>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> SPOILER ALERT <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Heat Wave
It gets even better. In the show Nathan Fillion plays writer Richard Castle who will base his next book on the detective he is following: Kate Beckett. These books actually came out! The first one is called Heat Wave and is dedicated 'to the extraordinary KB and all my friends at the 12th'. In short the story is about NYPD detective Nikki Heat 'tough, sexy and professional' who carries a passion for justice as she leads one of New York City's top homicide squads. When the commissioner assigns superstar magazine journalist Jameson Rook to ride along with her to research an article on New York's Finest, she's hit with un unexpected challenge - next to solving a crime. This would be the New York real estate tycoon who plunged to his death on a Manhattan sidewalk and a trophy wife with a past that survives a narrow escape from a brazen attack. Nikki Heat tries to shine a light on the case, while unraveling another shocking murder and comes across a sharp turn in a tense journey into the dirty little secrets of the wealthy. The story takes place during a suffocating grip of record heat wave, which functions as a metaphor for her relation with Rook. 'Pulitzer Prize-winning Rook is as much a handful as he is handsome. His wise-cracking and meddling aren't her only problems. As she works to unravel the secrets of the murdered real estate tycoon, she must also confront the spark between them... the one called heat.'
A lot of the first season is used in the book, which leads to some fun facts for fans of the show:
- Page 21, a reference is made to the "Marlowe Building", in deference to the creator behind the show Andrew Marlowe.
- Page 25, Heat and Rook meet up with 'Fat Tommy,' gangster friend of Rook's who gives the two a tip that helps with their case. This may be familiar for viewers, because Castle and Beckett visit with a mobster friend of Castle's for help on their case in A Death in the Family (1x10).
- Pages 57-58, there's a very obvious moment from the show. In Home is Where the Heart Stops (1x07) detective Ryan and Esposito start to rattle off a series of slang names for 'suspect' for Rook (he uses 'purp' which is writer speak apparently). In the book Detectives Raley and Ochoa do the same and in both versions Castle/Rook try to write them all down, only to have Beckett/Heat stop him.
- Page 66, Rook recruits Heat to join him in a poker game with a judge named Horace Simpson. On the show (Ghosts - 1x08) Beckett joins Castle in a poker game with a judge named Markway.
- Page 131, Rooks gets into a fight with a witness, wrestless the gun away from him and points it at him while saying "Go ahead. I need the practice." A quote that came from Beckett in episode 1x07. Only in the show Castle wrestless with the murder suspect, the gun gets away. While the suspect struggles to get to it, Beckett steps on it and says the line.
- During the course of the investigation Heat and Rook interview the victim's nanny, with whom he was having an affair. Much like Nanny McDead (1x02) where a nanny was having an affair with the married father of the child she took care of.
- In 1x07 Castle enlists the help of Caine Powell, a jewelry dealer with a sketchy past. In the course of the investigation in the book, Rook asks Casper Philips for help: a well-known art dealer with a sketchy past.
- In the book Rook and Heat discover that the artwork in victim Matthew Starr's apartment are all reproductions. This is similar to Castle's and Beckett's discovery in The Fifth Bullet (2x11).
- Less obvious is the name. It's an indirect reference, because in chess a 'rook' is a castle shaped playing piece.
- The acknowledgments in the book Castle writes about his mother and daughter - Martha Rodgers and Alexis - who play a big part in the show as well. Terri E. Miller gets a special mention (Marlowe's wife and producer of Castle), Andrew himself and many more names. He also writes 'A debt is due to [...] my dear friends Nathan, Stana, Jon, Seamus, Susan, Molly, Ruben, and Tamala. May our days, no matter how long, continue to be filled with laughter and grace.' These are all the names of the main cast.
And on the show:
- In When the Bough Breaks (2x05) there's a launch party for the book and Beckett reads the dedication 'to the extraordinary KB and all my friends at the 12th'.
- In Deep in Death (2x01) the season starts with Castle doing a photoshoot at the precinct for Heat Wave, while Beckett is forced to do an interview.
- During Castle's interview in the opening scene of The Late Shaft (2x20), Bobby Mann promoted the fact that the book would be coming out in paperback on July 27th in 2010, which was the actual release date.
