Author: Richard Castle
Series: Nikki Heat Book 1
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Publication Date: 2009
Genre: Mystery, Adult, TV Show Tie-in
Pages: 198
Buy: The Book Depository
Book Description: 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.
Mystery sensation Richard Castle, blockbuster author of the wildly best-selling Derrick Storm novels, introduces his newest character, NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat. Tough, sexy, professional, Nikki Heat carries a passion for justice as she leads one of New York City’s top homicide squads. She’s hit with an unexpected challenge when the commissioner assigns superstar magazine journalist Jameson Rook to ride along with her to research an article on New York’s Finest. PulitzerPrize-winning Rook is as much a handful as he is handsome. His wise-cracking and meddling aren’t her only problems. As she works to unravel the secrets of the murdered real estate tycoon, she must also confront the spark between them. The one called heat.
As a huge fan of the TV show Castle and of Nathan Fillion I was ecstatic to learn that the books mentioned in the show had actually been written under the name of Richard Castle. I picked it up with high expectations and was not let down. The book read very much like the show itself where we are first introduced to a homicide. Piece by piece Nikki Heat (Kate Beckett) unravels the mysteries behind this homicide and the following crimes that occur days after.
This book kept me wanting more as I followed Heat in her drive to solve the mystery. It had me gasping in shock, laughing at Heat’s sassiness and staring wide eyed as the murderer is finally revealed. Throughout the entire book I was fangirling at what Richard Castle had written. Especially when it’s assumed (and it’s a pretty fair assumption) that Nikki Heat is Kate Beckett and Jameson Rook is Richard Castle.
The only downside when reading was there were a fair few sentences that had simple grammatical errors. I usually don’t make note of this but it happened enough times to bother me. Aside from that the book was fantastic.
I highly recommend any Castle fans to read this book. I have book two on my shelf and I can’t wait to pick it up. And even if you aren’t a fan of Castle or haven’t seen it, this book is a good quick, fun and very heated mystery read. The TV show is also very good.
My Rating: ★★★★