Book Review: Frozen Heat

Book: Frozen Heat (Nikki Heat book #4) by Richard Castle

Cover Art by American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.

Edition: Paperback

Description:

NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat arrives at her latest crime scene to find an unidentified woman stabbed to death and stuffed inside a suitcase left on a Manhattan street. Nikki is in for a big shock when this new homicide connects to the unsolved murder of her own mother. Paired once again with her romantic and investigative partner, top journalist Jameson Rook, Heat works to solve the mystery of the body in the suitcase while she is forced to confront unexplored areas of her mother's background.

Facing relentless danger as someone targets her for the next kill, Nikki's search will unearth painful family truths, expose a startling hidden life, and cause Nikki to reexamine her own past. Heat's passionate quest takes her and Rook from the back alleys of Manhattan to the avenues of Paris, trying to catch a ruthless killer. The question is, now that her mother's cold case has unexpectedly thawed, will Nikki Heat finally be able to solve the dark mystery that has been her demon for ten years?




Rating: 5 stars

Review:

In Frozen Heat, a murder investigation finds NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat connected to the cold case murder of her mother Cynthia Heat. When the body of a woman was found in a suitcase in a delivery freezer truck, Detective Heat and her team which includes Detectives Miguel Ochoa and Sean Raley were on the case. Along for the investigation is Nikki's boyfriend, journalist Jameson Rook who provides his unique insight and out the box thinking that tends to annoy Heat but usually leads to some unexpected clues.

This investigation was tough because the initial few clues the detectives had were leading to dead ends. However, the connection to the murder victim to Nikki's mother's case was beginning to grow and it was leading them into very dangerous circles. The case was becoming more than a simple murder but something much more complicated including Detective Heat being targeted by killers the more the case moved along. It was also making Nikki dredge up old memories about her mother and questioning whether she truly knew her at all.

Frozen Heat is a fast-paced and exciting story that has plenty of drama, thrills, humor and unexpected twists along with a little romance. Throughout this mystery there are clues being uncovered from New York City to Paris, France with Detective Heat, Rook and the other detectives trying to solve not one but multiple murders as their investigation furthered. This investigation struck upon several emotional moments for Nikki who had been dealing with the murder of mother for years and finally getting close to possibly solving it was having her take a look at her own life along with her mother's.

Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook continue to have amazing chemistry, from them working together trying to bounce clues and theories off each to solving the case to their romantic relationship deepening and becoming more real. Even if they fight about something, they eventually figure out a way to work it out. I've always wondered who wrote these Richard Castle books because whoever the author is knows how to craft interesting mysteries that are incorporated with perfectly blended drama, humor, suspense and action packed scenes.