BOOK REVIEW: Catching Heat

Catching Heat, the third installment in the "Cold Case Justice" series by Janice Cantore is a thrilling read. Picking up soon after Burning Proof ended, we find Detective Abby Hart, and P.I. Jake Murphy finally working together in an official capacity on the Cold Case Task Force of the Long Beach Police Department. Along with their beloved friend, retired detective Robert "Woody" Woods, the three take on two cases while all the while seeking to solve a third: the role of the governor's wife, Alyssa Rollins, in the murder of Abby's parents and Luke's uncle. All three cases converge in central California, where much of the book takes place. As Luke and Abby begin to acknowledge their feelings towards and to each other, Woody provides fond comedic relief.

What I have enjoyed most about the Cold Case Justice series are the side plots. In Catching Heat, I especially found interesting the case of Stuart and Victoria Napier. Both pointing the finger at the other for the murder of their children--while Victoria obsessively seeks Stuart's whereabouts and Stuart just as obsessively tries to anticipate and avoid detection--the couple is a macabre portrait in whodunit. I think the subplots add backbone to the ongoing thread of the Triple Seven murder investigation.

I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale Publishers in exchange for a fair review. For more on the author, go here.