Crashing Heat

Nikki Heat #10

by Richard Castle

New York Police Captain Nikki Heat is accustomed to dealing with murders, even those with no leads and no motives. But having her husband as a suspect makes her newest case the most personal one yet. Nikki Heat does not like to be away from her husband, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jameson Rook. But when Rook is given the honor to be a visiting professor at his alma mater, he can't pass up the opportunity to mentor bourgeoning journalists at his former award-winning college newspaper. Then one of Jameson's students is discovered, naked, in his bed. Now all eyes are on Jameson. Dealing with betrayal from any man is not Nikki's style. Against her better judgment, Nikki gives Jameson the benefit of the doubt and digs into Jameson's theory of an undergrad secret society.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Audiobook, Romance, Mystery Thriller

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 12, 2019

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll round up to 3.5 stars

In the latest instalment of the Nikki Heat series, Richard Castle continues to weave interesting tales about his two protagonists, while peppering the narrative with an entertaining mystery. Still enjoying married life, NYPD Captain Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook are at an awards ceremony, though they itch to find a private place to ‘express their love’. After Rook wins another award for his gritty journalism, he and Heat must come to terms with the fact that he will be leaving for upstate New York on a teaching assignment for a semester. Before they can lament this, burgeoning journalism student Chloe Masterson comes to express excitement that he will be one of her academic and journalistic mentors in the coming weeks. Loving the attention, Rook promises to touch base with her while he is there, glad to have a fan hanging on his every word. After Heat and her team get a case, Rook agrees to stay in touch, making his way out of town. Heat is surprised to hear from him so soon afterwards, though it is anything but good news. Rook appears to have come into contact with local law enforcement, after young Chloe’s naked body showed up in his bed, murdered. Heat drops everything and heads to help her husband, not asking the obvious question that burns in her mind. When Heat arrives at the local precinct, there is quite the surprise awaiting her, one that will stretch the understanding she and Rook have with one another. Bound and determined to clear Rook’s name, Heat begins working with the locals to uncover what Chloe Masterson may have been investigating and how Rook could possibly be involved. In a case that will take Rook back to his student days, Heat must find a way to explain what’s happened to the victim and exonerate her husband, while also trying to see if their relationship is as strong as she thought. Sometimes the greatest secrets reveal much about a person, as Rook and Chloe know all too well. Corny at times in its delivery, this is a decent addition to the Heat series, one Castle has been building over the last number of years. Recommended for those who want a quick read in the mystery genre, as well as fans of the series.

There is the old adage that one should never compare books to their cinematic interpretations. The same can be said about books and their respective television shows. I was a fan of the Castle program when it aired, waiting for a new book to drop each season to see how it tied into the storyline. However, I became a little startled about just how corny and cheesy the books became, particularly as the love interests of the books’ protagonists paralleled those on the show. Stepping back, I can see that these books are pure entertainment and that tying myself up in knots can only serve to annoy me, rather than allow me to fully enjoy what is going on. Nikki Heat has climbed the NYPD ladder for the past number of books, having secured a spot as captain. Her ascent has been well documented and based on courage and merit, something that she brings to work on a daily basis. Her abilities are great, though she could not do it without the help of her author sidekick and husband, Jameson Rook. Turning to the affable and punny Rook, there is something about his worldliness that helps solve cases, though he is able to grate on the reader’s nerves without trying. Rook seeks to show just how in touch he is with things, even when he is the one in the hot seat. The handful of other regulars almost take a backseat in this one, particularly because the central case is out of NYC. Still, Castle peppers the story with some interesting one-offs, none more than someone from Heat’s long-ago past. The reader may enjoy some of the banter that ensues, though it barely covers some of the cheesy dialogue that serves to help ensure one’s eyes are still able to roll upwards. The idea for the book was decent, offering something for the reader to enjoy, though the stories do not lend themselves to being blockbusters. A good read, as long as the reader knows what they are getting themselves into. Perfect for beach or travel reading, with just a touch of audible sighing.