- The tie-in Heat Wave was published by ABC and sister publisher Hyperion Books (written by a ghost writer of course). The first half of the novel were released in weekly increments on their website.
- In episode Fool Me Once... (2x04) there's mentioning of a sex scene between Rook and Heat. Beckett acts like she doesn't care, but does want to read it. See the vid below: "It's on page 105."
- On Tick, Tick, Tick... (2x17) it is revealed that Heat Wave will be made into a movie. This is a storyline over several episodes. There are many more of these things, seeing how they keep talking about a cover that's released and how well the book is doing on the show.
Want to read it for yourself? Check it out here.
Naked Heat
While Heat Wave was a bit slow or flat sometimes (storywise), the second book was much better. This starts after Rook and Heat ended their romance. The article about Det. Heat has already come out and she is a familiar face in the entire city. But Nikki and Jameson are pushed into each others life once again because of a new murder. Rook was shadowing a gossip columnist who is now found dead and Heat is forced to accept Rook's help. Being a gossip columnist, there's a long list of suspects because of the secrets she exposed of them. There is even an old flame of Nikki herself. Nikki tries to solve the case while dealing with her new found fame, as well as Rook's re-appearance. All right, time for fun facts:
- Page 87: Rook opens a fridge and a body topples out, which also happends to Castle in The Third Man (2x14).
- Page 105: Nikki Heat tries and succedes in getting her duck tape off. In A Rose for Everafter (2x12), Castle mentions how he has Nikki Heat strapped to a chair and he's trying to figure out how she can escape.
- Page 117: Rook comments on Nikki's bathtub and says 'If the asteroid ever hits, this is where you should duck and cover.' In Boom (Part Two) (2x18) Beckett jumps into her bathtub to survive the bomb blast that destroys her apartment.
- Page 123: Nikki reveals that here 'safe word' is pineapples. Rick Castle mentions to Beckett in both Flowers For Your Grave (1x01) and The Mistress Always Spanks Twice (2x16) that his safe word is 'apples'.
- Page 221: The code for the Chef's wine cellar is the same as Beckett's badge number, 41319.
- In the book there's a character named Soleil Gray. She was based on Sky Blue (Soleil stands for 'sun' though) from the episode Famous Last Words (2x07).
- There's a nod to actress Stana Katic (who plays Beckett), whose parents emigrated from the same region as Croatia, in the character of Petar Matic and his Croatian background.
- Toby Mills, the baseball player, and his agent are inspired by Cano Vega and his agent Bobby Fox from Suicide Squeeze (2x15).
But it gets even better: In this book there are two references to Mal(colm) Reynolds, the character Fillion played on Firefly and Serenity. Namely, there's a pair of detectives named Malcolm and Reynolds XD.
- In the acknowledgments Castle thanks the 12th precinct and mentions Beckett, Esposito, Ryan and Montgomery by name as well as Dr. Lanie Parish where he adds the quote "If he's dead, why is he still moving?" Deepest gratitude goes to daughter Alexis and mother Martha and Andrew Marlowe is an inspiration. He thanks Terri E. Miller (co-conspirator), Nathan, Stana, Seamus, Jon, Ruben, Molly, Susan and Tamala, but also Melissa Harling-Walendy at ABC, someone named Tom and Jennifer Allen (for the ride-along). The acknowledgements were written in The Hamptons in July 2010 by RC, which falls in a direct line with the story of the show (more precisely A Deadly Game 2x24).
On the show:
- In episode A Deadly Game (2x24) Beckett asks "She's naked on the cover again, isn't she?" to which Castle answers "Kinda, yeah." See vid below for the evidence ;-).
- In 2x05 it's mentioned for the first time that Castle will be writing three more Nikki Heat books, of which Naked Heat is the first.
Online version of the book by chapter can be found here.
