Review : Kill You Twice by Chelsea Cain

"Archie Sheridan should be recovering from his past run-ins with serial killer Gretchen Lowell, yet he's just as haunted as the day she let him go. But when a cyclist comes across a corpse in Mount Tabor Park on the eastern side of Portland, Archie suddenly has to focus. Then comes a call from an unlikely source. After months of ignoring a doctor at the mental hospital where Gretchen is supposed to be locked away forever, Archie hears that she may have inside knowledge about the new investigation. But is she bluffing just to get close to him, and can he risk losing his only lead. One thing is for sure: Gretchen Lowell is back, and Archie must decide if catching a killer is worth facing his demons one more time."

Published : August 2nd 2012
Publisher : Pan Macmillan
Source : Won from a giveaway
Format : Paperback


My review might be a little biased because I've followed this series from the beginning and I love it. I've previously reviewed Heartsick, the first in the series, here. I think Chelsea Cain has created one of the sickest and most twisted villains in any book so far that I've read. Every new installment in this story makes me cringe, but I just can't seem to put it down.

Kill You Twice is, again, the story of homicide detective Archie Sheridan. Of course, Gretchen Lowell is again a presence, although she's not as major of a player as she has been in previous books in the series. She's imprisoned again but in a psychiatric ward. The medication they've been giving her has made her looks fail her, so she went from drop-dead gorgeous to a woman who is barely recognizable. Archie makes a serious effort not to visit Gretchen, but eventually breaks down when Susan Ward goes to visit her first. Gretchen wants to admit to yet another murder, and she gives Susan the information, knowing that Archie will eventually come to find out more, which of course he does. 

I did figure out who the killer was about halfway through the book. That was something new to me, I've never been able to do that with a Chelsea Cain novel before. However, there were still some things that surprised me. Pearl's history and story line was something I would not have seen coming in a million years. 

As usual, the characters were fantastic. I feel like I say that a lot, but Archie Sheridan, Susan Ward, and even Gretchen Lowell are all well-rounded and three dimensional. 

There really wasn't much about Kill You Twice that I didn't like. I think, aside from the first in the series, Ithis has been my favorite Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell book so far.