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135 of 142 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great tie-in to the show, September 29, 2010
This review is from: Naked Heat (Nikki Heat) (Hardcover)
I will start this by admitting that whoever is actually writing the "Richard Castle" books is not Doyle or Christie, no. These aren't mind boggling mysteries, but they ARE extremely entertaining. I enjoyed Heat Wave a lot, but Naked Heat stepped up the writing a bit for me. Maybe it was just because the characters had already been created, but the author found a better voice. The scene starts about 3 months after HW, with the fallout from Rook's article about Nikki. There's a body, then a couple more, and some really interesting connections between them. The new characters are well formed; the dialog is funny and for the most part not too trite or clichéd, although it does have some close calls. You will probably end up guessing who the killer is, although the connection will remain a mystery until the end. And as the saying goes, it's the journey, not the destination. Even if you've been on the ride before, it's still enjoyable. :) Besides, if you're looking at this book you're probably a fan of the show, and how much fun is it to play "spot the tie in" to Castle?
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41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great tie-in to the show, even better than Heat Wave, October 6, 2010
This review is from: Naked Heat (Nikki Heat) (Hardcover)
After the success of Heat Wave, the first tie-in novel to ABC's hit mystery/police procedural/comedy Castle (yeah, it even made the New York Times' Bestsellers List), ABC is continuing the adventures of Detective Nicki Heat and reporter Jameson Rook in Naked Heat. Not only does it have an already built-in fan base, but the entire show serves as essentially "free" advertising. Even better, in the Castle episode that aired the day before the book came out (the typically Monday time slot), the writers threw in a casual conversation between characters where they just happened to mentioned that Castle's new book is "coming out tomorrow -the actual release date of Naked Heat. In Naked Heat, reporter Jameson Rook's juicy piece on Nicki Heat has just hit stands. Though his summer ride-along is over, Jameson is eager to get back on Detective Heat's case. Though Heat would rather avoid her former lover, and the emotional baggage that comes with him, she crosses paths with Jameson while investigating the murder of famous New York gossip columnist Cassidy Towne. As the mystery unfolds, the relationship between Jameson and Nicki heats up. Much better than Heat Wave, Naked Heat reads like an expanded episode of the show, except that Nicki is a romanticized version of Beckett that is probably drawn from Castle's fantasies about the detective. Even though one of the show's writers probably didn't ghost write this book, the characters' dialog is dead on. I could even hear Castle and Beckett talking in my head. The cast of suspects feels like something out of an episode of the show and while the mystery is somewhat predictable, its obviously drawn from the show. Though its not great literature (more in the vein of James Patterson), Naked Heat is a fun mystery that's great for Castle fans.
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28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Castle for Me, October 6, 2010
This review is from: Naked Heat (Nikki Heat) (Hardcover)
I love it. I can hear Richard Castle's voice when Jameson Rook speaks, and I can see Detective Beckett's mannerisms every time Nikki Heat gets defensive or kicks butt. It's like I have two Castles. I have the one on TV, and I have the alternate-universe Castle and Beckett in the book - although they go by the names Rook and Heat. I say alternate-universe because In Naked Heat, the author takes Rook and Heat and sends them down a path that resembles parts of the show, but has enough difference in the storyline that it's very easy to keep the show and the book separated in one's mind. I'm already looking forward to the next book, with Rook and Heat continuing down the path of their storyline as Castle and Beckett move further down their similar but different path, giving us two versions of Castle to follow. It feels like Christmas has come early. If I had picked this up off the shelf, knowing nothing about the tv show, I would have still loved it just as much, and would be looking for more from this author. It has great visual writing, and the dialogue is witty and interesting - much like the show, of course. There are a lot of characters who walk through the pages of Naked Heat, but they are really easy to keep track of, and it keeps you from figuring all of it out before the end. You won't go away disappointed, and you'll come away with a couple of interesting extras... like Victoria St Clair.
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