Richard Castle, New York Times mega-bestselling mystery writer and star of ABC's hit primetime show Castle is back. In the seventh novel of his popular Nikki Heat series, the NYPD's top homicide detective has been promoted to captain just in time to face a thrilling case with a very personal twist. Captain Heat's fiancé, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Jameson Rook, is deep in an investigation. Professionally for Heat, Rook's meddling in the case compromises her new job. Privately, it becomes an early test of their engagement when Rook becomes a distraction at best, and an obstacle at worst, as their parallel lives not only cross, but collide.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Richard Castle is the author of numerous bestsellers, including the critically acclaimed Derrick Storm series. His first novel, In a Hail of Bullets, published while he was still in college, received the Nom DePlume Society's prestigious Tom Straw Award for Mystery Literature. Castle currently lives in Manhattan with his daughter and mother, both of whom infuse his life with humor and inspiration.
Note: Richard Castle is a fictional character from the ABC television show, Castle, played by Nathan Fillion. The biography is of this character. His name is being used as a pseudonym for tie-in novels to the TV show.
(B) 74% | More than Satisfactory Notes: Promises personal but ends up pedestrian. It's a convoluted story driven by paranoia, street chases and plot retreads.
In another Nikki Heat novel, Castle paints some interesting imagery in another New York-based adventure. Newly promoted to Captain and Precinct Commander, Nikki Heat must work through the kinks of the new job while juggling an h Homicide team and her ever-spontaneous fiancé, Jameson Rook. When called to the scene of a murder, Heat discovers the victim is more than simply a kayaker shot in the head, but her personal therapist, with whom she has shared many personal details. While hiding this from her team, the investigation continues, only to show that the therapist's files have been removed from his office! sending Heat into a panic. Further probing of security camera footage shows Rook leaving the premises in the days leading up to the fateful event. Suspicious, but harbouring her own secrets, Heat sits on this as her squad continues to probe. When a second victim surfaces, this time at an auto safety testing facility, with Rook hanging around to find the body, suspicion turns to questions of coincidence. While he does not want to reveal sources or too many contents of a story, Rook admits that he is looking into software glitches related to safety mechanisms in vehicles. Further exploration shows that there is a potential cover-up and admissions of guilt from one party to their therapist. With Heat and her team on the case, foraging into the depths of software malfunctions, a rogue former cop begins targeting them and an industry geek sheds light on the subject, while drones hunt them down and provide a major roadblock to progress. After a kidnapping of Jameson Rook offers some insight into the killer, Heat must piece things together, while trying to decide if her choice to marry Rook is beneficial to her long-term happiness. With flavours of hokey and crime-fighting alike, Castle offers up a decent story with some interesting twists. Great for fans of both the tv and book series.
I have often struggled with the silliness factor embedded in the Castle novels. While there is a place for a character to shed some off-hand remarks that leave the reader rolling their eyes, the constant less than dedicated nature of Jameson Rook gets under my skin. That said, Castle is able to portray this character while pushing a decent story ahead and leaves the reader wondering as twists present themselves. For that, I am grateful and highly intrigued. As is addressed briefly in the novel, Nikki Heat's presence outside the Squad Room and out fighting crime left me curious; is this not something she would give up with a higher rank? I suppose her promotion would come at a cost to readers and the storyline, leaving Castle to fudge some of the realities to make it happen. However, there may be a remedy on the way in the next novel, if some of the latter narrative is to be believed. Well-crafted with a decent narrative and dialogue, as well as the personal and workplace hurdles one can expect of a reformulated Homicide team, Castle captures some of the essence needed to keep the reader's interests piqued.
Kudos, Mr. Castle for this. I am eager to see what the next novel brings, even if I have to suffer through more Jameson Rook.
I loved the fast-paced read, but what has prompted me to give this book a three star rating rather than four or five stars are the spelling errors. Again.
I hope the publisher, editor and ghost writer of Driving Heat are reading this review because yet again (in this book and previous books) Zachary Hammer, also referred to as "The Hammer" is Hammer in one chapter, and Hamner in another. Irritating. Sloppy. Disrespectful to the reader.
I understand that churning out the books to match and follow the show must be an imperative - but not at the expense of the writing or the reader.
The sloppiness is also anathema in relationship to the character of Richard Castle who is portrayed as a grammatical perfectionist with an excellent grasp of the English written language. Hamner vs Hammer contradicts Castle's character.
Disappointing - and this says a lot as a Castle fan.
