Publisher, Audio Renaissance (September 2007)

In this riveting debut thriller, Chelsea Cain introduces an unforgettable female serial killer and a homicide detective more human than heroic.

“Heartsick has it all: a tortured cop, a fearless and quirky heroine, and what may be the creepiest serial killer ever created. This is an addictive read!” —Tess Gerritsen, author of The Mephisto Club

“Chelsea Cain’s novel is completely entrancing and totally original—what a read. Between the humanity of Portland cop Archie Sheridan and the chilling and twisted design of his beautiful nemesis, Gretchen Lowell, Heartsick is utterly unforgettable. Cain is a wonderful—and terrifying—storyteller.” —Dominick Dunne

Portland Detective Archie Sheridan spent ten years tracking Gretchen Lowell, a beautiful serial killer, but in the end she caught him. Gretchen kidnapped Archie and tortured him for ten days, then she released him and turned herself in. Now Gretchen is locked away, while Archie is in a prison of another kind—addicted to painkillers, and powerless to erase those ten days from his mind. He visits Gretchen in prison once a week, saying he wants her to confess the whereabouts of more of her victims, but even he knows that the truth is he just can’t stay away.

When another killer begins snatching teenage girls, Archie knows that he has to pull himself together and investigate the murders. Newspaper reporter Susan Ward begins following Archie’s investigation, sparking a deadly game between Archie, Susan, the new killer, and even Gretchen. They need to catch a killer, and maybe somehow Archie can now free himself from Gretchen once and for all. Original, addictive, and profoundly disturbing, Heartsick heralds the arrival of a major new star.

About the Author: Chelsea Cain lived the first few years of her life on an Iowa commune, then grew up in Bellingham, WA, where the infamous Green River killer was “the boogieman” of her youth. The true story of the Green River killer’s capture was the inspiration for the story of Gretchen and Archie. She started writing Heartsick to kill time while she was pregnant. The author of a weekly column in The Oregonian, Cain lives in Portland with her husband and daughter.