cain
Publisher: Minotaur Books
 
Blurb on the book cover:  Gretchen Lowell is still on the loose.  These days, she's more of a cause célèbre than a feared killer, thanks to sensationalist news coverage that has made her a star.  Her face graces magazine covers weekly and there have been sightings of her around the world.  Most shocking of all, Portland Herald reporter Susan Ward has uncovered a bizarre kind of fan club, which celebrates the number of days she's been free.  Archie Sheridan hunted her for a decade, and after his last ploy to catch her went spectacularly wrong, remains hospitalized months later.  When they last spoke, they entered a détente of sorts—Archie agreed not to kill himself if she agreed not to kill anyone else.  But when a new body is found accompanied by Gretchen's trademark heart, all bets are off and Archie is forced back into action.  Has the Beauty Killer returned to her gruesome ways, or has the cult surrounding her created a whole new evil?

In Chelsea Cain's Evil at Heart, we find that everyone is rooting for our favorite most beautiful serial killer Gretchen Lowell.  Her escape from prison inspires fan pages and perhaps even a fan club to continue her dastardly deeds.  Lies and twists abound, and the reader and characters don't know quite who to believe, even up to the end.  Personally, Evil at Heart was my least favorite of these three books.  I found the book, at times, to be too preachy on media's play on how we react to events and people.  Whether Gretchen or a Gretchen fan club killed people, I just didn't care because I didn't feel too connected to the victims like in the other books.  The best parts were the interaction between Susan and Archie.  Overall, I would still read this book for the witty and amusing remarks, but Evil at Heart lacked some heart that was prevalent in the previous two books.