Raging Heat (Nikki Heat, 6)

Richard Castle is back in print, and back to true form!! I love how these books run on a separate but parallel track to the Castle tv series, with thinly-disguised characters & plot points lifted from the show's various seasons/episodes (and, sometimes groan-inducing Firefly "Easter eggs"). While most of the secondary characters can rightly be seen as just re-named versions of their television selves (like Roach, whom I envision *exactly* as Ryan & Espo), the main characters of these novels are different and compelling enough to interest readers unfamiliar with the show.I suppose Nikki Heat bears a closer physical/psychological resemblence to Kate Beckett/Stana Katic than Jameson Rook does to Richard Castle/Nathan Fillion, but it's both easy and pleasureable to separate these two fictional worlds (it's also fun to speculate on the wish-fulfillment Mr. Castle indulges in with his alter-ego, who is a tanned, fit, childless, Tribeca-loft-owning, bed-hopping, marathon-running investigative journalist with 2 Pulitzers and--in his words--'a great ass'). The sex scenes have disappointingly cooled since the first 3 books (seriously--the first couple books are HOT), but the playful banter and deeper conversations of Heat & Rook always ring true and form their own dramatic arc within the logistics of a murder investigation.My delight in this series took a hit after the bloated excess of the previous two books (Frozen Heat & Deadly Heat): granted, there *were* 5 tv seasons' worth of Beckett's-mother's-murder plotlines to wrap up, but the global scope of the novels kept expanding so ridiculously & exponentially that I half-expected a metal-toothed Bond villain to appear and toss a razor-rimmed bowler hat at the leads right before pushing a big red button labled VAPORIZE THE WORLD. In *Raging Heat* we are back to real-world sized crimes, and while the end contains a scene that's a BIT too Agatha Christie for my taste, on the whole it's a wonderful return to the realistic scope and tone of these books (although, Mr. Castle, you can please bring the hot sex scenes back anytime, like...*now*).I can't NOT recommend any of the Richard Castle books, just because I love these characters/this series so much. However, just know that books 4 & 5 are kind of like those first few episodes of Friday Night Lights, Season Two: you just gotta power though them and try to not let them taint your enjoyment of what came before, and what comes after.

An absolute page turner! Wow! This Richard Castle (?) outdone all the others. From the very beginning the action started and continued through the end. Several murders happened in about a 36 hour period during the week leading up to Hurricane Sandy. That in itself led to the intensity of the investigation. Nikki thought they all were connected to the first murder that in her conclusion involved a high profile Homeland Security Commissioner wanting to step up to be a Senator. This story pitted her against her long time love, Jameson Rook.Following is a complicated multi murder investigation with not only Rook against her conclusion of who was behind the murders, but her loyal fellow detectives aided Rook behind Nikki's back and sided with him. Needless to say, this was a very large problem between her and Rook and alienated her fellow officers.The story containes human trafficking, mercenaries (mean ones), money laundering, and internal police cover ups making big problems. "Richard Castle" really had some very strong nail biting scenes, including one with the mercenaries chasing Nikki and Rook during the hurricane. AWESOME! It was so riveting I thought I was there. All the little clues were put together and made a brilliant resolution to the many crimes that had been uncovered. You can't beat that for a great mystery/thriller/adventure book. It's a winner as far as I'm concerned!Good reading to all,retired to read

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!