A Review of Heart of Ice by Lis Wiehl with April Henry

Heart of Ice is a novel by Lis Wiehl with April Henry and is based on the "Triple Threat" characters Cassidy Shaw and her best friends Federal Prosecutor Allison Pierce and FBI Special Agent Nicole Hedge first introduced to Wiehl's readers in the novel Face of Betrayal.  In Heart of Ice the Triple Threat women face an intense situation in dealing with a cunningly cold-blooded murderer.

This is the second book by Lis Wiehl I have read and though I did enjoy it towards the end, I struggled to read it from the beginning to nearly halfway through the book.  The main reason for this was that I felt I was reading a modern fiction book more geared towards women than a mystery or suspense novel.  With discussions among the characters about miscarriage and one character possibly dealing with breast cancer, I simply struggled with this portion of the novel and wanted more.  More suspense, more action, a more faster pace.  Eventually I did get those things.

The other thing that was difficult for me was knowing who the antagonist was almost immediately.  I have to admit that when I read a mystery, I don't want to know who the killer is within the first few chapters.  I want to know who was murdered, but not by whom!  I want to try and match wits with the writer, attempt to try and figure out who exactly is the bad guy.  This book does not allow the reader to do this in the style it is written in.

There are a number of positive things I want to say about this book.  The characters are very well written and are not one dimensional; the reader should feel right there with them as they go about their daily lives.  The plot is well done with various sub-plots written in and delightfully intertwined together.  Dialog is well written and in most places fast paced.  Not all, but in most places.

As this is the first Triple Threat novel I have read, I will not judge the entire series based on this novel.  I will have to read at least the first novel to gain a better feel for the series.  For this novel, I am giving it three (3) stars, not because I think this is a bad novel, but it is a novel that I believe is not quite my style.  I would recommend this book to my friends, but I would have to let them know why I only gave it three stars.

(Disclosure:  I did receive an advanced copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers to review and made no promises as to the nature of my review.  The posted review is mine and mine alone.)