Heat Rises (Nikki Heat Book 3)

I picked up the Nikki Heat series because I am a fan of the show Castle, and found the idea that they'd had a ghost writer impersonate the titular character and actually write a few novels. The whole idea amused me, and I decided to support the effort by the series folk by buying one of their books. What I found was that the series, while essentially detective crime pulp, is a truly entertaining read.I read to escape. It's like watching TV, but with better scenery, and this series delivers entertaining escapism at its best. I enjoyed every minute of the read. The text flowed nicely, the author was humorous without being silly, the characters were well developed and truly likeable, the story gripping, and like all really good books, it was hard to put down. On more than one night in the series, I read until I literally could no longer force my eyes to stay open and focused. My only real regret about starting the series (like my regret about the TV series) is that like all good things, it had to end (though, to their credit, the author(s) is/are still putting out a new volume every year or so (thank you, whomever you are!).I ended up reading the entire series, jumped over to the Derrick Storm series (actually, part of the same series) and greatly enjoyed the crossover, which sadly, seems like a swansong to both series.

...isn't exactly a reincarnation of Joe Wambaugh (or of Bill Caunitz, if you want to keep it NYPD). But this series is helping whoever it is develop as a writer. The first one ("Heat Wave") was what you'd expect of a film or TV novelization--bare bones narrative, he said and she replied, what have you. Just a notch above pulp. Except that these are original stories. The only way they existed on screen was the occasional allusion to the titles during the course of "Castle" episodes. But it seems like they've changed ghost writers along the way, or like I said above, it's the same one getting better as he goes along. The character development is getting better and the narrative is getting steadily less prosaic. But the chapter setup is proof that this series is a print "spinoff" of a TV series in the way chapters tend to end in cliffhangers. So just in case this "Nikki Heat" book series outlives the "Castle" TV series, it may be able to stand on its own. I wonder if a more-nostalgic publisher might be able to come up with a Robin Masters series as mentioned in the old series "Magnum PI"?

This will be an all-purpose review for the various Nikki Heat novels that have come my way from Amazon since Nikki appeared several years ago, a clever device of publishers and entrepreneurs and "idea guys" from TV and film surrounding the development of "Castle," now a premier serial and space filler for a TV station near you. Stana Katic, who has the role of Lt. Kate Beckett NYPD, the gutsy, sexy, clever homicide detective and heroine of the "Castle" series, pairs with the actor Nathan Fillion, who plays the brilliant, infuriating rich boy hero. It took several years of episodes to get their romance moving in the right direction as the cast and writers developed their own skiils and objectives. Enter the idea guys to tangle up everything! Somebody realized that the their now successful TV series has a hero who is an author. Ergo, why not "write" some of his novels and see who would buy them. And make their heroine Nikki Heat, a NYPD detective modeled on the fictitious Kate Beckett of the TV show. Suddenly these fake novels (crime and sex cliffhangers, easy-reading but with gripping plots and plenty of plot-shocks) became real-life best sellers, NYTimes-level best selllers! Now Nikki Heat, a fictional character, is "real" enough to sell novels based on the fictional Kate Beckett of the TV show, played by the real actress Stana Katic! I suspect there are "Nikki Heat fans" who are unaware of the layers of cleverness in the process of writing the novels. and take as Gospel that the Nikki Heat novels are "real" novels--the NYTimes says so, and Stana Katic and Kate Beckett smile their enigmatic smiles as Nikki Heat joins them in this delightful fictional charade. Here's to the trio of the ladies of "Castle"--long may they seduce us as Stana or Kate or Nikki!

I love the concept of these books. Richard Castle, a fictitious mystery writer on the TV series, Castle, tags along with Homicide Detective Kate Beckett when investigating murders to get ideas for books and learn more about police procedure. He writes a series based on Kate, calling the character Nikki Heat. All of the characters Castle deals with on the TV show are showcased in the Heat series and they've released this fictitious series to us. His own character in the book, Jameson Rook, is an investigate journalist tagging along with Nikki Heat. They take it so far as to have the author of the book listed as Richard Castle.This third book is a very involved mystery with so many pieces to it you wonder how it'll all pull together. But it does at the very end. It starts with the death of a priest in a sex torture club and takes you into areas and directions that totally surprised me. You'll love Nikki Heat who does her best to be true to herself even when politics become involved and she's offered what most people would gladly accept. The other characters are also well done and add a great deal of spice to the story.The story is filled with a lot of action, twists and turns, relationships, tension, non-explicit sex and a just flat out wonderful mystery. I very much enjoyed the first two books, but this one is the best so far.You don't need to watch the series to read these books. It's just a little more fun when you can put faces to the book's characters. I'd dearly love to know the actual author's name to see what else they've written.

Started reading the Heat books because I enjoyed Castle on TV. The books are fast paced and well written by a ghost writer. You have to get used to the use of initials and the American way of talking, which may mean reading a sentence a couple of times to understand it. If you go for reading the whole series you'll enjoy the little inserts of Castleisms, such as Jameson Rook saying to his agent that Nathan would be OK for playing him in the film!

This has more twists that spagetti!! It is not until the very end you discover who the guilty are and boy was that a shock and a half!!There is a lot going on in this book so it helps if you read it with as few breaks as possible or you may forget important bits. It, along with the follow-up ""Frozen" Heat" are the best 2 books in the series so far, as they flow superbly and keep you turning the pages, following Nikki's adventures. The interaction between Nikki and Jameson is more nautral than in the first book and that helps to keep you reading but their's is not an easy relationship and has a lot of ups and down but these dont seem contrived to suit the plot more as natural events in any relationship.What happens in this book is not what happens in the series so you can safely read the books without following the series but saying that, I cant help connecting book characters to the tv characters and finding similarities.I dont normally read thrillers, but romantica, so these books are fresh ground for me but still a great read that will have you desparate to get to the end to find the guilty.Enjoy!!

Patterson , writing under the name of Richard Castle is without doubt his usual master of mystery, humour intruigue and this the third castle novel (not counting the graphic version) is so good. The constant to/fro between Nikki and Rook( as he is known in the books) is great, Personal lives cross over into the world of criminal detection in all "cast" members, This one sees Nikk disgraced and cast out with no-one to help other than Rook - we all know it will work out all right in the end - - er, won't it? But this is the best Castle BOOK yet. I thoroughly enjoy the TV series, but it is a great read too. Do buy this one, its really better to read than watch (my personal opinion).  Heat Rises (Nikki Heat 3)Heat Rises (Nikki Heat 3)

I love the Castle TV series, so I bought the book series too. Heat Rises, the 3rd in the series, is definitely the best so far. The plot is gripping and the characters credible. Moreover, there is also humour for those in the know, e.g. a reference to one of Nathan Fillion's other characters from Firefly (another brilliant TV series). Very clever. Even if you have never watched the TV series this is a super page-turner & highly recommended.

A very enjoyable read with plenty of twists and turns along the way. Once started found it hard to put down. A good read with a good plot interlaced with plenty of humour.