Heat Rises
The third book was a bit ahead of it's eps I think, but I'm not sure. I just finished reading it and it's full of information that is connected to many episodes of all seasons. It starts with a bizarre murder of a priest at a bondage club in New York. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, because it leads Detective Heat to a dark conspiracy that includes the highest level of the NYPD. Even her Captain, Montrose, pushes her in another direction. When Nikki gets too close to the truth, she's disgraced, stripped of her badge and out on her own. Not the best way to be, when killers are after you... Fortunately reporter Jameson Rook is there to help her out. Together they will prove one thing - in the midst of the coldest winter New York has had in a century - that Heat will Rise. No shortage of fun facts in this one, take a look:
- Page 55: Nikki is sparring with ex-Navy SEAL Don, who she occasionally does other 'stuff' with too. It reminded me of Kate's relationship with Det. Demming, who she was also sparring with quite a lot.
- Page 97: Nikki and Jameson are playing a question game, but whenever someone doesn't want to answer they have to take of their clothes "like strip poker?" as Heat says. In 1x02 Castle tells Beckett she should join him and his writerbuddies for a poker game. When she says it's to rich for her taste, he remarks "We could always make it strip poker."
- Page 111: While Nikki is waiting for Dr. Armani a male nurse 'with a youthful face and surfer dude curls - with brilliant teeth' tells her that the Doctor is busy 'with the intimacy of a patient lover.' This may ring a bell, seeing how a male nurse (Steamy/Dreamy) is a suspect in Anatomy of a Murder (3x05).
- Page 124: Nikki is being hunted by professional assasins and takes cover in Belvedere Castle. There's a line that may be double-y interpreted "Heat leaned back against the wall, looking upward at the castle that had been her salvation."
- Page 153: During the investigation Nikki interviews a former drug runner, who did time in Sing Sing and since then has been clean. In 3x05 Beckett interviews a former drug runner who reformed himself. Secondly, in the book his alibi is watching the Bond movie Quantum of Solace at home after which he tells Nikki "You could be a Bond Girl yourself, Detective." This is a reference to Stana Katic who plays Beckett and was also the Bond girl in that movie.
- Page 164: While Rook is installing a Nanny/Nikkicam he sees himself in the monitor and says "I really am ruggedly handsome, aren't I?" much like the episode Always Buy Retail (1x06) and with which Det. Ryan agreed in A Deadly Affair (3x01).
- Page 168: In the book there's a conversation about someone who works at a pizza parlor called Legendary Luigi's and there's confusion about Luigi's Original. A similair thing happends in Slice of Death (3x20).
- Page 203: Nikki is talking about a neighbour in her building, named Mrs. Nathan (which of course will make you think of the face on the back cover: Nathan Fillion).
- Page 218: Rook was shot at because he was following Nikki, but he dove away in time. In Knockout (3x24) Castle tries to dive in front of Beckett, but he's too late and she's shot in the chest.
- Page 244: When Nikki and Rook interview Mueller's agent, he tells Rook he would make him into a stripper by the name of Indiana Bones - complete with fedora and bullwhip - or a space explorer. In Wrapped Up In Death (2x19) and Setup (3x16) it becomes clear that Castle is a Indiana Jones fan. Rook guesses that when the agent talks about the space explorer he means Malcolm Reynolds.
- Page 251: To get Meuller to talk Rook threatens him with a hyperdermic needle to demonstrate how easy it would be for someone to "dress like nurses and inject poison into the IV drip of their victims." In A Death in the Family (1x10) this is exactly what a contract killer tries to do, but Castle and Beckett stop it in time.
- Page 258-261: Rook's mother, named Margaret Rook (much like Martha Rogers in the series), talks about Rook's middle name being Alexander, just like Castle's.
- Page 268: There's mention of the Brass Harpoon 'a legendary writer's bar of old Manhattan' and 'a mythical survivor of prohibition with its secret doors and underground tunnels' much like the one in Last Call (3x10)
- Page 301: There's a book that Rook published under the pseudonym of Victoria St. Clare titled Castle of Her Endless Longing (nice reference to Castle and Beckett). It features a character named Lady Kate Sackett, which of course is a reference to Kate Beckett. In the opening scene of the book, she is approached on horseback by a man "handsome in a roguish way" (see above) who offers to "ride along" with her which is what Castle does with Kate and Rook did with Nikki and her squad in Heat Wave.
- The priest is found in a fetish club, much like the one Castle and Beckett visit in 2x16.
