WOMEN OF HORROR: I HEART GRETCHEN LOWELL!

I just wanna put my thumbs up for one of the best trilogies in the contemporary thriller genre; The Beauty Killer series by Chelsea Cain.

I stumbled upon the third book in the series as I was boarding a plane to Amsterdam almost exactly a year ago. I'd forgotten to bring something to read, and as I was glancing the shelves of the airport bookstore my eyes caught on Evil at Heart. Not only did it have a female serial killer for starters (yey!), it also took place in Portland, Oregon, spreading some gory human parts at the rest stops along the I-84. And as I was on this transfer flight to Amsterdam onwards to Portland, for the single reason of moving to a little town along the I-84, this seemed as the perfect reading material to get accustomed to the area.

While there's no escaping the gruesome and perverse murders, the focus of the series is mainly between the victim and the captor, in this case the twisted relationship between the female serial killer Gretchen Lowell and Archie Sheridan, the homicide detective that led the original investigation into her murders.

Gretchen Lowell is probably the most insane female entering the murder stage since the beautiful Charlize Theron portrayed Aileen Wournos in 2003's Monster. Except Gretchen Lowell is nothing like the Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer; this is the most seductive psychopath since Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

After being chased for almost ten years by "the Beauty Killer Task Force", Gretchen volunteers as a psychologist to help Archie and his task force to find the killer. A relationship that evolves from flirtatious to horrid, as Gretchen captivates and starts torturing Archie. However, on the brink of his death, Gretchen suddenly saves his life and turns herself in. No explanation given.

Two years later Heartsick presents an Archie Sheridan, addicted to pain killers and still obsessed with Gretchen in a painful and perverse Stockholm Syndrome kind of way. Both Sweetheart and Evil at Heart are two compulsive follow ups with the perfect blend of organ-ripping and blood-soaked gore written with an engaging voice and with a narrative style. So yeah, go buy it!