By Richard Castle
Published By: Hyperion
Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-1401324803
ASIN: B00C0ZP49U
Pages:304
Review:
The fifth installment of the Nikki Heat series by Richard Castle (aka a fictional character on ABC's Castle) was released last week, somewhat tying in with tonight's sixth season premiere of Castle. All the characters in the books are inspired by characters from the series, like Jameson Rook is fictional character of Richard Castle and Detective Nikki Heat is loosely based on Detective Kate Beckett. The basic plot also resembles the series with journalist Jameson Rock shadowing Detective Nikki Heat on her murder cases, so he can get inspiration for his next Pulitzer Prize-winning article.
Deadly Heat opens up with a corpse in a pizza restaurant's oven (taken from the episode "Slice of Death"), in which Detective Heat, Rook, and her Twentieth Precinct team of investigators (Detective Ochoa - based on Castle's Detective Esposito, Detective Raley based on Castle's Detective Ryan, and medical examiner Lauren Parry based on Castle's Dr. Lanie Parish) are determined to track down a serial killer, but Heat has other things on her mind besides the case.
Another plot ripped from the television show is the mystery behind Nikki's mother's death, which turns out her mother was an ex-spy. Nikki is still hunting down the former CIA station chief who gave the order to murder her mother. With the help of Rook (who is now her lover), she goes on a quest to track down a rogue spy, who will hopefully give her answers, so she can finally put her past to rest, but the spy may have bigger plans Nikki.
Any fan of Castle will know that Richard Castle is a fictional character, so obviously there is a ghostwriter for the novels. Though some people may get confused because Nathan Fillion (the actor who plays Richard Castle) attends the book signings; plus his photo is featured on the back cover. That being said, I think the books are some of the better written TV tie-ins, which is one of the reasons why the books are New York Times Bestsellers and are even popular with non-Castle fans. I was disappointed with the first book, Heat Wave, but the series has gotten better with each new installment. Deadly Heat may borrow a few sub-plots from the television series, but the main plot is still intriguing, blending in two different cases, turning the book into a page-turner. Deadly Heat may not be perfect, but it is better than the recent James Patterson's releases. Overall, I enjoyed reading Deadly Heat and recommend it to all readers.
*Disclaimer - I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
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