Frozen Heat (A Castle Book)

After a few minutes of thought, there seems to be nothing to dislike about Nikki Heat novels. OK, maybe some minor personal preferences, but those are not really relevant. I do experience frustration that the actual author is kept a secret. I love 'Castle' as a show and as a character. Nathan Fillion portrays him with endlessly entertaining wit and sensitivity. That doesn't make it easy to be in the dark about who is the actual Nikki Heat author. Each of the four novels to date has done the characters justice, kept the plots fresh and sprung some interesting twists. I love that Nikki Heat is not just beautiful and smart and strong. She keeps up her personal combat training (which not all fictional heroes do), has personal lapses in judgment, allows Rook to break her walls now and then, and even cracks some jokes. Stana Katic is a most excellent choice to portray Kate Beckett, on whom the Nikki Heat character is based in the 'Castle' TV series. Both of her are a pleasure to follow. My personal favorite moments are her cunning skin-of-the-teeth escapes, fights and chases. Frozen Heat follows a murder case that starts with a frozen body discovered in a refrigerated food delivery truck. The case almost immediately begins to expand, twist and take on a life of its own. Of course there is the obligatory path that follows Cynthia Heat's murder case from 10 years before. This installment finally gives us more information about that. The bottom line is that I spent a few precious hours of my life reading this book, and I'm VERY glad I did. If you like the genre, or even if you don't, Nikki Heat is a detective worth reading. Try it! You'll like it!!! ABOUT KINDLE FORMAT I love to read books in the Kindle format. It is easy to use and extremely convenient! Best to make sure you have access to a wireless internet connection, though. My Kindle Fire was stolen, but I can still read the books on my smart phone or my PC. ***Jan 2013 Update*** Insurance has replaced my stolen Kindle Fire, and now it's HD! I have also acquired a small Paperwhite to carry in my purse. I LOVE them both! I carry the Paperwhite with me at all times. When I get stuck in a long line or have to wait for a ride, VOILA! Reading entertainment! The Paperwhite's backlighting is perfectly sufficient if I happen to be in a holding pattern in a dark place, like a nighttime airport curb or outside a movie theater. It's very quick and easy to adjust the backlight brightness and uses much less power than the HD. I can also watch movies or play games, but I love to read, so it's usually my first "Unexpectedly Killing Time" choice. I enjoy reading the Fire HD at home in the evenings. It's brilliant and hi-res screen is a delight to read. I usually read in the dark and turn the brilliance fairly low to conserve power. Have to admit, though, I play more games on the HD. Love the color!!! I appreciate not having to make room for more books on the shelf (as I don't have much shelf). I also love that there are books I can get for free from Kindle. These books hold me over while I am waiting for my next chance to purchase a book. The free books are mostly classics (Tom Sawyer, John Carter of Mars series, The Scarlet Letter, Little Women, lots of Shakespeare, Poe, Mark Twain and Edgar Rice Burroughs) and non-fiction books (Basic Soap Making; Learn Spanish [I still haven't]; At the Table with the Lord - Foods of the First Century). In short, this is a most convenient way to always have an entire library at your fingertips! Look into it if you haven't already. If you love to read, this may improve your quality of life, unless you're one of those "I-have-to-feel-the-pages-in-my-hands" people. I have to grant anyone their preferences, but if you lean toward the more practical, Kindle format will be excellent for you!

I picked this one up, being a big fan of the Castle series as well as Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic, as well as to drown out the silence on my son's first day of preschool. I really couldn't put it down! The first 3 books in the series were quite good, and improves on rereads, which is difficult for a murder mystery novel. After all, if you already knew whodunit, what's the sense of reading again? The sense is the characters are rich and the action is brilliant. I absolutely love Castle mainly for Detective Beckett, who is a wonderful, meaty character, and the novels increasingly capture it. Sure, there's dumb jokes and more than my fair share of cliches, but it kind of blends into the environment, and that they probably would be saying all those cliches if this were real life. One of the beefs I have with this novel though (and consequently the removing of a star) is that Nikki Heat does something really stupid which hurts Rook and turns out badly for her. (Trying not to give spoilers). She takes offense at something stupid and just does something stupid in return. It seemed like a setup for some sort of crazy turmoil in their relationship or her sense of well being, and after its all said and done, it barely makes an impact in her life or their relationship. If a guy pulled a similar stunt on me then acted the way she did afterwards (before they 'made up'), I probably would walk away, no matter how much I cared. Seriously, it wasn't like super-huge-bad, but some major red flags would be up and I would have serious trust issues afterwards. And then it didn't matter, and they just moved on? Really hard to choke down that one. It was not cool! The twists are really clever (while still being believable!) and the action is really fun and exciting. Everything else in the novel is superb. The excessive cop-lingo (and acronyms) that makes you feel like you're in a foreign country is quite toned down since the first novel, which is a big relief. I'll definitely go back and read it again, enjoying all the little nuances I missed the first time. Sure, there's a few things that you're like, "Why didn't she chase that particular lead down?" or, "Why doesn't she look there?" Or "She's walking into a trap! Wait for backup!" But you'll get that with almost every mystery novel or movie. (I think the trick is to not say it out loud when you're in the movie theater. ;) And don't forget the serious cliffhanger. I got to the end and I was like, "Where's the rest?" It seemed like there should be another chapter or two. If cliffhangers bug you, wait until the next one is out and read them together. I certainly felt brought-up-short. I know at least one reviewer before wrote that it was "kind of a cliffhanger." No, its a serious, full-stop, mid-thought kind of cliffhanger. Not quite as bad as leaving off a person screaming in terror, but similar. Now we get to wait a whole year for the next part, oh goody. -.- Anyway, have a lovely time reading this book. Definitely start with the rest of the series if you haven't read them yet, there's old characters to swim with along with new. (And watching the series does not count.) Also, if you like period mysteries, check out the Lady Julia Grey series by Deanna Raybourn. I don't think that one is quite popular enough for how good it is. :) Enjoy!

