Constantly Moving the Bookmark

We revisit with Archie, Gretchen and the gang once more in this sixth installment of the series. Gretchen is still on the run after escaping from the psychiatric facility and manages to insert herself into Archie’s latest case. For Archie, investigating a drug kingpin is certainly not part of his recovery and he, somewhat predictably, lapses in his own narcotic rehab.

Despite that fact it has Hallowe’en and Archie’s birthday as main events, I didn’t find anything to celebrate about this book. With this installment I feel that Ms. Cain has run out of steam. When the series first started I found Gretchen Lowell shocking as a female serial killer who could put Hannibal Lector to shame. Susan was a quirky and fun, a bit of color in the drab world of police blue. Archie as the troubled abused and ineffective cop was a nice change from the go-get-‘em super cops in many other books. Now I am finding the characters tired and frequently annoying. Personally, I feel it’s time to end Gretchen’s reign of terror, give Susan and Archie a happily ever after ending and call it quits on the Beauty Killer series.