Review: Heat Wave by Richard Castle

Title: Heat Wave
Author: Richard Castle
Source: Purchased
Genre: Mystery/Crime
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Add to your Goodreads shelf
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

Review: Virals by Kathy Reichs

Title: Virals
Author: Kathy Reichs
Source: Purchased
Genre: Young Adult
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Add to your Goodreads shelf
Caution: May contain spoilers

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Tory Brennan, niece of acclaimed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (of the Bones novels and hit TV show), is the leader of a ragtag band of teenage "sci-philes" who live on a secluded island off the coast of South Carolina. When the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing on a nearby island, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

As the friends discover their heightened senses and animal-quick reflexes, they must combine their scientific curiosity with their newfound physical gifts to solve a cold-case murder that has suddenly become very hot if they can stay alive long enough to catch the killer's scent.

Fortunately, they are now more than friends they're a pack. They are Virals.

~synopsis from Goodreads
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My Thoughts:

Virals is one of those stories with a really boring start. Once the mysteries start to unravel and questions arise, you get engaged. So my first thing to say, do not just give up when you read the first several chapters (basic information and back story), it gets better!

Tori, who is the niece of Temperance Brennan (from the series of the same name that inspired the Bones TV show), and her friends are troublemaking kids with good intentions. They let their curiosity get the better of them and go too far into restricted areas in the Loggerhead Island Research Institute. While in there, they kidnap a wolf dog named Cooper to help nurse him back to health. He had been subjected to Parvovirus XBP19. Tori was familiar with Parvovirus but this kind wasn’t the same.

In the meantime they find themselves in a not-so-safe position: discovery of information on a cold case murder. In their attempts to solve it, everyone seems to turn against them and hide evidence. During their research and sleuthing, they discover strange things happening to them. It seems to point to when they rescued Cooper. But why? All he had was a virus that can be passed from dog to dog, not dog to human… or so they thought. Turns out this strain is untested and potentially highly dangerous since the side effects are unknown. It makes them essentially like wolves. This completely changes the game, and might very well help them get to the bottom of this case.

From kidnapping Cooper on, it was great. I didn’t like the few sections that were told in third person surrounding Karsten and the lab. Then again, I’m usually not a fan of stories told in the third person. Other than the dull beginning and the few third person chapters, I really liked the story. I loved how once they became Virals they could talk to each other through the mind, including with Cooper. It was intriguing, and I thought it was a nice touch to have the side element of forensic anthropology. Also, having a cold case crime being solved was awesome. Not much of that in YA literature. So, bottom line: it was good, and I can't wait to see the next installment in Kathy Reichs YA series.

 My Rating:

Very Good: Stay up late

Review: The Girl In The Park by Mariah Fredericks

Title: The Girl In The Park
Author: Mariah Fredericks
Source: NetGalley
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Caution: May contain spoilers

When Wendy Geller's body is found in Central Park after the night of a rager, newspaper headlines scream,"Death in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled." But shy Rain, once Wendy's best friend, knows there was more to Wendy than just "party girl." As she struggles to separate the friend she knew from the tangle of gossip and headlines, Rain becomes determined to discover the truth about the murder. Written in a voice at once immediate, riveting, and utterly convincing, Mariah Frederick's mystery brilliantly exposes the cracks in this exclusive New York City world and the teenagers that move within it.
~synopsis from Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Rain wants to know what really happened to her friend Wendy that night in the park. There’s so much buzz and false reports going around. And as true as it is about Wendy having a bad girl side, Rain just doesn’t believe that this was the act of a stranger that happened upon her in the park. She knows it’s somebody Wendy knew. Although they were and weren’t best friends, Rain remembers the good in Wendy, even though nobody else knows it.

I have to say, Rain’s determination is something you have to love and want to aspire to have. Her good girl nature could nearly hold her back in her quest to the truth, but she pulls through with sneaky devices. She tricks information out of the people trying to protect Nico, the guy that Wendy was obsessively after in school. Nico’s friends are surrounding him, saying things to have his back, trying to keep this not so good guy safe. Rain knows another side of him and doesn’t believe him when he says he wasn’t with Wendy that night.

Wendy was the quintessential boyfriend stealer. She purposefully went after the boys of the girls who wouldn’t give her the time of day. You want to hate Wendy because of her attitude and actions, but at the same time you feel what Rain feels: that pain of losing somebody. Then you really think about it--this is a girl who was crying out for attention, and she got it in the worst way.

As clues emerge, it points one way, then another. You think it’s over when it’s not even close. And when your reach the end… you have no idea what hits you. I’m completely serious. The way it all went down had me shocked, and it was the last thing I expected.

Mariah Fredericks is an amazing author. I had read her novel The True Meaning of Cleavage years ago and thought it was a great one. When I saw her name on this book on NetGalley, I had to request it. Upon starting the story, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But she blew me away. It was just so powerful and chilling. I loved Rain. She was one of the absolute best first person character I’ve viewed a story through. She wasn’t perfect or popular. She was just real. And I loved that.

My Rating:

Exceptional: Stay up until at least 1 AM

~Jessica

Review: Déjá Dead by Kathy Reichs

For the Bones fans in the blogosphere, I would like to tell you about the book that got it all started. Now, the TV show and the book aren’t similar personal detail wise. The only similarities are the following: the name “Temperance Brennan” and the forensic anthropology. Tempe on the TV show has been said to be more alike in personality to Kathy Reichs herself. Tempe in the book is a divorced mom of one daughter, she’s a recovering alcoholic, and the book takes place in Canada.

This novel is truly an amazing piece. It is beyond full of detail on everything, but especially the forensics. It’s actually a good thing for the reader to be familiar with the TV show because the references and medical terminology could be hard to follow (unless of course you work in the medical/forensics field). I know I catch a lot more detail on other programs since I’ve picked up so much from Bones.

This particular story is about a girl being found in a plastic bag: decomposed and cut up. Tempe needs to identify the victim to find some answers. This crime scene is strangely familiar though. It reminds her of another girl who was found in almost the same way. She is convinced that the two cases are related, yet the detectives (especially one of them) refuse to believe in the possibility. She will not give up on provint that they are linked. So she searches (often by herself and not safely either, which is reminiscent of Tempe on Bones at times) to find the truth.

The pace of the book was a bit frustrating in the beginning (this is the first novel of this kind I have ever read), but then I had to realize that this wasn’t an episode of a TV show. Everything that takes place in real life with homicides takes hours upon days upon weeks upon months to get results and answers. As you get to the middle, things start to pick up with the little clues and ideas and details that surface. Reichs describes all the processes of identifying weapons used, identifying victims, etc. She discusses Tempe’s thoughts and fears and opinions, not only relating to the case, but also her own personal life, which is significant to understanding the way she is.

My opinion (without spoiling the details) is that this is a very compelling and well written book. For anyone who’s a Bones fan (or anyone who is a crime show fan), this book is a must read. The ending is powerful, and it certainly makes you want to watch her solve another case. And you’re in luck, because there are more Temperance Brennan novels (currently 13 are published, with #14 coming out soon) and there’s a Young Adult companion series called Virals by her as well.

Bottom line, if you love Bones (and other forensic novels), pick up this book. You’ll love it.