Publisher: Hyperion
Score: 7 out of 10
Buy it from Amazon
Let's just be honest, Naked Heat, along with its predecessor Heat Wave, is a good example of great marketing. The books spring from fictional author "Richard Castle"-- a character on ABC's hit crime-comedy-drama "Castle."
On the show, Castle (played by Nathan Fillion) is a prolific genre writer who finds in NYPD homicide detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) his muse for a new series of books featuring a similar crime fighter named Nikki Heat. Naked Heat is the second book in the series.
To please fans of the show, there are a lot of parallels between the Heat novels and "Castle"--in Naked Heat, Nikki Heat finds herself paired once again with magazine writer Jameson Rook, who provides the best moments of comic relief. Unlike the show, the two have recently come out of relationship, but still care about one another. As these things always go, it's complicated, and the two have to figure out their feelings for one another while trying to catch a killer.
The victim is Cassidy Towne, a bitchy celebrity gossip columnist with a long list of enemies. While Heat and Rook gather a list of suspects that range from an up-and-coming major league pitcher to a transformed pop star with a dark past, other bodies are discovered and a sadistic mad man known only as The Texan kidnaps Heat and Rook. Can everything possibly be related? What skeletons did Cassidy have in her closet? Will Heat and Rook survive The Texan...and their relationship?
There's a lot to like about Naked Heat--even if you've never seen an episode of "Castle." I don't know who has taken up the pen name "Richard Castle", but the Heat books are crisp and well-written. The action is brisk and the characters, while never too bogged down in their personal baggage, are well-realized and interesting. (On the subject of the real author: it wouldn't surprise me if it's one of Castle's regular on-air poker buddies: James Patterson, Michael Connelly, or the late-great Stephen J. Cannell.)
To be sure, "Castle" isn't required viewing to enjoy this back-door novelization, but fans of the show will notice plot devices that are direct nods to Richard Castle's experiences while chasing bad guys with Beckett.
In the end, Naked Heat is a light read that's as frothy as one of Castle's coffee drinks. The good news is the book (and the series) stands on its own as a worthy addition to the genre.