Nikki Heat has been promoted to Captain, and her police shrink has been murdered. She finds that she has to let go of her former job, and let her subordinates actually do their job. At the same time, she has completely new duties she has to manage, dealing with the higher ups and politics she never had to deal with before.
Meanwhile, there is a lot of friction with Rook, because he was working on an article with the victim, but won't tell the police what he knows.
Sinceramente, este es el libro que menos me ha gustado de la saga. Se me ha hecho muy pesado, la trama demasiado enrevesada y con exceso de personajes. Por no hablar de que considero que efectivamente, Nikki no se comportaba como una comisaria (me jode darle la razón a Hammer pero es verdad). Aún así no está mal, y el final es precioso.
Another Nikki Heat book written by the fictional character Richard Castle of the television show Castle. On that show he promotes books which happen to be real novels written by a ghost writer. I absolutely love this tie-in. In this one, Nikki's psychiatrist is found murdered and Nikki who has been recently promoted to captain is worried her sessions will become public.
I am a fan of this series as I think the whole concept is so clever. Fans of the show will especially love these books. While reading there are multiple nods to the show that fans will recognize. These nods are not heavy handed that non fans will be lost. The murder mystery is your basic murder mystery novel that these books detail the whole police investigation. The mystery isn't the most complicated mystery but it does what it is suppose to do. Keeps you guessing until it is solved.
This is an entertaining read that fans and non fans can enjoy. It isn't serious literature but is isn't meant to be. As a bonus fans of the television series will love the final chapter as we get the scene the way it should have played out on the show.
This instalment in the Nikki Heat series was once again another amazingly fun read (although I really expected no less). The ways in which season 7 of Castle was interpreted and reflected upon in this book really intrigued me. I loved picking up on all the little references from the show, especially how Richard Castle still likes to play the role reversal card. Things that happen or are said by Kate become things that happen or are said by Rook and I think it's really interesting how he does that. He almost in a way highlights how Kate is not alone in the things she worries about (losing the spark in their relationship when they get married) and how far he would go to protect her if he could by switching their places. However, it also raised a lot of questions for season 8: Kate's new role in the precinct, the tension that will undoubtedly loom between Esposito and Ryan etc etc.
What do Nikki's dead therapist, a cover-up about cars whose rollover correction software malfunctions without warning, a protest about the detainment of a Syrian citizen, a hack that cripples the NYPD's computer and phone systems, a super rich evil villain, a threatening congressman, deadly civilian drones, and a recently fired cop with psychological issues have in common?
They're all parts of the incredibly complicated case in this mystery, which I enjoyed as much as any Nikki Heat mystery, but I felt like I needed to make a chart to keep track of all the characters, living or dead. And since I do not have that kind of patience for a book this long, I mostly just tried to keep my head above water as I let the case tumble me along and tried not to grind my teeth every time Rook mentioned a certain ride-catching app. I did quite like the last chapter, though. Much more satisfying than the show's version.
The seventh book in the Nikki Heat series finds Nikki newly promoted to Captain and Precinct Commander. The job tries to take her away from what she does best which is solve cases but she finds ways to get back in the bullpen with her crew anyway. Of course, her fiancé, Jameson Rook is a prize-winning investigative journalist for a reason and his goals do not always necessarily align with Nikki’s. But, as always, they find ways to work together and get results. The main murder victim in this novel is none other than Nikki’s personal therapist so plenty of drama and secrets are at risk. Just how this relates to apparent fraud in the auto safety industry with possible mob connections is fun to see revealed.
Fans of the TV show Castle should like these books and even though there are many parallel story lines, I actually find the books to be a bit more consistent as the series progresses. The plots are much more complex as well and involve far more elements than an hour-long TV show can deliver.
I hope the quality of these novels remains high and keeps on going even though the TV show has ended. If so, I’ll be along for the ride.
The very meta saga of the fake Nikki Heat novels being written by the fictional Richard Castle continues. I have enjoyed the novels, as they are faster, larger, and push the envelope a bit more than the show Castle. For those reasons, I really enjoyed the book. My main complaints are that the book recycles plot elements from previous books. It seems like every novel, Rook and Heat have a major relationship fight and after a while, like sitcoms *cough Scrubs* it gets old. Otherwise, an entertaining book.
This is a story about a powerful man with money, friends in high places, who is willing to do anything to get what he wants. Heat and Rook once again put their lives at risk to save New York city and stop a crime that has international implications. Since cyber-attacks cripple the city, they must resort to old style police work to solve the case. Other law enforcement agencies are involved, but fail to work together for a quick resolution. This is a fast paced, enjoyable read, with a touch of romance.
