When the body of a young woman is discovered in Portland’s Forest Park, Archie is reminded of the last time they found a body there: it turned out to be the Beauty Killer’s first victim, and Archie’s first case. This body can’t be one of Gretchen’s—she’s in prison—but after reporter Susan Ward helps uncovers the dead woman’s identity, it turns into another big case. Trouble is, Archie can’t focus on the new investigation because the Beauty Killer case has exploded: Gretchen Lowell has escaped from prison.

Chelsea Cain lived the first few years of her life on an Iowa commune, then grew up in Bellingham, WA, where the infamous Green River killer was "the boogieman" of her youth. The true story of the Green River killer's capture was the inspiration for the story of Gretchen and Archie. She started writing Heartsick to kill time while she was pregnant. The author of a weekly column in The Oregonian, Cain lives in Portland with her husband and daughter.