Jenn's Review: Frozen Heat

Summary:  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?

Review:  I normally would save Frozen Heat for next summer when Castle is on hiatus, but the cliff hanger in Heat Rises was too compelling. Frozen Heat is the tale of Detective Heat's mother's murder and it's far more sensational than the story of Kate Beckett's mother's murder; it's very Richard Castle ~and I loved it.

I love the relationship between Rook and Heat, and I think it's affecting the way I view Castle's relationship with Beckett... Rook and Heat are so easy together and I find myself wishing that Castle and Beckett were 'there'. The literary version does solve cases in tandem just as fabulously as the television version though and it makes for a great read.

Nikki has a wall that is not ready to come down, but this case keeps putting cracks in it.  Rook keeps pushing her to dig into her mother's past.  I have a feeling this story line runs a little closer to Castle's father than it does Beckett's mother.  The case was fascinating and I was completely unable to solve it.  That's saying something.  There were surprises around every corner and I love how Rook stood with Heat through it all, even when he wasn't sure he should.

The writing team threw in another cliff hanger here, but release dates will force me to wait for the next Nikki Heat novel.  I've said it before, if you are a Castle fan, this is a must read, if not, you might just like them anyway.

Final Take:  5/5