The Hot Zone is a little different from some of Castle’s books. I liked the first part a lot, the middle third, when our hero and heroine meet, confront danger, survive and love, was pretty good. And the ending left me feeling kinda blah.
In the beginning… Evil doctor Blakenship has imprisoned our heroine, Sedona in the alien catacombs to see how Castle’s handy plot device, the omnipresent psi-enhancing Nightshade formula, works on someone with her talents. Dust bunny Lyle makes friends with Sedona and helps her escape, then they hitchhike back home to find her Marriage of Convenience husband Brock has divorced her and is shacking up with someone else. Somehow Sedona manages to get herself and Lyle to Rainshadow Island where the middle of the story begins.
Sedona meets Cyrus Jones, the new Guild boss on Rainshadow, when he arrives to the inn where she works. They have the usual, almost immediate attraction although Sedona tries to avoid interacting with Cyrus; she is wary of him or any Guild boss after one allowed her to be kidnapped on her last job. However Sedona needs Cyrus’ help and he needs hers. This section is good with plenty of adventure. I noticed a few discrepancies between this and Castle’s other Rainshadow novels in terms of what had been discovered on the island and in what sequence, something that usually doesn’t bother me about book series, but this time did for some reason.
The last part of the story moves to the mainland where Sedona’s upper crust family decides to include her in her grandfather’s birthday. The same evil villains from the beginning kidnap her to unlock the door to their drug lab and Cyrus must come to the rescue.
The romance and suspense both work in The Hot Zone. I liked the main characters, especially Lyle, and it’s always fun to see people from prior Rainshadow novels come to the new story. It was great seeing Lyle bond with Sedona and their ongoing friendship. I’m not sure why I don’t like The Hot Zone more, perhaps it’s because the villains aren’t as believable as they need to be, and Sedona’s family is unlikable, leaving the novel just a little unsatisfying.
4 Stars, almost.
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