Product Description

Customer Reviews (187)

A complex tale of murder and obsession
Heartsick is a riveting, exciting, and suspenseful book. If you like movies like Silence of the Lambs, I can almost guarantee you will like this book. Archie Sheridan is a good and dedicated cop. However, his life in shambles because he was tortured by the notorious Beauty Killer, Gretchen Lowell, and was forever changed by the experience. He pops pills and is pretty much obsessed with the woman who tortured him. A new serial killer, the After School Strangler, is on the loose, targeting young girls with the same features. Archie comes out of his retirement to lead the team to stop him. Can Archie pull it together to save the next girl from being a victim?

A relationship such as Gretchen Lowell and Archie Sheridan's has not been seen since Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling. Gretchen and Archie's relationship is intensified beyond the latter couple's because of the ten day torture he suffered at her hands. Archie is an honorable, but traumatized cop. He has a drug abuse problem, much like Dr. House. Because of his fixation on Gretchen and substance abuse, he has lost his family, his wife, his friends, and pretty much his whole life as he once knew it. Archie is a likable character, despite his many flaws, and you truly want him to figure out the case and detach himself from Gretchen.

Gretchen is a fascinating character. She is a very prolific serial killer. She is unpredictable in both her mood and action. She literally influences almost every aspect of the plot from her cell in jail. Even the third person narrative that oscillates between Archie and Susan, his shadow reporter, passes over Gretchen, enhancing her mystery. Every scene with her was enjoyable for me because I just didn't know what to expect from her, whether she would smile and be sweet or completely tear down a person and leave them a quivering mass of nerves.

Heartsick is a riveting tale, featuring a suspenseful plot, complex characters, and (of course) murder, using fluid and easy language. I can't recommend this book enough. Whenever I read it, I just can't put it down.

Love this series!
This whole series is really great!It was recommended to me by a friend who really enjoyed it.One word of warning...if you have a low tolerance for graphic descriptions of gore, then walk on by.

Great thriller that left me wanting more!!
It funny.This book kind of looks like it might be a romantic Nicholas Sparks type book.Well, its not.Serial killers, drug addicts, and more are what, I believe first-time novelist, Chelsea Cain gives readers.This book is filled with twists and tight dialogue in an interesting story telling manner that I don't know if I'd read before.I loved this book and can't wait to read the next book in the series.Great stuff!

Unrealistic and insensitive
When I read "one the most seductive and original psychopaths since Hannibal Lecter," I was hooked. I realized all too soon that although the idea of a brilliant female serial killer was original and could be executed quite well, Heartsick did not deliver. Not only was the relationship between Det. Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell completely unrealistic and unbelievably sick, the character of Gretchen Lowell was not grounded enough in reality to spark any amount of fear or real reaction to her. The other unsettling aspect of this series of novels is the apparent fan following and idolization of Gretchen Lowell. She becomes a serial killer celeb. As interesting as psychopathic characters are, it is impossible to ignore the fact that there are real killers out there and to take the focus off of the victims of these criminals and put a spotlight on the personality of a monster is completely wrong and insensitive. While there is nothing wrong with having a serial killer as the subject of a book, it is critical to make the statement that no matter how charming or intelligent they seem, the crimes they commit cause such pain and heartache to those who are tainted by their evil. Dr. Hannibal Lecter has become a cult icon, but not a hero. We are always reminded of the danger and deviance he represents. Gretchen Lowell is put on a pedestal and treated as a sort of "Serial Killer of the Year" which proves to make her character flat and too unbelievable to be entertaining. If you are looking for real stimulating literature involving psychopaths that are handled with care and real mastery of the craft of psychological thriller writing, I suggest referring to the master, Thomas Harris as well as authors John Connolly and Ted Dekker.

A Real Different Page Turner
If you liked Hannibal you'll love this serial killer.Chelsea Cain has come up with something different---a real page turner.A must read for anyone who enjoys a thriller/murder mystery. ... Read more

Product Description
Her future, and the lives of her young siblings, is inthe hands of a fancy “Englischer” from Portland...Sarah Cain.

Lydia Cottrell, eldest of five Amish orphans, made a promise to herdying mother to “keep the family together.” But soon shediscovers that guardianship has been granted to a virtualstranger—a well-to-do aunt from Portland, Oregon, who cares littlefor Mamma’s last wish. Lydia’s struggle to keep the promise maycost her the loss of “the sweetest, kindest, and most handsomePlain boy in all of Lancaster County”—Levi King.

A thoroughly modern young woman, Sarah Cain had ridiculed hersister’s choice of a Plain life-style, which served only tointensify the lifelong rift between them. Now, twelve years later,Sarah is stunned by news of her sister’s death and baffled by Ivy'schoice of a guardian. How can Sarah sacrifice her successful careerand a life she enjoys to raise five Amish orphans? And what of BryanFord, the man in her life?

