Heart Sick
Finished On: - 28th March 2008
I’ll admit I was a little apprehensive before I read this book. Whilst I liked Silence Of The Lambs, I couldn’t really see the serial killer inside, serial killer outside dynamic being fresh or original… but i was utterly wrong.
I’ll go out on a limb and suggest this book is better than silence of the lambs - the sexual chemistry between Gretchen Lowell (the killer inside) and Archie (her surviving victim) twists things nicely, and their relationship is carefully built through a series of interleaving flashbacks that add to the story rather than contrive to “be different”.
A tensely plotted novel, each chapter adds intrigue, carefully layering the story up until the stinging climax, with all characters in some kind of mental anguish - nobody is perfect, everybody is damaged goods. Realistically painted every character is believable and by the end of the book I actually cared what happened to them, which doesn’t happen often.
The best testament to this novel is that the second has been finished and a third is in the works - these won’t be cash ins, these will be continuations to an engrossing, disturbing and genuinely terrifying story.
Filed by Kieran at March 28th, 2008 under Books