Famously kidnapped at age six, Kick captured America’s hearts when she was rescued five years later. Trained as a marksman, lock picker, escape artist and bomb maker by her abductor, Kick continues to expand her strange skill set after her release: mastering martial arts, boxing, knife throwing, and host of other talents. 

She has trained herself to be safe. Now twenty-one, she is approached by an enigmatic and wealthy former weapons dealer named John Bishop. Bishop uses his fortune and contacts to track down missing children. He wants Kick to help him—and he won’t take no for an answer.

With lives hanging in the balance, Kick is set to be the crusader she has always imagined herself. Little does she know that the answers she and Bishop seek are hidden in one of the few places she doesn’t want to navigate—the dark corners of her own mind.

Audiobooks:

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

Masterful on every level.

--Booklist (STARRED review)

Utterly engrossing.

--Publisher’s Weekly (STARRED review)

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

Audiobooks:

“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