Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Book #45

Heat Rises, by "Richard Castle." Unabridged audio.

A priest is killed in a distinctly non-priestly location. Detective Nikki Heat opens her investigation, and immediately notes a range of strange occurrences, including interference and stonewalling from her supervisor. Her investigation puts both her career and life in jeopardy. The novel includes dirty cops, a Hollywood scandal, and Central American human rights activists.

Knowing the way these books reflect broadly what happened during the related "Castle" TV season, there is a character death that will not come as a surprise to fans of the show. The specifics differ, as the books are not novelizations of the show, but as a fan of the show, the death was not a surprise. 

The plot was strong, and the revelation of the "big bad" behind the crime was a surprise. The handling of this character was very well done, and final shootout was dramatic. The "ruggedly handsome" line and a reference to Mal Reynolds were both laugh out loud moments, and there are other parts of levity throughout, a nice counterpoint to the core tension of the novel.

As always, Heller does an excellent job characterizing the different people in the book. His tough New York accent is perfect for a story like this. And for the characters who are analogs for the TV show characters, Heller is able to bring similar intonation to his reading. Not impersonations by any means, but it is clear that he is familiar to the characters on the TV show. 

This is a very good book, and an outstanding audiobook.

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