You know how the second season of a promising TV show is usually better than the first season? You saw the potential in that first season, but the timing was a bit off, or the lines seemed forced. Yet the characters were compelling enough that you kept watching, and tuned in for the next 13-week run.
Well, the Richard Castle books followed that pattern, which I guess is appropriate since Richard Castle is a TV character writing the fictionalized fiction of the real TV show, Castle. Lucky for me, I had read the second book, Naked Heat first, so when I was somewhat let down with book one Heat Wave I wasn't too undone. (The worst was the teensy-tiny print of the mass-market paperback I got on loan from my public library: 1/4 inch margins, for pity's sake!)
Heat Wave takes place during a heat wave in New York City when protagonist police detective Nikki Heat is called to investigate the death of a prominent mover-and-shaker in real estate. He has plunged six stories to his death from his huge suite/apartment into the beverage bar of the street café below. Suicide? Murder? Let Police Procedure begin! Interviews ensue with all of the deceased's associates, from his ditzy (or is she?) wife to low-lifes who might have a grudge. These characters are well presented and distinctive.
Being the first book of the series, introductions had to be made of Heat's detective assistants (they were too cutesy!) and her ME friend (the best character development), and, of course, the writer, Castle--er, Jameson Rook--who is a police tag-along while he researches a national article about the police department. Rook has none of the humorous charm of book two (or of Castle in the TV show); he seems rather Junior high-schoolish and vain; three cheers for improvements! The romantic and lustful interludes between Heat and Rook are more prominent in this first book and to me seemed a bit overdone. But then, I imagine this first book was an experiment (it almost seemed like a spoof) a whim of ABC directors, and they probably didn't expect it to become a NYT bestseller. If there's a third book, it will no doubt be better than the second.
Heat Wave is a fun read, and as vacation times approach, it's a good book to throw in the beach bag.
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