Kudos, Mr. Castle, for a great addition to your series. It served the purpose I hoped it would and for that I am ever grateful.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Jim C · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book based on the television show Castle. In that show Richard Castle followed NY police detectives around for inspiration for a book. The powers to be decided to actually publish books using a ghost writer pretending to be Richard Castle. I loved this idea when it was first introduced and I still love it. In this one Rook goes back to his alma mater to teach. He ends up being framed for murder.

I was actually surprised this was given the green light for several reasons. The show was off the air for several years before this was written. The second reason is that I thought the series had a nice ending with the previous book. Did we really need this book then? The answer is no and this book feels like it was a half hearted attempt to capture the vibe from the previous novels. There were several instances of this half hearted attempt. We open with a body found on a statue. Do we follow the investigation in typical matter like previous books in this universe? At first we do but then the resolution happens off screen and is so mundane. I wondered why we even bothered with this incident. Secondly I felt the two main characters felt off. This mainly happened with their dialogue. The banter seemed wrong and was off putting. I understand that these characters are married and in love now. But the in your face displays of affection did not seem right. Even the innuendoes weren't clever. I did not like the chemistry between them which is ironic because the last season of the show had the same problem.

The mystery was the best part of this book. Too bad we had to wade through everything else to get to it. And the everything else did affect my rating. It felt like we were just checking off boxes to get to the finish line. This is not how I wanted to end this series too. I am disappointed.

[Theowyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

A definite disappointment. To begin with, whoever wrote this is not familiar enough with the storyline to date. Sharon Hinesburg died several books ago, yet here she is! How could the editors have missed such a glaring continuity error! Ugh!

As another review mentioned, there is far too much exposition telling us things about the characters we already know which really bogs down the story.

Beyond that, the plot just isn't that good. The motive of the girl's killers is very week and unsubstantiated and many of the classic moments that make Nikki Heat books so enjoyable are missing. There are no edge-of-the-seat moments when our heroes lives are threatened and they must engineer some daring escape. There aren't even any fights! Definitely subpar for this series.

[Lani · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars because it's hard to say a Castle book isn't good...

Okay so here's the thing. I love Castle. I miss the show so much and I've enjoyed the books. Maybe it's because there has been a huge gap between the book previous to this one, but this didn't give me much satisfaction. My major complaint is the author spend way too much time with backstory over and over again. This is the 10th book in the series, if you don't know these characters by now, you don't need to keep reading the series. This was a short book to begin with and over 50% of it is telling me who these people are, how they relate to each other, their feelings, both past and present and explaining every detail, including why they say and do what they say and do! I don't need this information repeated! The witty banter and chemistry between Heat and Rook is what I came for and sadly, there was little of it. What was there made me smile, but I just got bored with the constant "telling." Show me what's happening, don't tell me every little thing. There wasn't much mystery to be had here. Sad for me because I had really been looking forward to this book.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has been 3 years since CASTLE ended, so I was extremely happy to get another book in the series and it was more than unexpecting.
So, before I get into the review itself I just want to clarify where I stand in regards to the show and therefore also the books, because I think it's essential in understanding my thoughts and because I feel like many people still aren't yet over how the show ended and therefore let everything surrounding past shows, curent shows and actors and posibly the books be tarnished by that. So were do I stand, I think that the last season of Castle was okay. It wasn't like the Castle we all knew, it was different but still okay. There were things and characters I didn't like and others that I believe got hated on for no reason.
I think most of the people are still so pressed on how things went down that they don't judge things quite as objectivly as it deserves to be. Now having said that and probably having made a bunch of new enemies, onto the series and the book itself.

Overall, I found the plot decent. I liked the initial premise, but it never fully lived up to its potential. Probably the least thrilling, exciting Nikki Heat book. My favorite will probably forever be Frozen Heat just like the fourth season is my favorite. Unfortunatly, I found Crashing Heat to be lacking the usual banter and this made it feel like I was reading a book containing of characters, that I used to love but got stripped of their depth and that are now only shells of what they used to be. Much like the first half of the b0ok published previous to this one. But in my opinion the one before even if it started out slow, gave me the sense of returning to something tjhat I love and just an overall sense of being happy, which Crashing Heat unfortunatly did not really do. Even if the "pace" was quick there were none of the signature action moments or fights, or chase scenes, that the other books had just alot of dialogue that often times felt to be out of character.
Overall I view this series no different to fanfiction, which means I'm rather forgiving when it comes to the series. Meaning, I didn't care for spelling mistakes etc. because this is something we've come across in previous installments as well, especially when taken into consideration how these books are written and produced.
However, it is not okay when you have inconsistencies in your own story that are so prominent that for example characters are coming back to life when they have been killed of in a previous book
Having all that in mind I can't give this book more than 2 out of 5 stars, meaning I found it was an okay read. They were things that i enjoyed and things that I didn't. Unfortunatly the negative overpowered the story for me.
If they however decided to give us another one after this, I'll probably still buy it because I have so many good memories connected to the show and this book series. If I could wish for something though, it would be that Tom Straw would come back to write it.
.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