Upon her arrival in Lancaster County, Sarah holds a grief all herown—one very different from the suffering of her nieces andnephews. Can the sorrow that divides them ultimately unite the newfamily? Will Sarah discover that Lancaster County's Amish community is ... Read more

Customer Reviews (28)

Okay, but not like the movie
The book was very good, but not like the movie version.I think I liked the book version better, but guess Hollywood had a better idea.

The Redemption of Sarah Cain
Beverly Lewis has an amazing gift writing about the Amish. The Redemption of Sarah Cain was wonderful and I will read it again. The descriptions made you feel like you were watching real life events. I would have liked for Sarah to have stayed with the children in their home when she married Bryan. Miriam just didn't seem like the appropriate person for the children. I realize it was probably best for them to stay with an Amish person. Loved the book.I always enjoy her books.

Pretty Good
This book was pretty good but definitely not one of her best.I did enjoy reading it but it did take me a while to get into.While at first Sarah was extremely unlikable the reason behind it all made sense and reading the transformation was wonderful.The ending was predictable but a good one.

MISTY EYES
you know when i read any of beverly lewis'amish books i cry with great compassion, envy and love for all the characters. i can't stop reading these fantastic love stories.i only wish it were me in the stories.my horse ferrier is amish and i share much of what i read with him and he does verify what really happens in the amish world. i have the best of both worlds, my amish ferrier and beverly lewis.
thank you so much for these stories.
roxanne kuehling

Book and movie of this Beverly Lewis title are both excellent.
When Sarah's sister dies she leaves her Old Order Amish children to Sarah who is a big city reporter/writer. Talk about culture shock.

The children are so precious and you cry a lot with them. They have a very hard time adjusting to city life and so want to go home.

Sarah learns a lot about love and herself. I will not spoil the book/movie for you. Also the movie soundtrack is also excellent and great music to fall asleep by.

Highly recommend all three items. The movie and soundtrack are called the Saving of Sarah Cain.

Highly recommend this read. ... Read more

Product Description
As director of the Port Frederick Civic Foundation, Jenny Cain is privy to the charitable intentions of the town's wealthiest citizens. And when some of these donors end up murdered, Jenny Cain must find the killer--especially since a rhyme placed at the crime scene states that Jenny will be the next victim. Reissue. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

What happened to Jenny?
I , like another reader who has made a review, have been forced to reread the Jenny Cain books. I always enjoyed them and I have wondered why Ms. Pickard stopped writing them. Is there any hope that we might get a new one?

Jenny Cain is not a Gumshoe
I picked up this book, the first of the "Jenny Cain" mysteries, to see if I would enjoy the series expecting a story about an ametuer gumshoe.Jenny Cain is not Nancy Drew by any stretch and I was shocked at who the killer turned out to be, not because I hadn't suspected the person but because the person was an undeveloped character and hadn't been introduced anywhere near the beginning of the book.The story was slow to the point, little action until the end, and the make shift love scenes and family squalls were suffocating.

Jenny Cain
Unfortunately, I had read ALL of Nancy Pickards books before I even got to this first one!How I missed it I'll never know.It sets the story line for the books that follow and filled me in on quite a few gaps I previously missed.Fast flowing and smooth, but you can tell also how much she has progressed as a writer.This is not her best but it is up there with the others in the suspense department. I wish I knew why she hasn't written anymore books.....maybe someone can inform us?

The first in a great series...
Nancy Pickard hasn't written a Jenny Cain novel in a long time, so I was "forced" to start re-reading the series to get my fix. I started at the beginning, with Generous Death.I'd forgotten just how much I like this series, and this book.Ms. Pickard did a great job introducing the characters without overwhelming with too much wordy detail.I found myself rooting for Jenny, but also caring about what happened to the rest of the characters as well.The mystery itself is not heavy but there's still a lot of suspense and danger.And yes, there is a relationship in this story, but it's not overdone and does a lot to advance the story while giving insight into the characters.

Ms. Pickard followed in the footsteps of trail-blazers like Marcia Muller and Sara Paretsky with this series, which features a first person female protagonist who loves men but doesn't need one to be happy.If you like those authors, you should definitely give the Jenny Cain series a try.But I would encourage anyone who likes mysteries to add Nancy Pickard to the list of authors you read.

Intresting debut of the long running Jenny Cain series
Having read a couple of the Jenny Cain series at random, it was fun to finally read the book that set up the series.Indeed, I found myself liking Jenny a good deal more in this book than in some of the others.She displays a charming dry wit that I really enjoyed.

This book sets up the earmarks of the series.For me, a westerner, the clearest distinction is the strong sense of New England that permeates this book and series.Not that it is a foreign country, but certainly it is its own place.It's also fun to get insights on how foundations work -- a setting I haven't seen in other books.

Bottom line -- a debut book that is a good read in its own right. ... Read more

Product Description
Award-winning author Nancy Pickard has been receiving high acclaim for her mystery series starring sleuth Jenny Cain. This time Cain finds herself following the trail of a possible paranoid schizophrenic slasher--only to uncover clues that put her squarely in the sights of a cold-blooded murderer! "An outstanding mystery series that just keeps getting better".--ALA Booklist. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

a social services-oriented mystery
What I like about Nancy Pickard is that she writes more than a mystery.She does a nice job here with the social services world.It is the balance between that world and the "crime fiction" that I was expecting that drew me in.She does a great job with settings -- most commonly in the few Jenny Cain books I've read, with the cold, dreary New England winters. She handles issues of mental illness in an adept and realistic fashion, without getting too heavy or losing the pacing that a mystery should hvae.

