2 BY CHELSEA CAIN

Chelsea Cain is a fairly recent addition to my wife’s reading and within the space of a couple of books has become a bit of a favourite for her.

I’m a little bit less impatient with my books than she is. She can quite happily (not the right word) discard a book twenty pages in, if it isn’t working for her. Me I carry on.

Suffice to say, Cain’s books didn’t get launched at the wall twenty pages in but were enjoyed and devoured. I’m hoping to have a similar experience when I do eventually get around to catching up on her 2013 and 2014 reads, not to mention the 2015 ones. (Note to self – come on Keane you slacker!) 

These two are the first in her Archie and Gretchen series and could probably be labelled as serial-killer books, which isn't everyone's cup of tea. 

I can't actually remember the last book of this trope that I read so I'm going to approach these with an open mind. Not what I would want to read all the time, but every so often is reasonable enough.

And once I have read these no doubt I will feel compelled to get the next four!

Heartsick

He thinks he sees a flash of emotion in her eyes. Sympathy? Then it's gone. 'Whatever you think this is going to be like,' she whispers, 'it's going to be worse.' When beautiful serial killer Gretchen Lowell captured her last victim, the man in charge of hunting her down, she quickly established who was really in control of the investigation. So why, after ten days of horrifying physical and mental torture, did she release Detective Archie Sheridan from the brink of death and hand herself in? Two years on, Archie remains driven by a terrifying obsession that was born during his time alone with Gretchen. One thing is clear Archie does not believe he was ever truly freed. Now Archie returns to lead the search for a new killer, whose recent attacks on teenage girls have left the city of Portland reeling. Shadowed by vulnerable young reporter Susan Ward, Archie knows that only one person can help him climb into the mind of this psychopath. But can Archie finally manage to confront the demons of his past without being consumed by them?

Sweetheart

With Heartsick, Chelsea Cain took the crime world by storm, introducing two of the most compelling characters in decades: serial killer Gretchen Lowell and her obsessed pursuer Portland Detective Archie Sheridan. The book spent four weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and garnered rave reviews around the world. But the riveting story of Archie and Gretchen was left unfinished, and now Chelsea Cain picks up the tale again.

When the body of a young woman is discovered in Portland's Forest Park, Archie is reminded of the last time they found a body there, more than a decade ago: it turned out to be the Beauty Killer's first victim, and Archie's first case. This body can't be one of Gretchen's - she's in prison - but after help from reporter Susan Ward uncovers the dead woman's identity, it turns into another big case. Trouble is, Archie can't focus on the new investigation because the Beauty Killer case has exploded: Gretchen Lowell has escaped from prison.

Archie hadn't seen her in two months; he'd moved back in with his family and sworn off visiting her. Though it should feel like progress, he actually feels worse. The news of her escape spreads like wildfire, but secretly, he's relieved. He knows he's the only one who can catch her, and in fact, he has a plan to get out from under her thumb once and for all.

Chelsea Cain has topped her own bestselling debut thriller with this unputdownable, unpredictable, edge-of-your-seat read.