It appears they have switched ghost writers for this series. It was like reading very poorly written fan fiction, instead of knowledgeable, witty, compelling crime solving high-level fan fiction. Disappointing!

[Katie Copple · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Nikki Heat series is one of my favorite murder mystery series... or really, I should say “was”. The ghost writer for this piece is definitely NOT the same one who wrote the initial series. Bringing back a once-dead detective? And Nikki Heat has a brother? Also, the banter between Heat and Rook was nothing like it should be. They just seemed very disconnected and uncharacteristic. The crime itself was interesting, but it seemed rushed to the finish. Disappointing.

[Judy Haak · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dont know if this was the same author or not but it sure felt different from the previous versions. They case was so out there, the relationship was foremost, which was not the standard. The author was more concerned with Heat & Rook than a murder. And Heat having an ex was totally out of character let along keeping it a secret. I almost didn't finish reading it.

[Trina Talma · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually don't read reviews before reading a book. Boy do I wish I'd broken that rule with this book. Because what a disappointing waste of time and money it was!

In television terms, this book is a filler episode. Which is not a good look for the 10th and final book of a series. The continual repetition and reiteration, both of points from the previous books and points from previously in this book, are only part of what makes it by far the dullest entry in the series. Previous books had car chases, foot chases, kidnappings, shoot-outs, fistfights. Heck, the climactic action of the previous book involved Nikki being thrown out of a helicopter over the Atlantic! This book ... has talking. Lots and lots and LOTS of talking. (Including a ridiculous amount of innuendoes between Heat and Rook.) The closest thing to an action sequence is when Rook is mugged for his messenger bag -- and the bag is recovered within two pages. There's no danger, no sense of urgency. Nothing but talking. Even the apprehension of the murderer (whose motives remain vague despite pages and pages of Heat and Rook discussing them) is a matter of talking at them. Not a smidgen of a chase or a fight is needed.

In fact the only sense of suspense I felt throughout the entire book was in waiting for the next glaring continuity error to pop up. Detective Sharon Hinesburg is back from the dead! (But why, since she only appears in one scene? In fact, none of the secondary characters we've come to know over the course of the series makes more than a cameo appearance in this book.) Nikki suddenly has a niece! (She only exists as a reference point, but hey, we never even knew Nikki had a sibling.) Some errors occurred within the space of a few paragraphs. (Ochoa knows that the town Rook is visiting is "out of our jurisdiction," yet by the bottom of the page he's forgotten what town it is.) Nikki frequently calls Rook "Jamie," even though previously she nearly always called him by his last name. Whoever wrote this really did not do their research.

In short, this book was a pointless mess, appearing to have been written by a completely different author from the previous books, whose brief was "Skim the other nine books, but don't bother making this one match. We just need a tenth book, because ten is a nice number." In the end, Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook are left unchanged and unaffected by the events of the story -- and so is the reader.

[Bookreader1972]

1/11/19- I just saw that this is coming out. I am so happy. I was worried that the books would end with the show canceled.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crashing Heat just reminds me how much I miss the series Castle, the dynamics, the loyalty, and the intrigue that keeps you engaged.

