Frozen Heat

I have read the previous “Nikki Heat” books and like the other ones, this was a fun read. Every time I read one of these books, I picture the cast from the TV show “Castle” in my head playing the characters. Just when you think you know what's going to happen, the story takes an abrupt and shocking turn...like in the tv series. If you have seen the show, you can pretty much predict the ebbs and flows of the story, which is not a bad thing. This book would be a great pick up for mystery/police serial fans.

3 stars This wasn't the most exciting Nikki Heat novel. They're trying to solve her mother's murder and it just drags and the ending is pretty anti-climactic. I do want to rewatch Castle now though :p

Book 4 of the TV series spinoff that has taken on a life of its own. This series never disappoints. The new book brings about a new case with unexpected ties to deep family wounds and links involving international espionage. Another great mystery thriller for this series. But a word of warning to fans: don't expect to have everything wrapped up by the end of the book. This isn't a television show and this novel leaves us with questions that will likely be answered in the next book.

I was not expecting a cliffhanger, especially in the last book of a four-book deal! I‰ЫЄm interested in seeing how the show deals with the book (if at all) and what connections we can make between Heat‰ЫЄs mom‰ЫЄs murder and Beckett‰ЫЄs mom‰ЫЄs murder (if any). I have heard that the premiere will end on an ambiguous note re: Johanna Beckett‰ЫЄs case, which is unlikely to be a cliffhanger. Maybe there will be nothing but I really like thinking about how the books and the show correspond, especially since the books now seem to be getting into territory that reflects real life more closely than usual.

I found it really interesting that Heat‰ЫЄs mom‰ЫЄs case actually seems to be partly about Castle working through the possibilities of his own father being in the CIA. That‰ЫЄs one of the ways this book even more clearly shows what Dana Delany‰ЫЄs character observed way back in season 2 – that Nikki Heat is part Beckett, part Castle. I‰ЫЄve always thought of Nikki Heat as a fantasy version of Beckett, but it‰ЫЄs more complicated than that.

I wish there were some way for us to know when Castle is writing his books in the context of the show. Was he already writing Frozen Heat by the time Heat Rises was published? Especially given the Storm e-books he released over the summer? I read the earlier books without knowing the earlier seasons very well, so this was the first time I was able to connect elements of the story more clearly to elements of the cases in season four. So obviously he was writing throughout the season and afterward, but I want more details or at least hints! When did he include that part about Rook and Heat having the ‰ЫПI love you‰Ыќ moment pass them by? Was he still writing and making revisions over late spring and summer when he and Beckett were together? Did he write the first chapter with Heat helping Rook with his rehab while Beckett kept Castle away while she was recuperating over the summer? Maybe it‰ЫЄs just because I know first hand how real life can show up (clearly or obscurely) in one‰ЫЄs fiction, and how writing fiction can be a way of working things out in your own life. And the show has never taken much of a chance to explore that – maybe we‰ЫЄll get to see it now that Castle and Beckett are together, but maybe we won‰ЫЄt.