- The beginning of the story mirrors episodes 2x24 and 3x01, where Castle and Beckett have been out of touch during the summer. Heat hasn't seen Rook for a month, not knowing where their relationship stands.
- Just as Dr. Lanie Parish and Det. Javier Esposito are in a relationship (starting Poof, You're Dead 3x12) the characters from the book Lauren Parry and Det. Ochoa are too.
- A key person in Beckett's murder investigation in Almost Famous (3x07) is a German stripper, much like the one in the book named Horst Meuller.
- The priest was a fan of murder mysteries, like the ones written by Stephen J. Cannell, Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, and James Patterson - who are all in Castle's writers-only poker games. He was also a fan of the movie Air Force One, written by Andrew Marlowe.
- SPOILER!!!!!! During the story Captain Montrose dies, while Nikki still suspects him of something shady. In the series Captain Roy Montgomery died after Beckett discovered he was also involved some shady business.
- There's mention of Capt. Montrose's dog named Penny several times. Actress Penny Johnson Jerald plays Capt. Victoria Gates who takes over command after Capt. Montgomery dies.
- Nikki uses a fire axe one time in the book to chop of someones arm. In the episode One Life to Lose (3x18) the murder which Beckett and Castle are investigating was committed with the same weapon.
- In the acknowledgements Castle once again thanks the team of the precinct as well as Terri Edda Miller (who choose the title) as well as Jennifer Allen (who taught him the secret o' life), Andrew Marlowe and Tom. The actors are mentioned as well, just as his mother and daughter and Melissa from ABC. A special mention is for Mr. Cannell, who the writers' team will still be dealing in during the poker games (he passed away).
On the show:
From now on there isn't much mention about the books on the show.
Feel like reading it? You can! Right here.
>>>>>>> UPDATED SECTION <<<<<<<
Frozen Heat
The fourth novel was released on September 11 in 2012 and it mainly focuses on the murder of Nikki Heat's mother. NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat arrives at her latest crime scene to find an unidentified woman stabbed to death and stuffed inside a suitcase... The suitcase that belonged to her mother and was stolen when her mother was killed - ten years ago. These now connected (and unsolved) murders become the main focus and to solve one murder, she has to solve the other. Once again she is paired with her romantic and investigative partner, the top journalist Jameson Rook, who will help her not just solve the murder but also confront unexplored areas of her mother's background. All is not without danger, because Heat soon turns out to be the target for the next kill. Heat's passionate quest - exposing a startling hidden life of her mother while reexamining her own past - takes her and Rook from back alleys of Manhatten to the avenues of Paris, trying to catch the killer.
Though I feel like I missed a couple of references, here are the ones I did notice ;-). Unfortunately no longer clearly devided into sections such as 'from the show', 'general' and so on, but just criss cross.
- Page 14 & 18: Nikki is handed her favorite cup of coffee by Rook: A grande skim latte with two pumps of suger-free vanilla, which is the same as Kate Becketts.
- Page 23: When Rook and Detective Feller have a disagreement about partnering up with Nikki for the case, Rook suggests a game of Rochambeau, or rock, paper, scissers. Just like how Esposito, Ryan and Castle decided who would go get dogfood in An Embarrassment of Bitches (4x13).
- Page 45: Since Rook got shot in the previous book, Heat is even more protective of him and wants him to stay behind a lot. Therefor Rook says: "Come on, I promise I won't get shot. I can wear one of those vests." Ochoa/Esposito responds "Check it out, bro. It says 'POLICE'", to which Rook answers "Do you have one in there that says 'WRITER'?" Which references several episodes, since Castle had one made for himself in Always Buy Retail (1x06) and since then uses it repeatedly.
- Page 65: As in the previous two books, Detectives Malcolm and Reynolds are present. In this particular section Rook says: "I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something I like about Malcolm and Reynolds." Seeing how Rook's character was based on Richard Castle, played by Nathan Fillion who played Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the series Firefly, a lot of Browncoats will appreciate this one.
