BOOKLIST (starred review), by Bill Ott

It figures that nonpareil serial killer Gretchen Lowell, on the loose since Kill You Twice (2012), would pick Halloween for a return trip to Portland, Oregon. After all, with all those revelers adorned in Beauty Killer masks, blond wigs, and red lipstick, no one will be able to tell the real Gretchen from the imitations. Except police detective Archie Sheridan, of course, on whose battered body Gretchen has done some of her best work, and who still can’t get Gretchen out of both his nightmares and sexual fantasies. But Archie has a lot on his mind. A DEA agent has been murdered, and it looks like the long-running sting operation aimed at a local drug lord may be in jeopardy. Hoping to learn more, Archie crashes the drug lord’s Halloween costume party, where he gets a late-night visit from Gretchen (or was that part just a fantasy?). Slowly Archie realizes that Gretchen has been stage-managing much of his recent life from afar, all leading up to a series of birthday surprises that put Archie’s pal, punky reporter Susan Ward, in grave danger. But here’s the thing: Cain knows she needs to keep playing with the dynamic between Gretchen and Archie—and even with our view of Gretchen—if this series is going to stay both fresh and exciting, and she always finds new ways to do it. Gretchen Lowell isn’t just the most fascinating villain (and certainly the most appealing serial killer) to appear in crime fiction in many, many years; she’s also becoming a multifaceted character capable of engendering a much wider range of emotions than one would expect of somebody who enjoys carving up spleens.

HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Cain’s previous Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell thrillers have routinely appeared on the New York Times bestseller lists, and the legion of fans who can’t get enough of the Beauty Killer will be lining up for more.

— Bill Ott

This may be the best thriller set in a flooding city since Donna Leon’s Acqua Alta (1996).

--Booklist (STARRED review)

VERDICT Perfect for readers who want to mix true crime history with their contemporary serial killers, as in Lisa Black’s Trail of Blood or Michael Harvey’s The Third Rail. The pace is as relentless as the floodwaters engulfing Portland.

--Library Journal

Cain easily weaves the history of the real-life Vanport flood with her trademark heart-stopping moments, and fans will be pleased to see the series flourishing without Gretchen on every page.

--Publishers Weekly

A strong and satisfying, if less extreme, outing from the new queen of serial-killer fiction.

--Kirkus Reviews

“Popular entertainment — the kind that mixes crime, horror, and even a little comedy — just doesn’t get much better than this.” 
--Booklist (STARRED review)

"Cain delivers her usual blend of organ-ripping, blood-soaked gore and compelling flawed heroes—and antiheroes."
--Publishers Weekly

"Fast-paced and very creepy, Evil at Heart is a compulsive thriller read. You won't be able to put it down, and once you do, you won't want to turn off the lights!"
--The Crime Scene, Borders

"Author Chelsea Cain wields her sharp prose with a calculated cool that would make her great creation beam with pride...This is a terrific book...It's horrid, and anything but horrible."
--The Courier Journal

"Steamy and perverse."
--The New York Times Book Review

"This is one of the best series in the contemporary thriller genre."
--USA Today

"In her dynamite first thriller, Cain introduces one of the most seductive and original psychopaths since Hannibal Lecter." 
--Entertainment Weekly

"Every one of the 19 brief chapters is absolutely hysterical."
--Ink19

Recommended gift for Father’s Day
--People Magazine

"[A] loving parody… breezy fun with a heart of gold."
--The Onion

"Chelsea Cain's gleeful parody affectionately hits all the formulaic high points of a Nancy Drew mystery." 
--The New York Times Book Review

”A wonderful send-up of the Nancy Drew novels… tremendously entertaining reading.”
--Nancy Pearl, author of Book Lust