Heat Wave by Richard Castle – Book Review

From the Castle TV Character Comes His First Nikki Heat Novel

Oct 5, 2009

Fans of the hit ABC series Castle will be thrilled with this book that is actually part of the television show.

Richard Castle, played by Nathan Fillion, is a TV character who is a novelist researching his next book. He is getting his background information by tagging along with a NYPD detective, Kate Beckett, played on TV by Stana Katic. In the TV show Becket is a no-nonsense homicide detective who finds Castle somewhat annoying, but at times there is a brief sexual spark between them.

Castle, a best-selling crime novelist, is starting a new series of crime stories and he is basing his main character on Beckett. He names his character Nikki Heat, and Heat Wave is the first book in the Nikki Heat series penned by Richard Castle.

This book is similar to an episode of Castle. Readers will definitely see the television characters in the book. It is about a writer named Jameson Rook who is tagging along with a homicide team for background information for an article. Sound familiar? The play on words is cute as both names, Castle and Rook, are pieces of a chess set, and chess involves cunning and strategy. Another clever item is that in the TV show genuine bestselling authors James Patterson and Stephen J. Cannell often appear as buddies of Richard Castle. The two also have review quotes on the cover of Heat Wave. Whether the main character’s first name Jameson is taken from James Patterson remains a mystery. Perhaps in the future the real writer(s) of Heat Wave will reveal themselves.

Jameson Rook Joins Nikki Heat and her Team to Solve Two Murders

In the book, Rook and Heat are deep into a murder of a very wealthy man. What they discover is that he was flat broke. Then they come upon another murder with clues leading them to the original crime scene. And then there is a major burglary at one of the crime scenes. Finally, an attempt on Heat’s life adds to the mystery.

Heat Wave reads like an episode of the series. The TV characters are each represented in one way or another. The big exception is the sexual affair happening between Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook. Richard Castle flirts with Kate Beckett, however their flirtation is not as intense as the relationship between Rook and Heat in the book. The book, after all, is written from the perspective of Richard Castle.

Richard Castle and Jameson Rook

Keeping Richard Castle, Kate Beckett, Jameson Rook, and Nikki Heat in their separate media can be a bit difficult as the story in the novel is so close to the television show. However written from the perspective of Castle, the characters are a bit more humorous, and Rook always comes out looking like a great guy. Just like his creator Richard Castle.

All the quips between the detectives and Castle are present in the book between the “fictional” detectives and Rook. The intensity of Heat matches the intensity of Beckett. Rook has a lot of influential friends just like Castle.

This is a fun read. It is exciting and interesting even for avid readers of crime novels who have never seen the television show. And the fact that it is not “from” a TV show or “about” a TV show, but rather “part” of a TV show makes it incredibly unique.

The copyright of the article Heat Wave by Richard Castle – Book Review in Detective Fiction is owned by Francine Brokaw. Permission to republish Heat Wave by Richard Castle – Book Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Oct 12, 2009 9:27 PM

Guest :

Good review. In chess, a rook and a castle are different names for the same piece. According to the American Heritage dictionary, "rook" comes from the Persian "rukh" and "castle" is from the Latin "castellum". In the chess world "rook" is the preferred name of the piece.