[R · Rating 1 out of 5]

**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** Mr. Castle, were you just cranking out another book to get your series to 10? If I didn't think Captain Heat was such a great character and I remained hopeful the series would get better, I would not have read this book. As another reader astutely pointed out, didn't Det. Sharon Hinesburg take a fatal bullet in another book (and Det. Inez Aguinaldo was hired in her place)? Yet another reviewer mentioned the repeated focus on Heat and Rook's relationship, which I agree was overplayed. Also, the point of this book seemed less about Captain Heat and more about Mr. Rook's love of conspiracy theories - the focus on Captain Heat and her style of investigation now makes it seem she cannot solve a mystery without Mr. Rook's help. I felt disappointed with this book.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of quips from the team that brought us the Castle tv programs. They must have a lot of fun with these stories. Too bad the actor who plays Rook was not the reader. This has lots of twists to keep you thinking.
This could be a good movie if Hollywood didn’t ruin it.

[Tschanen Brandyberry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you just need a guilty pleasure book, and that’s exactly what this is. Simple and easy, just something you can read and not think about.

[Hannah⚡️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve loved Castle since season 1 aired, and it’s been really fun this summer and fall to finally read the Nikki Heat books (and watched Castle reruns on Lifetime most days lol). It kind of feels like Castle is ending all over again now that I’ve read the final Nikki Heat 😅 I really enjoyed seeing what the ghost writers incorporated from the show-both for the characters and the plot-over the 10 books. And I appreciate that we still got 3 more Nikki Heat books after the show ended, because they probably could’ve just decided to stop publishing them once the show ended (which, Driving Heat could’ve actually been a good final book, but I’m still glad we got more!).

All that being said, something about this book just…didn’t quite feel like the final hurrah for all our characters? Glaring editing errors aside (Hinesburg, Nikki having a niece when she’s never mentioned having a sibling…), something about Crashing Heat just didn’t quite feel like it was the final book. On the one hand, it WAS a high stakes case, what with the murder victim being found in Rook’s bed. But he was never really treated like the prime suspect, and there was never any fear or worry that he’d get arrested or that they may not be able to clear his name etc. I am glad that they didn’t have Nikki doubt Rook’s innocence or put a strain on their marriage because that would’ve been really easy to do.

I’m also happy we got to see Lauren, Ochoa, and Raley in this one after they were barely in Heat Storm, but I would’ve also preferred to see the whole 20th Precinct team working together to solve the final case rather than Heat and Rook in Cambria and the others back in NYC (with Roach’s quick trip upstate for a chapter or two). There was some nice reminiscing and reflecting on all the years that Nikki and Rook have worked together—mentioning their very first case from Heat Wave, thinking about how their relationship has changed over the years, just some of the typical reflection you’d kind of expect in the final book of a series this long—and that was nice for sure. But I don’t know. I don’t really know what I would’ve done differently to make this feel /more/ like the final book, but something in the execution of this book just didn’t quite come together to feel like it was the final hurrah for all these characters.

(Ok also I feel like it should’ve maybe been a bigger deal that Nikki and Rook took down 2 presidential candidates in the span of like, a week!?!?!!??! in books 8 and 9)

[D.B. Woodling · Rating 2 out of 5]

Assigning someone's hard work only two stars is always a difficult thing for me. (Fortunately, I've rarely found the occasion to do it.) I did so in the spirit of honesty/total disclosure. Sorry to say, I would not recommend this book.

[Сибин Майналовски · Rating 3 out of 5]

Илюминати?! Оф...

[Marge · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unnecessary

[Tisha · Rating 1 out of 5]

For a book which I was highly anticipating as I've enjoyed the series so far, this in comparison to them was a complete let down. From ridiculously small chapters (one was 1 1/2 pages long) that spent too much time endlessly repeating things from previous books, that had already been stated 2/3 times throughout this book, to the miraculous recovery of the previously dead Detective Heisenberg, the book can be summed up in one word, disappointing.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

We all read books to satisfy our guilty pleasures, and for me, one of the series I read is the Nikki Heat series written by the TV characters on the TV show, Castle. Richard Castle is a fictional character that writes a book about a fictional character named Nikki Heat, and Jameson Rook, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author. "Crashing Heat" is the 10th book in the Nikki Heat series. I really used to enjoy that series but it seams Castle jumped the shark tank when he separated from Kate Beckett, a fictional detective on the NYPD. But this is about the book series, not the TV series.

