Book: Frozen Heat

“NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat gets more mystery than she imagined when she arrives at her latest crime scene. The body of an unidentified woman has been found stabbed to death and stuffed inside a suitcase left sitting in a freezer truck. A startling enough death, but an even bigger shock comes when this new homicide surprisingly connects to the unsolved murder of Detective Heat’s own mother. Killed gruesomly, the Jane Doe on ice launches Heat on a dangerous and emotional investigation, rekindling the cold case that has haunted her since she was nineteen. 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 also digs into unexplored areas of her mother’s background–areas Nikkie has been afraid to confront before, but now must.

Facing relentless danger as someone targets her for the next kill, Heat’s search will unearth painful family truths, expose a startling hidden life, and cause Nikkie 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 ther mother’s cold case has unexpectedly thawed, will Nikki Heat finally be able to solve the dark mystery that has been her demon for more than ten years?“

The title of this novel is very apt. It’s frozen, and it takes time (and some chapters) before it completely thaws. Once it does though, it definitely takes you for a ride. But first, a detour.

I haven’t been a very good fan of Castle, the television series, for a couple of years now. Work has me tangled up in a lot of things, and my viewing habits suffered a little. Not that I’m complaining about the work. I love what I do. It does create an interesting predicament for me with regards to Frozen Heat though.

See, most of my complaints about the Nikki Heat novels is that they read too much like an episode of Castle. In some cases, events in the show also appear in the novels. And with a cast of characters that are very similar in both medium, it’s really hard to distinguish one from the other. And I have been wondering what the point is in providing new content when it’s a retread of what was already shown.

Of course, because I haven’t been watching Castle regularly for two seasons now, I have no idea if that’s the case for Frozen Heat. I do know for sure though that the new person in-charge of the precinct in the show is nothing like the one in the novel, but that’s just one difference. That’s pretty much the only thing I can say to compare the two nowadays.

On Frozen Heat alone though, I have more.

Now, as I already mentioned, the novel starts our at glacier pace. Well, no. Not really. But because it starts much like most mystery novels do, it feels glacier-like for me. There’s nothing new. And, once again, it reads too much like a novelization of a Castle episode–even if it’s one I haven’t seen.

That is, until they take the show on the road–and, in one case, overseas. That’s when things become interesting.

In Frozen Heat, we delve deeper into the mystery of Nikki Heat’s mother. Parts of the mystery mirror events that happen in the show, but I think this is finally where the novel separates itself from its source material. And I’m loving it.

As we unravel the death of Cynthia Heat, we also get a new look at who Nikki is as a person. And while past Nikki Heat novels has her pretty much being a printed copy of Kate Beckett, the one we get to know in Frozen Heat is someone new, someone different. And as the case blows open, we are introduced to a new arc that I hope will carry on (and get solved) in the next novel.

Another thing I loved about the latest book is the development of new characters introduced in Heat Rises. These character don’t exist in the show, for budgetary reasons I’m presuming, which is great for the novel because it adds to the series’s identity.

I must say, this is the first time I’m actually looking forward to the next Nikki Heat novel. Let’s check out if I’m the only one who is:
If You Like Books
Book Him Danno!
Doux Reviews

Book: The Red House

“After his mother’s death, Richard, a newly remarried hospital consultant, decides to build bridges with his estranged sister, inviting Angela and her family for a week in a rented house on the Welsh border. Four adults and four children, a single family and all of them strangers. Seven days of shared meals, log fires, card games and wet walks.

But in the quiet and stillness of the valley, ghosts begin to rise up. The parents Richard thought he had. The parents Angela thought she had. Past and present lovers. Friends, enemies, victimes, saviors. And watching over all of them from high on the dark hill, Karen, Angela’s stillborn daughter.

The Red House is about the extraordinariness of the ordinary, weaving the words and thoughts of the eight characters together with those fainter, stranger voices — of books and letters and music, of the dead who once inhabited these rooms, of the ageing house itself and the landscape in which it sits.“

If the synopsis sounds promising to you, don’t set expectations.