Frozen Heat continues on with the story of Nikki Heat and her sidekick writer, Rook. As we pick up the story we are drawn into a new murder, a frozen woman found in a suitcase in a delivery truck. But what we come to find out quickly is that while this might be a new murder case it plays right back into a cold case, the murder of Nikki Heat's mother. If you are a fan of the TV series, Castle, you will not have any trouble falling into the flow of the story. It's a quick read, a fast paced murder mystery that will jump from the streets of New York to the streets of Paris and back again. It will involved not just the NYPD but also Homeland Security and the CIA. As the story unfolds there become more and more of the alphabet soup groups getting in on the action. Do they belong as part of the action or not? The story develops are characters even more than before, builds on the past but gives us some new insights. You will be drawn in to the life of Nikki's mother like never before. We will learn things about her that Nikki herself did not know until now. This will shed light on much of the past, but will also bring confusion on the present. Is Nikki's mom a hero or a villain? Was her murder random or deliberately planned? Is her murder really connected to the frozen woman in the suitcase or not? If you enjoy the TV show and you enjoy police novels you will love this book. It's a quick easy read and will leave you wanting more, so, I imagine that more will be coming later. Enjoy!

the book is great but the condition it came in is so bad i would recommend you go to a book store and buy it.

Der vierte Teil war völlig anders als die anderen drei und doch sind sie sich so ähnlich, dass man sofort im Geschehen ist. „Frozen Heat“ fügt sich nahtlos an „Heat rises“ an und es war schön wieder Zeit mit den geliebten Figuren Nikki/Beckett und Rook/Castle zu verbringen. Besonders spannend fand ich die Aufarbeitung der Vergangenheit von Nikki Heat, vor allem ihr Verhältnis zu ihrer Mutter und die Gründe warum sie zur Polizei gegangen ist. Ich hatte das Gefühl die Figur Nikki jetzt viel besser zu verstehen, nach der Lektüre. Natürlich ist sie noch immer die taffe Ermittlerin, mit der sich nicht einmal Profikiller anlegen sollten, aber hier entdeckte ich auch ihre verletzliche Seite. Zudem wird die Beziehung zu Rook vertieft. Manchmal kommt mir Rook wie ihr Sidekick vor, der dafür sorgt, dem Ganzen eine heitere Note zu verleihen. Da vermisse ich im Vergleich zur Serie die Tochter, die ihn nicht nur als fantasiebegabten Schreiberling zeigt, sondern auch als liebenden Familienmenschen. Obwohl mir eigentlich Bücher mit Agenten-und Spionageinhalten nicht liegen, fand ich es in diesem Buch ganz okay. Ich bin halt leicht zu verwirren, wenn Spione die Seiten wechseln und weiß häufig nicht mehr, wer in welcher Liga spielt. Damit hatte ich hier jedoch nicht zu kämpfen. Ich hatte aber auch Freude an alten Bekannten wie Roach und es war schön zu sehen, dass die verhasste Kollegin in Heats Team ein bisschen ihre eigene Medizin zu schmecken bekam. Die Nikki Heat Bücher sind ein netter Zeitvertreib und eine Möglichkeit ein bisschen Castle im Leben zu haben, wenn man in Bus und Bahn unterwegs ist. Ich freue mich schon auf die anderen Bände auf meiner SUB.

Again I am amazed at the ability of the writer to tell almost all of the story, but not quite all. So well written and believable, it answers most of the lingering questions, but not quite all of them. Great plot, a smooth flowing storyline, and a fine balance between giving enough, but not too much. Cannot wait to read book 5. This is a great read, as I am sure all future books in the series will also be. Well written, "Richard Castle".

Having read the, so far, four books in this series, this is one of the better ones, as it flows well and keeps you turning the pages to find out who the guilty is. You get more of the relationship between Nikki and Jameson and these scenes sit well in the story and are not shoe horned in. Some characters that appeared in "Heat Rises" are back in this story and I wanted to slap a couple for their ineptness and egos, but i get the feeling that they will get what is coming in the next book that is due out later this year. This book ends with a situation that appears to set up for the next book, and is similar to what happened in series 4. While these books may follow similar events to those in the series, the details are very different, so you cant read the books and know what is coming in the show. Overall this is a great read, this from someone who normally reads romantica. so these thrillers are fresh ground for me, but very much draw you in and keep you there. ENJOY!!

i love it, great book , many details, love the writing and the descriptions. if you are hesitating about buying it , just do it