Heat Wave

By: Richard Castle

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

The title character from ABC's hit television series Castle kicks off his new series of books featuring tough and sexy New York police detective Nikki Heat with a bang.©2009 Richard Castle (P)2009 Tantor

How could a soulless rip-off be this well done?

Where does Heat Wave rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's not the best but it's certainly in the top ten

What did you like best about this story?

Since this is just a spin-off of the Castle TV show, I expected the worst: hack writing, rehashing of old plots, obvious signs of a 5 minute writing process. Instead, it was solidly written and, most interestingly, written from the viewpoint of Kate Beckett. Now you have the TV show - which is all about the male character - and the books, which are all about the woman. It's like a sexual Rashomon.

Different narrator would have been great!

I must start by saying I am a fan of the Castle television show but quickly adapted to Detective Heat's character being very different from the "inspiration". The story line was not earth shattering, but it was enjoyable. My main problem and distraction was Mr. Heller's narration. Despite his annoying voice I was determined to complete the story to see if I could figure out "who done it". However, I will not listen to anything else that he is associated with.

Fun story if you're a Castle fan

It's a good Castle story - you can picture Nicki Heat as being Kate Beckett if you're a tv Castle fan. The narrator ruins it though - very bland.

Audio

The audio quality of this book was very substandard. The reader sounded as though he had a bad cold. Poorly done.

Just like the show...with different names!

It was a great listen, I think, because I'm a huge fan of the TV series. I had faces to attach to characters already. The only difficulty was assigning the names, which are different than the show, to the faces that I already have in my mind's eye.

Delivers a solid and fast paced story.

Any additional comments?

Precisely as expected. Had a few good twists. Nice chemistry. Similar to the TV series but not totally the same. Interesting and fun. Excellent beach or weekend read.

Too fun!

(Darn review editor -- I can't get it to break this my remarks into paragraphs. Sorry.) + + + + +



CONTENT: I love Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Carver and the old gumshoe detective stories.

+ + + + +

While this one is set in modern times, it has that feel to it and is just plain fun to listen to. The humor is mostly good (with a few groaners) and the interplay between the characters is enjoyable.

+ + + + +

I am a fan of the TV show but found this to be better. It has the time to go into more detail and give more meat to the mystery. The characters are based on those in the show and it's easy to visualize the same actors in the roles, all of which lends a comfortable familiarity. Even so, they are different enough to make it fun getting to know the new players.

+ + + + +

I figured out the ending, mostly, but it was fun (there's that word again) to work it through and come up with the answer, just seeing that I was right.

+ + + + +

Is it a "Great Mystery Novel"? Nah. But it IS, as I said, FUN. =)

+ + + + +

PRODUCTION: Unlike some reviewers, I enjoyed this production. At first, I thought it a bit flat but, as I got into the story and put myself in the mindframe of the old film noir stories, the delivery seemed spot on. The voices were distinct enough so as not to confuse and the delivery had the right tone to it.

Thoroughly a great listen!

Performance powerfully brought this "pseudo-novel" to life- cadences matches known "Castle" characters, very much enhancing this listen ...

Great fun for any "Castle" fan - will listen to more in the series!

Not Very Meaty

Would you try another book from Richard Castle and/or Johnny Heller?

maybe

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The whole story just wasnt very interesting. It was like reading a long version of one of the hour long Castle episodes. One episode of Castle is much more entertaining than this whole book.

What three words best describe Johnny Heller’s voice?

Kind of boring

Could you see Heat Wave being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Maybe if they told the story without all the fluff in the book.
If you watch Castle, the characters are the same with different names.

Any additional comments?

I had to MAKE myself finish it

Entertaining

I enjoy this author very much bec ause he combines the mystery of the crime with characters that are witty and fun