One of the things that bugged me the most about these Nikki Heat books has always been the summary blurbs--they always try so hard to be exclamation point, and "Big Awesome Words!" worthy, that it just sounds super lame. If the ghost writers for Richard Castle put as much effort into the actual crime thriller story outline and plot as they did being meta about the television series, or making the book out to be like it was written by "New York Times Bestselling Author," the books might be more than just serviceably enjoyable.
Well, make it two things: I also don't like how over-the-top the writing styles sometimes get. Too deliberate in making out the main character, Nikki Heat, to seem like a super perfect super detective, and too deliberate in singling her out as the only super perfect super detective who ever does anything right. It can get annoying pretty quickly.
Driving Heat is another installment of the Nikki Heat series that is decently entertaining, but can get a bit tedious in how long it takes to outline a scene, or a few actions that should ideally only require a few words. It also doesn't help that I found the characters and their actions all frustrating, as if everyone was deliberately being difficult to each other just to piss each other off. It made for a lot of unnecessary drama that almost felt childish.
I will give the book props on the insights of Nikki's new development in how much more complicated it is to be promoted to a higher position of power than one would have thought. Becoming Captain of the precinct brought to light all the banal, menial work that a leader also has to deal with, like little complaints from all the staff, and mountains of paperwork, tedious meetings, signing service contracts with the vending machine company, and very little time for actual crime fighting. It makes me wonder if Nikki understands how different her role will be now that she's not simply in charge of a small homicide detective squad--it DID get me frustrated each time she would rush off to investigate the murder when what she really needed to be doing was delegating tasks to her team, rather than trying to do everything by herself.
The beginning of the book was not a strong start, and the build up was also a bit lackluster. The second half of the book, after the entire NYPD's computer network got hacked, was actually a bit more interesting, but only because it does a pretty good job of putting into perspective how much we, as a society, depend on computer technology and the ease of access thanks to internet resources.
I actually found it pretty amusing to see Captain Heat rushing off to the library for some of her sources.
HOWEVER, what didn't make sense to me was why everyone made it seem like they were transported back into the pre-internet age when really only the functioning government organizations had been hacked in New York. Apparently all personal cell phones, personal internet, non-government computers were still workable. While understanding that crucial, confidential police investigation evidence and documents couldn't be sent via non-encrypted channels, it seemed a bit extreme that none of our homicide detectives had their own personal laptops or hot spots of which to conduct some of their online researches.
Sure, there was no accessing police network documents, but did Nikki really have to rush off to the library to research some of the information she needed to find?
Anyway, as I'd stated somewhere, this book actually felt like it was a lot longer than it really is. It even felt like there were more than one story line taking place as the book progressed. And to be honest, without having much interest in watching anymore of the television series, I don't know if I'll be interested in continuing this book series either. Driving Heat is entertaining in some aspects, and if you're a fan of the series (television or book), then it will still be right up your alley.
There are continued, and fleeting meta references to the television show, Castle, and even a drop about Firefly and Nathan Fillion every so often. But if you've grown tired of these things and find them more wearisome than amusing... well, this book won't really do much for you.
The only reason I picked this one up is because I was a huge fan of the tv show this fictional author came from. There were some moments that I really liked, but I definitely got what I expected. It was kind of just a nice mystery that I read and finished.
The case was too intricated, sometimes it was hard to comprehend and follow up. But, at the end, it's satisfying when all the pieces fall into place. Besides that, the case that was fully detailed, I guess that what I'm feeling from this book is the absent of depthness in another matters.
I know it's a crime novel, but it is also the seventh book of Nikki Heat, so I think it should have had more relationships and character's development. For example, Heat is now the captain's precinct, and besides some paragraphs, there's not much into it. Or conflict between the Roach, it was not adressed fully and it would have been good to know more about them and the dynamic.
I also must say, regarding Rook and her relationship with him, that I was expecting something else... I mean, last book (spoiler?) ends with Rook proposing to Heat and we don't know what she says. And this book starts with a case and we barely see anything regarding them as soon-to-be-married. Yes, she has doubts and she's trying to sort them out, but then the usual problem between them (he's hiding something because of work, she gets angry and explodes... It's the seventh time we read the same issue). (SPOILERS AHEAD) I must say tho that Rook's abduction was new. And also, the wedding at the final scene was cute.
