Heat Wave by Richard Castle

Reviewed by Holly White

I am a big fan of the TV show Castle, where NYPD homicide detective Kate Beckett acts as a sometimes-unwilling muse for mystery novelist Richard Castle.  Castle uses his friendship with the mayor to get what he wants, which is to follow Beckett around as she works her cases as research for his novels.  Beckett finds Castle annoying, but is forced to tolerate him.  Every time there's a dead body, Castle tags along throughout the investigation, getting in the way, disobeying orders, and putting himself in danger.  To Becket’s surprise, he sometimes even helps.  Even more surprising, she finds herself attracted to him.  On the show, Castle starts writing books that are obviously based on Beckett and the others which pleases some people and annoys others.

Since I know the show is fiction, you can just imagine my astonishment to find that there are actual books in print by “Richard Castle” and follow the ones described on the show! Each Castle character is represented in the books, with enough differences to let you know these are fictionalized versions of the “real” people you know from the show. Each character in the book engages you and charms you. You get to know these people, their individual quirks, their personalities, their relationships. You laugh out loud as they pick on each other.

The first one is Heat Wave, in which NYPD homicide detective Nicki Heat isn’t happy when she’s told she’ll have to work with Jameson Rook. He’s not a cop, just a hotshot journalist doing research for an article, and she’s sure he’ll be in the way. Then a tycoon falls to his death and Heat and Rook find themselves caught up in the world of the rich and powerful, where secrets can get you killed—and there are a lot of secrets.

This isn’t the type of book I would usually read. Mysteries are not my usual flavor, but I started reading it because of the show, and then found I couldn’t put it down.

The plot is well done, playing you out just enough line but keeping you on the hook. The book is well paced; it never bogs down in descriptions, but keeps the action moving, something I particularly appreciate in any novel. There were several twists and turns, so I was not able to figure out who the murderer was until it was revealed in the story’s climax. Perhaps a reader who regularly reads murder mysteries might have done better at this, I don’t know.

But to me, the real mystery is who really wrote these books. I haven’t been able to find out, after some not-so-intensive Internet search. The real author is not revealed in the convoluted acknowledgments at the back of the book, which cleverly allude to Sir Edmund Hilary (the first man to climb Mount Everest) and Tenzing Norgay (the sherpa who helped him). I say convoluted because the acknowledgments are hard to follow, since the author thanks both real and imaginary people, interchangeably, some whom I recognize and some whom I don’t. I’m sure it’s in there somewhere, and a clever mystery reader could find out if they really wanted to. But for now, I am enjoying this mystery of not knowing. It’s a delicious one that I want to savor until just the right moment to find out.

The book isn’t high literature, but it isn’t all fluff, either. It’s just a fun read that keeps you curious, and makes you want to read all the rest of the books in the series, which I plan to do. If you read the book and like it, watch the show; I think you’d enjoy it. If you like the show, read the book. And if you happen to figure out who the real author is, please don’t let me know. I’m enjoying the mystery.

If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll love this book.  If you’re not a fan but you like mysteries with fun characters and snappy dialogue, you’ll enjoy this book.  I know I did!

Here are the books in the series so far:
1. Heat Wave
2. Naked Heat
3. Heat Rises
4. Frozen Heat

Holly White is a Bristol Public Library patron who has voluteered to write some reviews for us. We look forward to her next reviw!  Other guest reviewers are welcome.