Gretchen is back. She confesses to an almost twenty year old murder, which leads Archie on a collision course with Gretchen’s past. Also, there are people being skinned and set on fire in Portland, Oregon. But what else is new, right? Seriously. Portland = Very Dangerous. (This book is for all the people who love Gretchen.)
Nothing makes Portland detective Archie Sheridan happier than knowing that Beauty Killer Gretchen Lowell is locked away in a psych ward. Archie can finally heal from the near-fatal physical and emotional wounds she's inflicted on him and start moving on with his life. Or can he? His latest case, involving a man who was mutilated and murdered in a public park in broad daylight, bears the stamp of an expert killer…and before long, Archie gets a message from Gretchen, who makes him an offer he can't refuse.
Gretchen claims to have inside knowledge about the grisly Mount Tabor Park murder―and Archie can't risk losing his only lead in the case. At least, that's what he tells himself after he agrees to visit Gretchen…But the ties between Archie and Gretchen have always been stronger, deeper, and more complex than he's willing to admit, even to himself. What game is Gretchen playing this time? And even more frightening, what long-hidden secrets from her past have been dredged up that someone would kill to protect?