After The Curious Incident of the Dog at the Night Time and, to a lesser extent, A Spot of Bother, I was becoming a bit of a Mark Haddon fan. Which prompted me to buy The Red House without a second thought. I didn’t even read the synopsis prior to buying. That was a mistake on my part.

Writing that down though, I do think I would have still bought the book even after reading the synopsis. Written the way it’s written, the book sounded interesting. Fantastically horrifying.

Except it’s not. Not for me, anyway.

The Red House is written as if it were notes taken by an astute observer. A fly on the wall, if you will. The fly sees and hears everything, but it’s not exactly a storyteller. It’s a reporter, and it tells you all the events. It’s up to you to pick up the story as you want it told.

It could be love story, a love rediscovered. It could be the story of a person’s sexual awakening. It’s a story about grief, and about the memories we recreate to suit the history we want to have. Or maybe a story about a family who’s barely hanging on together–a family that is further broken apart by honesty.

The Red House could be any story. But whatever story you choose it to be might not be the story the author intended.

Reading the book, there’s a sense of something–a message, maybe–that the author wants to impart: about family, about relationships, about memories. Goodness knows what he really wanted to say. What I got from the book was this though: you like what you like, and even when you don’t like something, you make up stuff that would explain why you do.

Midway through reading the book, I was trying to find things to like. And while I do like the characters, I realized that it wasn’t enough. And no amount of good will from Haddon’s first two novels would’ve been enough to make me say that this book was great. Because, honestly, it wasn’t. Not for me.

It took a lot of self-control to even finish the book.

That’s not to say that it is a bad book. Somewhere out there are people who thinks the world of this book. I’m not one of them.

A reason could be the author’s chosen mode of storytelling. Being omniscient, while empowering, can also be very boring. And blow-by-blow accounts of what characters chose to do, however likeable they are, can be very tedious.

Then, there’s the promise of the supernatural. Karen’s “ghost” appears a number of times. But the author doesn’t seem to be sure as to what the ghost really is. Is she an actual spirit, come to haunt the family that never gave her a chance to live? Or is she a imagined figment of a mind bordering on illness? Her appearances will leave you conflicted and confused.

Things pick up during the last third of the book. By then though, I’ve lost all hopes of ever liking the book. I finished the book out of duty, not love. And that’s not a feeling I want when reading a book to take a break. So no, there will be no recommendations for this book coming from me.

What others have to say though, is entirely up to them:
So Misguided
Sarah Reads Too Much
The Nervous Breakdown
YouTube Review: incrdiblydeadlyviper

Book: The Casual Vacancy

“When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?“

When I started reading The Casual Vacancy, I really didn’t know what to expect. To date, we’ve only ever been exposed to Rowling’s Harry Potter world–and even when the stories are not about Harry, there’s still a sense of familiarity–as was the case of the book of folklore, and the two comic relief “reference” books. With this book though, we quite completely depart the world of wizards and witches. And what we have is chaos.

Now, J K Rowling is a wonderful writer–seven Harry Potter books and a great editing team have done wonders for her skill. And it shows in The Casual Vacancy. Rowling is still an amazing storyteller. Except she made one mistake–she forgot to include a main character.

Following the lives of the citizens of Pagford, you don’t know who to root for–if you’re supposed to root for anyone at all. Everyone is flawed, everyone is conflicted–and you can really see that Rowling is great at building characters that are not just two-dimensional. But what do you do with a host of characters, an interesting premise–but no solid flow as to where the book is supposed to go? We go back to chaos.

Everyone who saw me reading the book has been asking if it’s any good. And up until I finished the book, my answer was always: “it’s disappointing, so far.” Which is not how I saw myself describing a Rowling book after Harry Potter. I wasn’t expecting a lot–but I did have at least a little expectation. And The Casual Vacancy definitely did not meet it.

Except– After I put the book down, I realized that I did like the book. I liked the people in Pagford, and I like the story Rowling was trying to tell–I just didn’t like the way she was telling it because it was so different from how she told the story of Harry Potter and the wizarding world’s war against evil. As I already mentioned, Rowling’s characters are all fully realized, and you can never really pinpoint who the villains are. And while there are a few characters you’re bound to dislike immensely, on a whole, you can also see how they turned out the way they did.