- Page 126: At a certain point Heat and Rook are discussing calling 'The Hammer' which is a nickname for the character Zach Hamner, but it's also a wink to Nathan Fillion's character Captain Hammer in the webseries Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
- Page 126: Character Captain Wallace Iron in the book is losely based on Captain Gates in the show. At a certain point someone says "You wouldn't be sitting on the wrong side of Cap'n Wally's Iron gate?" In the show it is said that Gates was formerly with the Department of Internal Affairs, earnign the name 'Iron Gates' for her uncompromising personality.
- Page 163: Ochoa mentions "There's an Elvis convention in Atlantic City. I could rock my whole Elvez gig." This is a direct reference to the episode Heartbreak Hotel (4x08) where Esposito, Ryan and Castle all dress up as Elvis and Esposito also says "What? Elvis can't be brown? I'm Elvez!"
- Page 172: Rook and Heat wake up in the trunk of a car, while being handcuffed to each other. This refers to the episode Cuffed (4x10), which focuses on Beckett and Castle being handcuffed to each other.
- Page 202: There's a character named Eugene Summers... It's probably a well known name, but to me it always makes me think of Buffy Summers, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer whom Nathan's Fillion's character 'Caleb' tried to kill.
- Page 226: There's this quote, that Rook says to Heat and it goes "And if you're crazy enough to keep going, I'm crazy enough to follow" which references directly to their conversation in Linchpin (4x16) where Castle goes : " If you're stubborn enough to keep going, I'm stupid enough to go with you."
- Page 227: There's a reference to Soleil Gray, a famous singer. It's both a reference to the book Naked Heat as well as the episode Famous Last Words (2x07) which focuses on a singer.
- Page 257: In everybook there's a mention of something 'castle'. In the previous book it was about a castle being her salvation. Now it's the town "Castleton Corners."
- Page 257: There's a reference to the Blue Man's Group by calling it the 'Blue Hands Group.' As in the show, when the detectives gather evidence, they wear blue gloves during their investigation. However, in the ligth of Firefly, it brings to mind the 'Two by Two, Hands of Blue' quote, which Castle/Fillion also referenced in Fool Me Once (2x04), by doing 'two by two, while wearing blue gloves at the crime scene.
- Page 271: There's a reference to a building super of a gossip colunnist whose murder they solved in Naked Heat.
- SPOILER!!! The final twist is someone being a spy. It's a nod to Stana's (who plays Beckett) character in Quantum of Solace and to Castle's former muse Sophia Turner being a spy for an enemy country in Linchpin (4x16). - This is the first book in which Captain Wallace 'Wally' Irons appears, or as on the show Captain Gates. ('a wall of iron' for those who didn't get it ;-) ). But she isn't pictured very well. She's also a man in the book. Which makes it that much funnier that in Secret's Safe With Me (5x03), she says "I decided to give Frozen Heat a read, and you know what? It's really a good book."
Then there's also - as always - the dedication and acknowledgement section. The dedication "To all the remarkable, maddening, challenging, frustrating people who inspire us to do great things" is taken directly from the fourth season finale.
The acknowledgement is pretty much the same as in the previous books: All the actors, creators are named as well as ABC people. I especially liked the little nod to the discovery of 'Lanie sings the blues' which is a direct reference to Tamala Jones singing in the episode The Blue Butterfly (4x14).
Deadly Heat
Deadly Heat is the upcoming fifth novel by Richard Castle about NYPD homicide detective Nikki Heat and journalist Jameson Rook. It's set to be released on September 17th, 2013.
Other books:
In the series Caslte is known for his previous book series about Derrick Storm. In the season finale of season three a graphic novel - based on Storm - was introduced (see vid). Castle: Richard Castle's Deadly Storm was published by Marvel Comics on 28th of September 2011.
Digitally other novellas were released as well:
- A Brewing Storm (May 1, 2012)
- A Raging Storm (July 3, 2012)
- A Bloody Storm (August 7, 2012)
Personally I love the Nikki Heat books. Sure, it's pure fandom pleasure. But the books keep getting better and better. They are more fun if you know the show, because you will get the references. I just love to read them during the periods when there are no new episodes, like the summer. This way I still get 'new episodes' so to speak. I feel that way, because the characters are really a lot alike the characters in the show. You can hear the way the would say the lines and you can just see their faces. That's what makes it even more enjoyable for me to read. I haven't read any Storm novels, because for now, I'm good with Heat. It's not like I feel I have to read them, I just really like them. Who knows, you might too ;-).
