Autumn is absolutely my favorite season. Leaves change colors, we “fall back” to get an extra hour of sleep (hey, I’ll take it!), and Richard Castle releases another Nikki Heat book. Castle is a fictitious author, a character played on the TV show Castle by actor Nathan Fillion. But in the real world in which you and I live, we get to actually hold in our hands and read cover to cover the books that the character on the show writes.
On the show, Richard Castle is a popular mystery/thriller author whose close relationship with the New York City mayor allows him to shadow a team of police detectives. He intends to gain some insight into how real cops work, but the result is a new series of books based soley on the police officers he’s been following around. In fact, the squad complains that the only thing he changes in the books are their names. Even then, using Rook instead of Castle for instance, it is pretty much a dead giveaway about the person’s true identity.
On the TV show Castle develops a bit of a crush on the lead police detective, Kate Beckett. On screen we never see anything but minor sparks between the pair. But in the books Castle writes his Jameson Rook and Nikki Heat into a very intense romance in the first book. Every time someone on the show references a spicy literary scene I just get tickled. How often do you get to watch your favorite television show and then pick up a fast-paced and highly entertaining version in book form?
If you watch the show, I highly recommend you read the Nikki Heat books. The magic formula is to watch the first season and then read the first book, Heat Wave. After that, watch the second season and read the second book, Naked Heat. If you do this, the events in the book, even the dedication at the beginning, won’t serve as a spoiler to the television plot.
If you haven’t heard of Richard Castle, or always meant to start watching the show, there’s really no time like the present. The library has all three seasons on DVD as well as all three books in multiple formats. Fans of mysteries and thrillers will really want to check out Richard Castle.
As for me, I’m all caught up with the DVDs and the books, as well as the first few episodes of the current season. The only thing left to do after I finish this blog post is get back to my fan letter.
Dear Richard Castle,
Did you know you look a lot like actor Nathan Fillion? It’s true. In fact, some say it’s his picture that graces the dust jacket of your Nikki Heat books…
Be sure to visit A Reading Life for more reviews and news of all things happening at the Everett Public Library.
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