It's an okay book. Just wished more depthness.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I think the romance between Rook and Heat takes away from the plot in ways that distract the reader from the mystery they are trying to solve. I decided I didn’t care for this book as much as the earlier ones. At this point I prefer the Derek Storm series. This book lacked the much of the humorous conversations that were present in previous books - although the squad room members donning bandaids and slings was amusing.
Jumping into the 7th book in a series you haven’t read in years is difficult, but not impossible😂 I do still really like the characters and story, but this one just felt like it dragged a little bit. Which could also be because I picked this book up so many times, but would only read 10-15 pages at a time🥸
fully sobbing as I’ve just finished reading the book :’) Richard Castle if I catch you for putting me through all the emotions (once again) with your books……….
THEY’RE MARRIED, MY BABIES ARE MARRIED I CAN’T BELIEVE IT, FULLY SOBBING ATM 😭😭😭 the vows, i’m losing my mind
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This definitely wasn’t one of my favorites out of the series. It was rather boring to me and couldn’t really hold my attention. It had it its moments but overall it wasn’t so great to me. Nikki and Rook were annoying me at times, they literally fight in every novel.
Peguei nele pela nostalgia da série Castle e para mim valeu a pena por isso. Como livro policial é ok. Lê-se bem, porém não é particularmente memorável.
Lectura ligera, y que me da algo fresco entre distintas lecturas, evitando entrar en bloqueo lector🧐.
En este libro, es un dejavú de las últimas temporadas de la serie. Bajo mi punto de vista, el principio dejaba muchas promesas de sorpresas en la trama, pero en final se me ha quedado un poco “al uso”. Una historia que está un poco más impulsada por la paranoia, las persecuciones por la calle, y ya los repetidos giros de trama.
Lectura entretenida, fácil, rápida.. para los amantes de la serie de Castle (que era mi caso), es muy recomendable.
This was exactly what you want out of a Nikki Heat book - basically it's a longer episode of "Castle", just with different character names. And considering that's no longer on the air, it was exactly what I was in the mood for. Good story, good ending, but little surprise.
Jamison Rook can be a real character. Every time he opened his mouth, I saw the actors that portray them on "Castle."
This book had several twists and turns and I wasn't sure who was involved. Nikki's psychologist is found murdered in his kayak but there's no blood to deter me where the shooting took place. Jamison Rook is acting peculiar to Nikki and want disclose what he may know. Later on its determined that Jamison is working on a new whistle blower story and tries to keep it under wraps.
It sons explodes in both of their faces. Nikki is dealing with the challenges of her promotion to Captain and determining who will take her position in the homicide division. Tempers flare because of her first decision made as captain that causes friction and discord within the unit.
Good read but so many characters that I could not figure out who Sam Stallings was. Doesn't matter because he was killed in this book; he want make the next book.
This one was an entertaining read. Only reason it took me so long to read was I got distracted by other books, and honestly, the last Nikki Heat book I couldn't put down was 'Frozen Heat'. Yet again, Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook have relationship issues during a high profile case, which has been a running pattern throughout the book series. The case itself was actually quite interesting, and had lots to twists and turns. Took me a while to guess who the killer might be, but then again, since I didn't read it all in one go, but off-and-on, that might have been a contributory factor. I always love seeing what bits and pieces they borrow from the show. If this is the last Nikki Heat book, depending on how the show ends up at the end of Season 8, the ending brings a nice conclusion to the Nikki Heat saga.
The simple answer is that I have a need to finish series that I start (books and television). Still, this is likely the last time I spend time reading fake Castle. It isn't just the unbelievably sloppy editing near the end (where "your" is used when "you're" is the word needed and the punctuation of two sentences is switched making a question a statement and vice versa), though that really makes me think less of all involved. It is that there is an inherent level of laziness involved in the writing that I find tiring.
I wish there were a different fake Castle who would write his trashy early novels, which at least seem like they would be fun (and not need to ape the show).
The best entry so far in this series authored by "Richard Castle"--actually I think by a ghostwriter named Michael Connelly, and he is doing a terrific job. This story has a complex plot that is reviewed for the reader so we don't get lost, and takes the full 300+ pages to work out in a most satisfying way. Fewer sex scenes (and those are PG-13) and fewer immaturities on the part of protagonist Jameson Rook--much better. Some unfortunate language. All in all, a fun read; a big bag of potato chips that makes you want to keep chomping away. The references to current events, pop culture, geek culture, and the Castle TV series (a place called "Beckett's Neck"?) just add to the fun.