A great site for more information on the books is:
- http://castlefans.org/wiki/index.php?title=Naked_Heat_%28Novel%29
Other fandom
I'm the kind of geek who likes to see familiar faces. In Castle, there are a lot of them. Here's a little list of a couple that I noticed:
- In A Chill Goes Through Her Veins (1x06) Channon Roe plays the role of Kevin Henson. He also played Jack O'Toole in The Zeppo (3x13 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
- In Little Girl Lost (1x09) and 1x10 FBI-agent Detective Sorenson, Beckett's ex, is played by Bailey Chase. None other than Graham Miller from Buffy.
- For the Veronica Mars fans among us: Weevil can be seen as Juan - the father of a girl that was kidnapped in 1x09.
- Laurel Holloman plays in 2x01. She's probably mostly known for her role in The L Word, but I know her as Justine in Angel.
- Reed Diamond plays the Doctor in 2x05. He was also in Joss Whedon's Dollhouse.
- Gregg Henry is in everything it seems. In Kill the Messenger (2x08) he played the role of Winston Wellesley, in Haunted (1x10 - Dollhouse) he played William Bashford, and he even worked with Nathan Fillion before. This was as Sheriff Bourne in The Train Job (1x02 - Firefly). (But I mostly know him from Gilmore Girls).
- In 2x10 (One Man's Treasure) D.B. Woodside (Principal Wood) plays the role of Lance Carlberg.
- In 2x11 former lover of Buffy Riley Finn (Marc Blucas) can be seen as Jeremy Preswick.
- A Rose for Everafter (2x12) centers around Kyra Blaine, who is played by Alyssa Milano from Charmed.
- Eddie Shin can be seen in Sucker Punch (2x13). He played Henry Cho in Gilmore Girls, but also Boyd's assistant in Point Pleasant - the one season series by Marti Noxon.
- Jack McGee can be seen in 2x14 (The Third Man) as well as in Becoming Part One (2x21) in Buffy (the man from the museum).
- Ray Wise can be seen in 2x15 as Bobby Fox. Whedonites may know him from Dollhouse as Howard Lipman in The Left Hand (2x06).
- Arye Gross is probably known for a lot of roles. In Castle it's for M.E. Sidney Perlmutter in several episodes, but he also played Professor Grossen in Belle Chose (2x03 Dollhouse) and Larry Duberman in Leverage (3x02 The Reunion Job).
- 2x16 has a couple familiar faces. Such as Dina Meyer (Lady Irina/Amber Hargrove in Point Pleasant), Amy Gumenic (Danielle/Olivia in No Ordinary Family - with Julie Benz - Paige Sayles in Bones - with David Boreanaz - and in How I Met Your Mother - with Alyson Hannigan - as Amanda), Keiko Agena (Kelly/Lane in Gilmore Girls), Devon Gummer (Matt Haley/Sean in Roswell and as Kevin in Tru Calling - Yes, that is with Eliza Dushku).
- 2x17 and 2x18 maybe have some bigger names. Dana Delany plays the role of FBI-agent Shaw, but also played wife of Nathan Fillion in Desperate Housewives... While Leonard Roberts completse the Initiative trio (Bailey Chase/Marc Blucas and himself) of Buffy. He was mostly know as Forrest, but is here Special Agent Jason Avery, the right hand of agent Shaw (he also appeared in Bones and Tru Calling once).
- 2x18 adds another familiar face. That would be Mary-Pat Green, who was in one of my favorite eps of Buffy, namely Anne as 'Blood Bank Doctor' (sad...). At least in Castle she has a name - Erin Murphy ;-).
- 2x19 (Wrapped Up in Death) has two familiar faces: Navi Rawat (Rachel Walters/Dana from Angel in Damage) and Gil Birmingham (the Mayan Cacaw Te/ Peruvian Man in Inca Mummy Girl in Buffy). He also played in Charmed once and twice in Veronica Mars, but is now probably more famous for his role in Twilight.
That's it for now, but I'm sure more will follow ;-).
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