Review of " Let Me Go" [57]

Let Me Go (Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell) by Chelsea Cain
Minotaur Books, ISBN 978-0312619817
August 13, 2013, 368 pages

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"Detective Archie Sheridan just has to get through the next few days, then his birthday and Halloween will be over. But with escaped serial killer Gretchen Lowell on the loose, the investigation into the murder of a DEA agent demanding his attention, and journalist Susan Ward showing up at his apartment needing a favor, it’s going to be a long weekend.

Soon Archie finds himself crashing a masked ball on a private island owned by Jack Reynolds, a notorious local drug kingpin. By morning, Archie is back on pain killers, a guest is dead and Archie quickly realizes that little is what it seems. One thing is clear: Gretchen is back, and Archie’s nemesis and sometimes lover has something special in mind for the birthday boy, something she’s been planning for a long, long time."

Have you read the other 5 books in the Gretchen Lowell/Archie Sheridan series?
Well, if you like creepy..think a female Hannibal Lecter maybe...well written, great characters, this is a great series and this is a worthy addition to the group.
Yes, once again Gretchen is on the loose, a few dead bodies in her wake, and the strange relationship between her and Archie continues. For me, this is the key to this series. She is evil, beautiful and smart and even funny. And evil. And even though in an earlier book Archie was one of her victim and still suffers from results of the terrible torture she subjected him to, they have a connection that is hard to explain. Yet oddly believable.
Well, she did leave him a great, cute dog at least last time. I love a great dog character!

This time the odd relationship continues, as does Archie on again/off again friendship/maybe more with the quirky reporter Susan Ward. Talk about the anti-Gretchen. Yet when Archie's life is in danger, both of his 'girls' will be looking to help him out, each in their own way.
Archie is still battling his demons, including one bad addiction to pain killers, but happily he has his act a bit more in order than when last we saw him. Flawed enough, but at least able to work.

This is a series that should be read in order. These relationships have developed through each book and you really need to understand that to appreciate the relationships. I will say this one is not the most creepy of the group. And maybe not the best. That goes to the book in which Archie is tortured. And the ending in this one did stretch believability a bit too much. Gretchen is on the verge of turning into an evil Super Hero, able to leap all building...you get the idea.
I will also warn you that there are a few sex scenes that could best be described as kinky and a good deal of bloody violence.
But for fans of the series this is a must read.

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My thanks to the publisher and Amazon Vine for providing a review copy.

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