A decent little mystery
This novel is set in small-town New England and features Jenny Cain, the woman in charge of the areas philanthropical foundation (very much like Indianapolis' Lilly Foundation) that makes investments and gives grants for the public good. The foundation is asked to buy a building so that it can be converted into a recreation/meeting hall for the mentally ill of the community - a place where they can get out of the cold and still be welcome. But, things quickly get complicated when people start dying in and around the building and a mentally ill man is the main suspect.

The characters are believable, the book is well-paced and the killer is a surprise (I thought I had it figured out for about half the book, but ... I was wrong).

Shallow story and insipid prose make a classic mediocrity.
I do not like light-weight "mysteries" or suspense stories, of which this novel is a paradigm. The protagonist tries to be witty, in a kind of purified, decadent French way, but she still sounds like a hick from upstate New York. Her relationship with her lazy employee (Derek) would only work if she had a good, meaty affair with him. The story pooh-poohs the presence of a recreation hall for seriously ill men and women.Only a fool would not object to a facility that is designed for failure: the mentally ill will be allowed to wander in and out of this playground. The plot moves along "smoothly" with no edge, no suspense, leaving the reader numbed from its extreme dullness.

Interesting, but a little chaotic
While the writing style was good and the plot was interesting, it was easyto imagine that this book had been written just a little too quickly. I wassuprised by some of the plot holes and obviousnesses given the general highquality of the writing. ... Read more

Product Description
Someone is sabotaging the Liberty Harbor Restoration--first with fire, then with murder. As director of the town's Civic Foundation, Jenny Cain should have been glad when the police made an arrest. Unfortunately, it was the one person she believed innocent!. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not as good as some...
I have to confess... to disappointment in this case.Of the half dozen orso Nancy Pickard/Jenny Cain mysteries I've devoured, this was definitely myleast favorite.(For what it's worth, I.O.U. is at the top of my list!) It's hard to say what about the book didn't set well with me.Thecharacters involved in the waterfront development project were simplydifficult to like, difficult to become invested in.Nancy Pickard'scharacter development is always good; unfortunately, that talent didn'tserve me well in this particular case.I did like the conclusion of thetale, just didn't enjoy the journey as much as in the other Jenny Cainbooks. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

What happened to the Corpse?
Nancy Pickard's 3rd mystery in the Jenny Cain series, NO BODY is a puzzle within a puzzle, which will have you guessing in this well plotted who-done-it.
Jenny discovers that all the graves in the historic community cemetery who someone falls into an empty grave. But who killed an employee of the local funeral home and staged a joke with the body? Jenny must find a killer before she ends up planted in her own cemetery.
Nash Black, author of QUALIFYING LAPS.

Great mystery!
This is a great mystery that will leave you puzzling over murders as well as hundred-year-old missing corpses. So many clues leave you guessing and then surprized in the end! I highly recommend this as well as all the JennyCain mysteries!!!

Not bad.
I actually liked this book better than Nancy Pickard's book "Bum Steer". The plot doesn't really lead the reader to a point where you can solve the mystery. I actually thought I had solved it twice. But it ispretty interesting anyway, although almost impossible to solve based on theclues. It also contains some bad language so sensitive readers beware. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

An entertaining political novel
Although the story line of this book is Pres. Harding's administration in the early 1920s, there is a relevance to today's presidential political scene. For example, Harding engaged in illicit sexual affairs which the author exemplifies by Harding's "jollying" of a young women in a White House broom closet.Pres. Clinton did his in the oval office.Also Harding was not one of this nation's most intelligent presidents. And in the current presidential election there is a question about the intelligence of one of the candidates.The author chose a real person,H. L. Mencken to conduct a fictionalized investigation of the corruption in Harding's administraion. The author also tries to depict Mencken as herevealed himself in his writings and as he was depicted in his biographies. Mencken, perhaps the nation's most famous iconoclast who had an opinion on everything in American society, relishes his role in this book of observing and commenting on the morons and clowns in Harding's administration known as the "Ohio Gang" who Harding brought with him to Washington.They are also real people who appear in the book.Harding's attorney general was tried twice for his misdeeds.His secretary of the interior and his director of the the Veterans Bureau were imprisoned.Mencken is paired with another real person, James Cain, who is best know for his hard-boiled crime fiction. This duo takes the reader on an entertaining tour of Harding's corrupt Washington.And along the way readers will meet such literary notables as Henry Luce and Sinclair Lewis.There is also a fictionalized sexual affair by Cain and a real woman who was the darling of the Washington press corp when she testified in real life against Harding's attorney general at a senate hearing. The entertaining part of this novel are Mencken's conversatins which permeate the book ... Read more