Casee‘s review of Body Heat (Heat series, Book 2) by Brenda Novak.
Twelve people have been shot at point-blank range and left to rot in the desert sun. It’s Sophia St. Claire’s job to do something about it. She’s Bordertown, Arizona’s new chief of police—and she’s out of her depth.
Help arrives in the form of Department 6 hired gun Roderick Guerrero. As far as Sophia’s concerned, his involvement only makes things worse. Maybe he’s managed to turn his life around. And maybe he’s a good investigator. But as the bastard son of a wealthy local rancher, he has a history he can’t get past. A history that includes her.
Rod refuses to leave town until the killer is caught. He’s not worried about the danger posed by some vigilante. It’s Sophia who threatens him. Because he’s used to risking his life—but his heart is another story.
Book two in Novak’s Heat series brings forth a topic that is just as volatile as the one in White Heat. Immigration is an issue that many of us feel passionately about. Even before I got into the book, I knew it wasn’t a topic that I would want to read in a fiction novel. The religion in White Heat was fanaticism at its finest and something that I didn’t take issue with at all. It was so extreme to one side that it was something that I could read while feeling somewhat detached. Not so with Body Heat. Since I’m not reading a newspaper or political book, it’s not something that I’m exactly looking for.
Sophia St. Claire is Bordertown, Arizona’s new Chief of Police. She’s set out to prove herself to the city council and the town that she has what it takes. Sophia has no idea that she will have to start proving herself almost as soon as she’s in office. When someone starts executing illegal immigrants as they come across the border, Sophia wonders exactly how she’s going to solve the murders when she has so much going against her.
Her nemesis and the man that was the assumed Chief of Police is Sophia’s number one suspect. Honestly he seemed to be the most likely person. For that reason, he went way to the bottom on my list. For one, the guy was a loose cannon. After the first chapter and getting a look into the mind of the killer (albeit a brief one), it was clear that he was stone cold. It was also clear that Sophia needed to stop looking at grudges and start looking at real suspects.
Roderick Guerrero hasn’t been back to Bordertown since his mother died when he was a teenager. Being the bastard son of one of the richest men in the town did little for Rod growing up. He was still the son of an immigrant, something that he was never able to forget. Not that Rod wanted to; Rod loved his mother and protected her honor fiercely. He grew up hating his father and swore that he would never forgive him for the shame he put his mother through.
For that reason alone, it’s strange that Rod agrees to go to Bordertown at his father’s request. It’s soon evident that Rod needs to close the door on his past and the only way to do that is to go to Bordertown and face said past. He had no idea that he would be facing Sophia St. Claire, the girl of his teenage dreams.
I’m just not sure about the rest of the book. I didn’t like Sophia’s hotheadedness. It didn’t go along with the personality necessary to be the police chief of a small town. Sophia let her emotions run hot and didn’t think of how her actions would affect things later. It would be fine it she wasn’t in a position of authority. Since she was in a position of authority, she just came off as somewhat childish and immature. She always seemed to want to get the better of Rod. Considering they were trying to stop a murderer, her actions seemed trite.
Rod wasn’t much better with his constant need to push his father away. He got better, but it took him a little too long in my book. I was planning on starting the third book in this trilogy, but decided to give myself a little time off. I think I need it.
3.5 out of 5.
This book is available from Mira. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
The series:
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