Heat Wave by Richard Castle: A Review

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.

Well, after my last read I really needed something kind of "fluffy" to read. A little bit of brain candy. *sigh* Thank you whoever you are ghost writing as Richard Castle. This book was basically a higher octane version of the show Castle- except the main characters do hook up (and I am not giving anything major away here, if you watch the show)!
I was happy with this book- it was a light, easy crime novel, with a simple formula. Murder+sexy detective+tension w/ male lead+danger= good.
The only thing I found a little silly/annoying is that ALL of the characters in the book are in the show, down to Castle's, I mean Jameson Rook's mom. They just have different names - Kate Becket = Nikki Heat, Espisito = Ochoa, and so on. Also, I think Castle is more likable than Rook - maybe because the show is a lot from his perspective and the book was all from Nikki's. I don't know, I am really nit-picking here. I really enjoyed the book :)
4/5 for me!
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