BOOK REVIEW: HEAT WAVE BY RICHARD CASTLE

From Hyperion, cover artist(s) unknown

Okay, for those few out there that may not know the premise behind all of this; Castle is an entertaining series on the ABC television network about a famous mystery writer who, among other things, helps Detective Kate Beckett and her squad at the New York Police Department solve homicide cases.

One of the show's initial ideas was that author Richard Castle got permission to ride along with Beckett and company because he decided to use her as the inspiration for a new book series, which resulted in HEAT WAVE, released in 2009 between the first and second seasons of the program.

Detective Nikki Heat of the NYPD and her homicide investigating squad face a sweltering New York City summer, the death of a real estate mogul with suspects and alibis aplenty, and the unnecessary(?) presence of journalist Jameson Rook, assigned to write an in-depth article about her squad.

After reading the first novel, it is way too easy to draw parallels between book and television characters, especially when both follow similar background plot points regarding the main casts. Yet the book is more than capable of standing on its own merits. HEAT WAVE is also a guilty pleasure of enjoyment for both the casual reader and the long time mystery fan; especially because the novel took full advantage of the excellent opportunity to tell a more complete, detailed story outside the restrictive confines of an hour of commercial television.

In reel life, Richard Castle is the accredited author and, as a fan of both the book and television series, I will do nothing to discourage that premise.
For review purposes, I will note that in real life, the author(s?) remain anonymous, although actor Nathan Fillion sometimes makes appearances in character as Castle the author at book store signings and new release events.

I have also read NAKED HEAT, the second novel in this series. There are five to date, with a sixth scheduled for release this fall. That volume will be the subject of a future book review, but I look forward to reading the others as time permits.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Lee Houston, Junior, one of the founders of this fine blog, is the Editor-In-Chief of The Free Choice E-zine and the writer/creator of Hugh Monn, Private Detective and Alpha the superhero.
When not busy writing, in what he laughingly calls his "spare" time, he wishes he had more spare time.
He maintains a presence on G+, Facebook, and his own writer's blog. His creative work can be found at Amazon.com and other outlets.