Slow to start, but then all of a sudden I got swept up in the story. As I read, I noticed that Cain was writing a lot more "funny" than her last two books. Of course, this book is not about the Beauty Killer, but Susan and Archie get in some really good lines, and even the narration is laugh-out-loud in spots. Despite the dark subject, there was a definitely different approach taken by Cain this time. What a great writer she is. ( )

The fourth installment of the Gretchen Lowell series was a pretty good read even though Gretchen only had a small blurp in the book.

Archie, Henry, and Susan have some other fish to fry as they are bogged down with bodies that at first seem to be drowning accidents, but they soon find out that there is a killer on the loose.

The closer they seem to be finding out who it is, the further away the killer seems to be. As they race toward tracking the killer down, they each experience life threatening situations in the process.

I love how there is so much closeness between all the characters of the book as the series continues. The friendship between Archie and Susan has grown immeasurably along with the other characters of the Beauty Killer team. Looking forward to reading the 5th book in the series. Giving this one four stars.
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This title has absolutely nothing to do with the content. If it did, it would have the word "flood" in it. I opened up my copy, not knowing what to expect. I read the flap twice and realized I have DNF'ed every book in this series, but I can never remember why, only how irritated I am when I set the book down. The author writes a great premise and knows how to set things up--characters, setting--but somehow once the story starts, my interest falls apart. Not entirely this time: somehow, I stuck it through. When I saw this was a police procedural set in Portland, Oregon, I got so excited. When someone mentioned the word textrodoxyn, the spelling of which I am sure I unintentionally mangled, I had to refrain from shouting, "Ooh! Bee venom! Let's do this, book version of 'Grimm'!" Yeah, no, hugely disappointed that this book is the furthest thing from that. This was like a really boring "Criminal Minds" episode, complete with a serial killer who uses unusual methods and has weird hangups due to family misfortunes and tragedies from fifty years ago, ten years before he was even born. Reviewers and other critics sometimes indicate they think a non-character is practically a character in a book. The weather, a house in a haunted house mystery. I've always thought that was such a weird opinion to have, but now that I've read this book, I get it. The river, the flooding, the rain, the storming were all way, way more interesting than anything else going on in the novel. I was entranced by how the author writes weather and natural disasters, and my boredom stupor shook itself off anytime they showed up on the page. The story is a pleasant, if boring, enough way to pass time. The author cares a lot about connections her characters have to each other and with others, which can be a really nice read. Ultimately, this series clearly wasn't my thing. ( )

I didn't know how Cain was going to pull off another book in this series without the underlying "Beauty Killer" plot, but she did it. I find her writing so crisp and funny, and the mystery in this one was really compelling. I was way less gory than the previous entries. She also weaves in some Portland history. I don't think this should be called the Gretchen Lowell series, anymore. How about the Susan Ward series? ( )

OH ARCHIE. OH SUSAN! a Gretchen Lowell book without Gretchen Lowell is SURPRISINGLY AWESOME. ( )