Heat Wave & Naked Heat Two Different Books!
By Richard Castle! |  | | | |
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TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3603 - Today Book Review: Heat Wave & Naked Heat by Richard Castle!
Today, we have a double-header. We're reviewing two books by Richard Castle, one of our favorite television characters.
If you're not watching Castle (ABC), first, you're missing one of the most entertaining shows on the air, and second, you are probably thinking WTF? How can a television character write a book - a real book - a stocked at Amazon and Barnes & Noble kind of book? In Castle's case, it goes with the territory. You see, Richard Castle, played by Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Serenity), is the bestselling author of a series of mystery novels.
The show's premise is that Castle has killed off his novels' hero and needs inspiration. That and the fact that he's poker buddies with the Mayor allows him to shadow a reluctant NYPD homicide detective Kate Beckett who inspires Castle's new series of novels starring a sexy NYPD homicide detective improbably named "Nikki Heat."
The banter and chemistry between Castle and Beckett anchor the show. Add at least one fantastical murder per week, three or four detours on the road to resolution, oodles of comic book and pop culture references, and a love of New York city and you have a hit show. Now, shift the main characters around a tad, add about 300 pages or so, and you have a book. In fact the formula has lead to three bestselling books.
Richard Castle's books read like the show: light-hearted, fast-paced, fun, lots of banter, plenty of colorful, supporting characters and a main cast that looks and sounds a lot like the folks at the precinct. There's a murder, and more dead bodies, but the focus of the viewer, and the reader, is on the interplay between Castle and Beckett a k a Nikki Heat.
Heat Wave (Nikki Heat 1) (Hyperion, Sept 2009) is the first in the series and introduces us to Castle's fantasy of Beckett: the tough and sexy Nikki Heat. The victim of the week is a philandering real estate tycoon who takes a dive off his exclusive balcony into a sidewalk cafe. The story takes us into the worlds of real estate development, private clubs, fine art, trophy wives and mobsters during one very, very hot NY City summer. You can smell the hot dogs, exhaust and melting asphalt. Like an episode of Murder, She Wrote, or most episodic murder mystery/cop shows, you know who done it by the casting, timing, even the music. Here, you sense the denouement, but, like the show, you don't mind; the fun is getting there.
If you love the show (as I do), you will thoroughly enjoy reading Heat Wave. The dialogue rips with one-liners and comebacks you won't hear on the show. Detective Heat lets loose in ways we can see Beckett might want to, but just won't let herself. The cast of characters are just what you'd expect Castle to dream up and he describes them as if he's telling you a story which I suppose he is. So, yes, the book feels like it was written by Richard Castle. How cool is that?
Naked Heat (Nikki Heat) (Hyperion, Sept 2010) takes us deeper into the world of Richard Castle a k a Jameson Rook.
The follow-up to Heat Wave finds Det. Heat investigating the murder of gossip columnist that Rook was profiling for a magazine. Rook's connection to the victim is the perfect excuse for his intrusion into Heat's case at a time when she'd rather arrest him for his portrayal of her in a recent magazine spread.
This Heat shows us the seamy side of celebrity driven New York. Athletes, performers, agents, paparazzi, prostitutes and hangers-on all play a part as the murderer, and the investigative team, track down the source of the gossip columnist's new, undisclosed book. The story has its share of twists and turns, and an ending that, for once, I didn't see coming.
Reading a Richard Castle book is a bit like watching a comic book movie: You need to hang around for the bonus scene after the ending. Unlike most author's, Castle's Acknowledgments are worth the price of the book. Fans of the tv show will especially enjoy the references. Don't miss even the teensiest bit of these books. From the Dedication to the bio to the back cover endorsements, Castle never breaks from his entertaining and charming character. Enjoy!
~Tina LoSasso !
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