Review: Heat Wave by Richard Castle

Title: Heat Wave
Author: Richard Castle
Source: Purchased
Genre: Mystery/Crime
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
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Caution: May contain spoilers

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A New York real estate tycoon plunges to his death on a Manhattan sidewalk. A trophy wife with a past survives a narrow escape from a brazen attack. Mobsters and moguls with no shortage of reasons to kill trot out their alibis. And then, in the suffocating grip of a record heat wave, comes another shocking murder and a sharp turn in a tense journey into the dirty little secrets of the wealthy. Secrets that prove to be fatal. Secrets that lay hidden in the dark until one NYPD detective shines a light.

Mystery sensation Richard Castle, blockbuster author of the wildly best-selling Derrick Storm novels, introduces his newest character, NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat. Tough, sexy, professional, Nikki Heat carries a passion for justice as she leads one of New York City's top homicide squads. She's hit with an unexpected challenge when the commissioner assigns superstar magazine journalist Jameson Rook to ride along with her to research an article on New York's Finest. PulitzerPrize-winning Rook is as much a handful as he is handsome. His wise-cracking and meddling aren't her only problems. As she works to unravel the secrets of the murdered real estate tycoon, she must also confront the spark between them. The one called heat.

~synopsis from Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Well, everyone who knows me knows why I read this one. I love the show Castle. LOVE IT. So when I found out they actually published Nikki Heat books in conjunction with the television series, I scrambled to get my hands on a copy of the first one. I had no idea exactly how the book would be. Whether it would have a thread like the show or be completely in its own category. I heard snippets about it on the show, so I had a feeling it would be like the show.

So, of course, there’s Nikki Heat, being followed by a reporter, Jamison Rook. A set up similar to the premise of the show. There’s a murder of a prominent man, Matthew Starr, with several possible suspects close to him, including his wife, Kimberly. As we learn more about him, his wife, his friends and colleagues, a picture starts to develop as to where his life was when he died, and the reason why he was murdered. Although the whole point of a murder mystery should be the story surrounding the murder, I was more focused on the relationship between Heat and Rook.

With good reason… I love the chemistry on the show Castle (between Beckett and Castle), and seeing that chemistry play out on the pages of a book, OH YEAH. It was awesome. There are a lot of quips and quick wit bouncing back and forth between them, and also the other detectives, Raley and Ochoa (in other words, Ryan and Esposito). I noticed some parallels from the lines in the book to the show, but it didn’t bother me. I mean, the whole point of the show Castle is that he gets his inspiration from what he experiences, right? So, it is going to expressed through his novel.

Since Heat Wave was almost exactly like watching Castle, I thought the book was made of pure awesome. That’s right PURE AWESOME. The mystery intrigued me, and kept me wanting to find out more, and find out why, and find out who. I think a subconscious part of me knew who it was, but I pushed it aside more than once. Shows what I know! But the best part of the story was Nikki Heat and Jamison Rook. I loved the way they were together. Do I recommend this? YES. YES I DO. Especially for those who love the show Castle. You will absolutely adore Heat Wave.

My Rating:

Exceptional: Stay up until at least 1 AM