Book Review: The Night Season

Goodreads synopsis
With the Beauty Killer Gretchen Lowell locked away behind bars once again, Archie Sheridan—a Portland police detective and nearly one of her victims—can finally rest a little easier. Meanwhile, the rest of the city of Portland is in crisis. Heavy rains have flooded the Willamette River, and several people have drowned in the quickly rising waters. Or at least that’s what they thought until the medical examiner discovers that the latest victim didn’t drown: She was poisoned before she went into the water. Soon after, three of those drownings are also proven to be murders. Portland has a new serial killer on its hands, and Archie and his task force have a new case.

Reporter Susan Ward is chasing this story of a new serial killer with gusto, but she’s also got another lead to follow for an entirely separate mystery: The flooding has unearthed a skeleton, a man who might have died more than sixty years ago, the last time Portland flooded this badly, when the water washed away an entire neighborhood and killed at least fifteen people.

With Archie following the bizarre trail of evidence and evil deeds to catch a killer and possibly regain his life, and Susan Ward close behind, Chelsea Cain—one of today’s most talented suspense writers—launches the next installment of her bestselling series with an electric thriller.

This is the 4th book in Chelsea Cain's "Beauty Killer" series.  I've read all 4 now and I love them!  The first 3 (Heartsick, Sweetheart and Evil at Heart) are a lot more gruesome than this one (Gretchen Lowell tortures her victims), but The Night Season is still a fast-paced nail-biter with lots of twists and turns.  Chelsea Cain lives in Portland and does such a great job of describing the city, the Pacific Northwest in general, and makes it so easy to visualize her descriptions.

If I had read a print copy I would say it was a page-turner.  But I listened to the audiobook.  Regardless, I plowed through it quickly because I was enjoying it so much!  Incidentally, the woman who narrated the book sounds a lot like Kate Walsh from Private Practice....

I realized while listening that the characters in these books would make up a good TV show.  A traumatized detective, his loyal partner, a plucky reporter...with the back story of the detective's issues surrounding his fist big serial killer case still haunting him.  Good stuff!