Title: The Night Season
Series: The Beauty Killer Series, Book Four
Author: Chelsea Cain
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Book Description: With the Beauty Killer Gretchen Lowell locked away behind bars once again, Archie Sheridan – a Portland police detective and nearly one of her victims – can finally rest a little easier. Meanwhile, the rest of the city of Portland is in crisis. Heavy rains have flooded the Willamette River, and several people have drowned in the quickly rising waters. Or at least that's what they thought until the medical examiner discovers that the latest victim didn't drown: She was poisoned before she went into the water. Soon after, three of those drowning are also proven to be murders. Portland has a new serial killer on its hands, and Archie and his task force have a new case.
Reporter Susan Ward is chasing this story of a new serial killer with gusto, but she's also got another lead to follow for an entirely separate mystery: The flooding has unearthed a skeleton, a man who might have died more than sixty years ago, the last time Portland flooded this badly, when the river washed away and entire neighborhood and killed at least fifteen people.
With Archie following the bizarre trail of evidence and evil deeds to catch a killer and possibly regain his life, and Susan Ward close behind, Chelsea Cain – one of today's most talented suspense writers – launches the next installment in her bestselling series with an electric thriller.
Review: The fourth installment to Chelsea Cain's Beauty Killer series, The Night Season captures the reader in a suspenseful flood of mystery, intrigue, and the actions of a sixty-year-old corpse tied to a new serial killer.
The water is rising in Portland, and the city is in high alert to save itself. The encroaching waters aren't enough to halt a murderer, but Detective Archie Sheridan is on the case. Reporter Susan Ward, of course, isn't far behind – love reading about her new hair color in each book, by the way – and she's willing to use her sources to find connections between floods of past and present.
Although I was a little disappointed in Ms. Cain's Evil at Heart, I am thrilled with The Night Season. The dashes of history are poignant and remind that not only history has a way to repeat itself, but also a buried past will come to light. I love the witty, a little bit corny, and touching interactions between Archie and Susan and the other characters. Ms. Cain had me chortling, crying, and cringing, and she is masterful in cliffhanger chapter endings. Although it is in a series, The Night Season can stand alone and is a quick read. I highly recommend this book.