Tom Straw is the ghostwriter of the Richard Castle novels. These novels are sometimes over the top about a ruggedly handsome writer and yes, in this book he refers to himself that way about a half a dozen times. These books are hammy, lovey-dovey and the police almost always get there man or woman, sometimes it might take the next book but they're like the Canadian Mounties, they do get the bad guy.

"Crashing Heat" starts out a little slow but 4 or 5 chapters later Jameson has become the lead person of interest in a murder case where a student where Rook was recruited to teach a semester at his old Alma Mater, is found naked in his bed and naturally she is dead. This book has probably the least amount of action out of the other 9 books in the series but because of my guilty pleasure, I really enjoy the series. ABC canceled the series after season 8, but the books keep coming. If the books keep coming I'll still read them.

Crashing Heat by Richard Castle,
Book 10 in the Nikki Heat Series

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing with my checking in with familiar characters was the last of the "Nikki Heat" books by Richard Castle. A fun and campy book, this was a good one to listen to on a road trip as it didn't really require a lot of close attention.

Up for the Nellie Bly award, Jameson Rook is confronted at the ceremony by Chloe Masterson, a student at his alma mater, Cambria University, who wants to talk to him about a story she's working on. Half interested (Rook), half blowing her off (Heat), Rook promises he will meet with her in a couple of weeks when he is at the university as a visiting professor. Instead, he finds her naked and dead in his bed causing Nikki to take some time off from her job to help solve the murder and keep her husband out of jail.

It was not a surprise to me Chloe was going to end up a victim (I didn't read the synopsis of the book ahead of time). In fact, I would have been more surprised if she hadn't wound up dead. What was a bit of a surprise was how little of the book seemed to focus on what happened to her and how much was fluff as to how great Heat and Rook are together. It was cute at first, but seriously, how many times do readers need to be reminded Rook is "ruggedly handsome" in one book?

Towards the end, however, the mystery picked up with Rook being in his element as he and Heat went down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole. I found the secret society aspect of the book to be a bit farfetched and at times a little boring, but at the same time, I also recognize writers do have to do what they can to keep a series fresh. This is the last book that has been written in this series and it doesn't look like anymore are currently in the pipeline. Given that "Castle" ended a few years ago, I'm okay with that.

On a side note, having read "Ten Days in a Mad-house" by Nellie Bly and being familiar with her contributions to investigative journalism, I was thrilled she got a nod in this book.

[Ashley Dimmerling · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was probably the worst one. I couldn’t give it more than two stars and I hate to say that because I love Castle and I was so excited to read this series. BUT how do you bring back a dead character? Like seriously? She was shot in the head back in the middle of the series. Whoever wrote this one did not send it off with a bang like I thought the last one should have. Also Nikki was married before? Like that makes no sense and not even a sliver of mentions of this ex husband in the other books. Her mom “dies” and she is so focused on finding the killer and she explains several times that she has no desire for relationships so how do you just drop a bomb saying she has an ex husband? Also I get the small introductions of the characters in the beginning of all the books but this one felt overkill. The last part that killed me was the banter. I got none of that fun, spunky like banter I got in the other books. I didn’t feel that spark between them. So just to shorten this all I’ll say that the series should have ended on book 9. This one was pointless.

[Sheldon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate the admit it, but I really enjoy this series. Heat makes for an most enjoyable character and along with her affable, but effete buddy, Richard Castle the series is a real pleasure. We need some sex and more humor in our mysteries and this book handles both comfortably. There are ten books in the series and Castle is no longer on TV, so enjoy the novels.

[Beatrice Followill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series , love the show more wish it was still on. This read was just ok for me ,seemed like a "tired" storyline one that has been portrayed many times in other scenarios. Loved Heat and Rook as always .

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable story that reads more like the underrated TV show and less like the previously released harder-edged books in the series, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Reading this installation is like revisiting old friends in a well-plotted, well-paced murder mystery.

[Piepie | The Napping Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing too serious here, but I'm a Castle fan, and I enjoyed this light, quick romp into the world of secret societies.

[LAURIE]

Great 👍! But I still can't figure out how the book title comes in?? Never had that problem before.😊

[Jenny Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh Nikki. Good job Richard

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Juliette · Rating 2 out of 5]

so who’s gonna remind the author that he killed off Sharon Hinesburg like 4 books ago…?