Review - Heat Rises

Title: Heat Rises 
Author: Richard Castle (but really?)

 As you might know, if you've been reading this blog for a while, I am a big fan of the TV Show "Castle" starring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic.


Though he is a fictional character, Richard Castle writes novels which are sold in the real world.  The protagonist of his latest series of novels is Nikki Heat, who is based off of Stana Katic's fictional character, Kate Beckett.  Are you confused yet?


Then forget about all that.


Heat Rises is the third installment of the Nikki Heat series of "mystery" novels.  In the first (Heat Wave), Nikki Heat, a New York City homicide detective, must solve a murder while being observed by a famous reporter, Jameson Rook, who is writing an in-depth article on her.  The two end up working very well together, and as the case is solved, a romance begins.  In the second book (Naked Heat) -- guess what? -- Nikki is solving another murder, Rook helps out, and there is some hot romance (nothing explicit - just as suggestive as network drama would be.)


Heat Rises continues the formula, but in my view alters it slightly.  This book focuses more deeply on Nikki Heat, and less on Rook.  Oh, to be sure, the first two books were Nikki's books, but it seems to me Heat Rises puts Rook more solidly in a supporting role.  I wouldn't want every Heat book to be like this -- I like Rook -- but the author knows that Nikki Heat is paying the bills.  We want to hear her story.  And in Heat Rises, we get that chance.


As a Detective, Nikki Heat has been getting a great deal of attention with her record of solving crimes and the additional notoriety which Rook's article brought.  This means she should be thinking about a promotion to Lieutenant.  In Heat Rises, she is.  And she's on track -- the fast track.  But while that part of her life seems to be going well, other things are not.  Her mentor -- the Captain of her precinct -- is being unusually controlling, and strangely argumentative.  Rook has been gone for months, without word to Nikki, and she's doubting their relationship.  And now she is investigating a murder, but being blocked from chasing the killer properly.


All of this, along with the return of Rook and some very determined attempts to take Nikki's life, provide for some very intense drama.


Drama.  That's what I want to point out about this series of books, and Heat Rises in particular.  This book is not what I would really call a "mystery."  At least, it's not in the Agatha Christie sense.  In a Christie novel, we are generally presented with all of the clues to solve the mystery, but because of excellent writing, it's not until Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot put all the pieces together at the denouement that we see which clues are important and which were red herrings.


In a Nikki Heat book, we are led through the case as we would be through a TV police procedural.  In fact, we are led through the case as we would be led through an episode of Castle. Some final piece of evidence is withheld from the reader until the very end, when the protagonists reveal the killer.  Personally, I am fine with that.  I am reading these books as extensions to the TV show.  And they work superbly in that regard.  Heat Rises certainly does.