Before I get to reviewing the book “Heartsick, ” lets talk about the “twist” or “surprise ending” for a minute, you know, the technique that makes or breaks a good thriller, mystery or even sometimes horror novel. Now allow me to use movies as examples, and not other novels, because it is the HYB way. Our “readers” probably don’t read that much even though we encourage them to do so. We just understand movies a little more.

So and So’s U-TURN sucked because it had too many “twists” the kind that make you roll your eyes and wish the friggen’ thing would just end already.

M. Knight is a one trick pony. He has hung his hat on the “surprise ending,” so you always know it is coming and just don’t care anymore.

Those are just two examples of the “twist ending” done wrong.

Thrillers rely and survive on keeping you on your toes. If well done, it is what sets apart the crap from the gold. It does not need to be complicated; it just has to work. It doesn’t even really need to surprise you (if you are over the age of 15 you should really be over the notion that anything will ever shock you again). Some adults are still proud of the fact that they figured out the ending of a film or book in advance, but it really doesn’t make you smarter, trust me. The truly smart person just enjoys the ride and is happy that the entire thing didn’t go to shit at the end because of some unnecessary “twist,” as in the case of films like “High Tension.”

Some of you may believe I am stating the obvious, and maybe I am, but my point is that the novel Heartsick does what is supposed to do and does it well. It does not fall into the traps that other thriller stories sometimes do. It is just entertaining and paced well enough to allow you to get comfortable and “enjoy the ride” without trying too hard to trip you up. While it may not be the most original or groundbreaking tale, god knows I have sat through a lot worst.

Heartsick revolves around not one, but two, serial killers. The first being Gretchen Lowell who ten years prior tortured detective Archie Sheridan, head of the “Beauty Killer Task Force,” before mysteriously changing her mind about killing him and saving his life. Locked away for the rest of her days, Gretchen still holds a strange grip over Archie while he tries to catch a new serial killer who has been dubbed “The After School Killer.” Meanwhile Archie allows Susan Ward, a young reporter, to start profiling him as his new task force sets out to solve the current killings, which opens up a deadly game of manipulation between Gretchen, Archie, the killer and Susan. But who is manipulating who?

Gretchen Lowell had the opportunity to be the next interesting serial killer, but kind of falls short. There is only one scene that involved the removing of some intestines that made me cringe, but for the most part the character of Gretchen did not have the balls that she needed to be interesting enough to make Heartsick something to rave about. “The After School Killer” was as lame as his name, only raping and killing sophomore girls and nothing more creative than that. A sympathetic killer who offs his victims because he felt bad about molesting them is nothing really twisted enough to make you care. It is almost like serial killer-lite, or a Lifetime movie for the squeamish.

Heartsick is one of those books you could take or leave, something you could read in two days or forget about on the bathroom floor because you got sidetracked by the new issue of In Touch magazine. Like I already stated, it does not leave you disappointed but it also did not make me rise up and cheer.

The best thing I can pull from my limited vocabulary to describe it is well done, which I already think I used. It is rainy day book, the kind that you read because there is nothing better to do, but it doesn’t make you decide to do those dishes you have been putting off halfway through. I applaud Chelsea Cain for not tarnishing it with some lame over the top ending, but she needs to let go a little more if she wants to impress anyone who has read more than one serial killer book. Don’t hang your hat on the twist; it is just not enough.