Book review: Heat Wave - Richard Castle (Nikki Heat #1)

 

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. 

My opinion.

Although it was a slow start, I really enjoyed reading this book. I do love a good crime novel, and Heat Wave was far from predictable. Murder, robbery, forgery and passion all mixed into one. For the first part of the book I really had no idea where this 'murder mystery' was going. At one point - with all the blackout madness - it almost felt like the murder investigation was bumped to the backseat. When things started 'heating up' (wink wink), however, I had a hard time keeping track of the investigation and Nikki Heat's detective work. The entire scheme proved to be much more complicated and very well thought-out. 

The one thing that was missing though, was the chemistry between the characters. I felt there was an attempt at some funny "office banter", but it didn't really work for me. I didn't 'feel' their connection and I don't think there went enough energy in introducing the readers to the characters. They sort of just "turned up".

I am tempted though to read the other books in the series.

To find out what I thought of the book, compared to the tv series it is based on, click here.