Heat Wave by Richard Castle

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.

Nikki Heat is homicide detective in New York City. She is witty and smart and very good at her job of hunting down bad guys. Based on one of my favourite TV shows Castle and its two main characters Castle and Beckett, it was easy to imagine them as the characters, their voices and actions; but I’m not this made it easier to read or not. I didn’t get lost in the story the way I do when it’s on TV but that is mainly due to my lack of reading crime novels. I still liked it, it was interesting reading, but I don’t think crime novels are for me. I much prefer to watch it all unfold and see the tells myself rather than letting Nikki do it for me.

While the genre might not be for me, I did enjoy reading it and giving it a chance. Especially a book based on my favourite crime partners. The relationship between Nikki and Jameson Rook (a.k.a Castle) was very funny and sometime even adorable, the way they traded comments and ideas. And I really liked Rook, the handsome devil, with his command of the English language and witty comebacks.

As for the story, I never guess the killer right until it’s revealed. Although some clues were lost on me, it was very engaging and detailed. Sometimes a little too much and I skipped over it, sometimes not enough and I was lost. But even though sometimes it sounded like bad fanfiction, it was nicely balanced between crime-solving and relationship-making.

This book goes towards my Lucky No.14 reading challenge. 

Published 1st October 2012 by Titan Books.