The Casual Vacancy is currently getting mixed reviews. I’m going to go ahead and say I’m on the side that liked the book. But, I feel, it’s going to take time–a lot of time–before people truly appreciate what a gem The Casual Vacancy is.

I just wish that Rowling would go back to having a main character (or two) in her next book. It’s easier to follow a story that way.

Before I go though, let’s see what other people have said about the book:
Nose in a Book
Justin’s Book Blog
YouTube Review: CaptainEmbro

Book: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“Charlie is a freshman. And while he’s not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and the Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can’t stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.“

It’s hard to put into words why I liked this book–because to tell you honestly, I was never intrigued enough to pick up the book. Reading the synopsis, nothing really jumps out–especially after reading John Green novels. The novel definitely seemed like something John Green would write. Now that I’ve read it though, I’m glad I picked the book up. Because it is amazing.

“And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.“

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is written in first person. In letter form. And I was really close to just giving up on the book and writing it off as just another coming-of-age young adult novel–and then I read that line. And I don’t know what it is about that line, but I feel as if it captures the essence of being a teenager–without the pretensions, without the superiority, without trying too hard to be now.

That’s what it’s like to be a teenager. A moment of infinity. Then suddenly, I was able to connect to Charlie. I was able to feel for Patrick. And I fell in love with Sam.

Suddenly, I was one of them.

Of all the coming-of-age novels I’ve read, I think this is the first one that was able to nail what it’s like to be a teenager for everyone–regardless of the when.

And that, I think, is why I loved the book.

I apologize if you thought this was going to be a cohesive reaction to the book. There are a lot of blogs out there though that reviewed the Perks of Being a Wallflower. Here are some of them:
Escape
Ayestria Abridged
Reading Wishes

Book: The Land of Stories, The Wishing Spell

“Alex and Conner Bailey’s world is about to change. When the twins’ grandmother gives them a fairy-tale book, they have no idea they’re about to enter a land beyond all imagining: the Land of Stories, where fairy tales are real.

But the stories they know so well haven’t ended in this magical land–Goldilocks is now a wanted fugitive, Red Riding Hood has her own kingdom, and Queen Cinderella is about to become a mother! The twins know they must get back home somehow. But with the Evil Queen hot on their trail, will they ever find the way?“

I’ll say this about the book, it’s certainly a very fast read. And I really like author Chris Colfer’s take on what happens after each fairy tale’s happily ever after, especially how he molded Goldilock’s into a very self-sufficient figure.

And here comes the but: the idea behind the book was wonderful, and the structure was good–but I found it hard to connect with the main characters.

I might be reading too much into this, but I found Alex and Connor problematic. On one hand, they fit very well in the Land of Stories, because they move and talk like they do come from fairy tales themselves. But the words they’re using, and the knowledge behind said words, are very modern. Which would have been well and good, especially with the revealed twist (that you’ll figure out soon as they enter the Land of Stories). Except it doesn’t gel well. Reading through their dialogue, it felt like the two characters were being fed lines that they wouldn’t have said themselves. Words that were coming from an outside perspective.

Heck, some of the things they do were very out of character for them. And there was one particular instance when I felt outraged at what they had done–because it was them who had done it. And yet, looking back at the incident, I would’ve done the same thing. And then I figured, that’s why I was having a problem with it. The act was logical, not emotional. It was something the readers would do–not what the characters would. (And it’s really hard to write reactions without spoilers, but I’m going to recommend the book at the end of this post so I don’t want to spoil it for you.)

That said, for a first-time author Chris Colfer has a nice handle on characters–specifically the fairy-tale princesses we know and love. And while the Evil Queen’s story has been done a thousand times–yes, an exaggeration–but I thought the ending Colfer gave her was good. I just wish he had given the same care for main characters Alex and Connor.

So here’s the part where I recommend the book: Yes, it’s not perfect, but it’s a great first effort. I’m looking forward to see where Colfer takes The Land of Stories if and when he decides to write a sequel. Hopefully, by then, he’ll have been able to flesh Alex and Connor more.

Now, let’s see what other people are saying about the book:
Elizziebooks
Jacq Russell
Gossamer Obsessions