Crashing Heat by Richard Castle

Sometimes it pays to open up those emails from GoodReads.

Would We Get Any More Books?

When the TV show Castle ended--still one of my all-time favorite shows--there was one more Richard Castle book already in the pipeline. That was HEAT STORM. As much as I enjoyed the shows and the real-life books that accompanied the series, I reckoned there would be no more.

Imagine my surprise when CRASHING HEAT showed up.

The Return of Nikki Heat

The Nikki Heat books are a good blend of twisty mysteries wrapped up in a set of characters enjoyable to be around. Where other books might draw you in based on the premise of the mystery, here, the mystery serves as a framework in which Nikki Heat and her husband, Jameson Rook, can interact. And this mystery is a doozy.

Rook, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, has been invited to spend a semester at his old alma mater as a writer-in-residence. Seeing as how this school largely shaped his own world view and career, Rook eagerly accepts.

Much to Nikki's chagrin. As the captain of the Twentieth Precinct, she can't just hop around, going wherever her globe-trotting beau goes. She has to stay at home in New York, missing him and trying to convince her heart and brain there's nothing to worry about. Even if Chloe Masterton, a young lady, a senior at that very school, cannot wait to meet the veteran journalist at a charity event. Chloe is, as Nikki dubs her, "the president of the Jameson Rook fan club." Rook assures Nikki her fears stand on nothing.

Then the call comes.

The Call That Changes Everything

A few weeks after his departure, Rook, with his usual bluster evaporated, calls Nikki and lets her know he's in trouble. It seems Chloe is dead, in his house, in his bed, naked. What would you think were you in Nikki's position?

Well, the trained detective is not going to let her husband's fate rest in the hands of small town cops, so she heads upstate to help.

What follows is a pretty standard mystery, the likes of which you'd have found on any random episode of the TV show Castle, from which these characters emerge. There's not a lot of twists and turns, but enough to make this book an enjoyable and welcome read. Narrator Robert Petkoff again nails the Nathan Fillion-like quality to his voice so much so that you'd almost guess it was the actor himself reading the novel.

Again, it's the interactions between the two leads that you're reading this book. Heck, you could probably just follow them around on a typical day, seeing them play off each other, and you'd probably enjoy the experience. In all these Nikki Heat novels, I've loved seeing their interplay, how it's grown and matured--mostly. Rook is still Rook, which means he's like the character Castle from the TV show, which means he's like star Nathan Fillion. And if Rook's Fillion, then Nikki's co-star Stana Katic. There's no point in trying not to see them at their charming best when reading this new novel.

CRASHING HEAT is a welcome surprise to the books of 2019, and I hope--just as I hoped when the last Nikki Heat novel was published--that there are a few more in the future. I'll always buy them on Day One, just as I have since 2009 when HEAT WAVE hit the shelves.

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@Barrie Summy

Overlooked Movies: The Nice Guys (2016)

Chemistry. It’s when two things go together that can make something greater than the whole. Sometimes, chemistry can help you fall in love, maybe get married. Sometimes, bad chemistry can do the opposite. Then you get the chemistry of two actors you’d likely not put together and you get gold.

The Nice Guys star Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. It’s a crime story/buddy comedy/neo-noir movie set in the the 1970s that’s definitely at home with the summer crowd. I love superhero movies as much as the next guy, but there was something refreshing about seeing a movie like The Nice Guys when it was released in June 2016. It’s counter programming for the summer.

The Plot May Sound Standard...

If you’ve seen almost any Shane Black movie, you know what to expect. Russel Crowe plays Jackson Healy, an enforcer, who all but hates himself for the job he does. But he’s good at it and effective. Private eye Holland March (Gosling) is down-on-his-luck (natch) and an alcoholic (also natch). He has a philosophy of how he treats his customers (read: get as much as possible) but he’s also a bit of a wimp. That particular brand of character is somewhat unique in movies like this. Well, the wimp part, that is. His wimpiness becomes evident whenever he sees blood as that typically makes him sick. The two initially meet when Healy is asked to pay March a visit. This part’s in the trailer so it’s not a giveaway to say that Healy fractures March’s arm.

...But the Actors' Chemistry Make the Movie Awesome

It’s in this initial scene where the chemistry between Crowe and Gosling blossom. Their tet-a-tet is instantly charming and the small Sunday night crowd at the theater laughed out loud all throughout the movie. As you could imagine, the case March is working on—the disappearance of an adult actress named Amelia—gets tied back to a job Healy is working. Healy’s the character with a conscience and he ends up hiring March to find Amelia.

Hilarity ensues.

If it’s a Shane Black movie, you know the dialogue is spot on and sharp as a whip. I’m not sure which Hollywood executive decided that Crowe and Gosling would be good together, but he or she deserves a bonus. The chemistry of the two actors is remarkable. In a different age, you could see them guest host a variety show.

But where Black diverts from the norm is in having March be a single father. Holly March, played by Angourie Rice, is a precocious twelve-year-old who has become her dad’s partner. The addition of her is icing on the cake. She actively helps her dad through this story, at times getting into trouble and at other times being the quick-thinking extra set of eyes the story needs. The repartee between her and Crowe and Gosling is a thing you didn’t know you wanted but are so glad you have.

There are lots of great little moments I won’t spoil here, but I will point out one of my absolute favorites without giving any context. Remember when I said that March has a thing about seeing blood? Well, this being the neo-noir movie it is, blood is present. But in one scene, Gosling channels Lou Costello (as in Abbott and Costello) in his attempt to signal Healy. You know what I’m talking about. It’s when Costello say, sees the Frankenstein monster (in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein) and can’t get the words out to yell for Abbott. Instead he just loses his voice in a soft whisper. That’s what Gosling did. Everyone in the theater was in stitches.

Speaking of stitches, my wife and her sister went with me to the theater. Based on the red band trailer, they were unsure if they'd like the film. When I mentioned to my wife that Black was the same guy who wrote "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," that got her more interested. We walked out of the theater with smiles on our faces.

The Nice Guys is a terrific film and highly recommended. And, after three years, where in the world is the sequel?

Book Review Club: Skating Around the Law by Joelle Charbonneau

(This is the February 2011 Edition of Barrie Summy's Book Review Club. For the complete list of today's reviewers, click the icon at the end of this post.)

Have you ever had a situation where you weren’t looking for something, and yet you stumble over it and discover something brand new? A song on the radio catches your fancy and you seek out the artist and buy the CD. The trailer of a movie of a type you don’t normally watch finds you in the seats on opening day. Well, that happened to me with Skating Around the Law, the debut novel by Joelle Charbonneau.

Let’s go ahead and get the disclaimer out of the way: Joelle and I are among the group of eight writers who blog under the Do Some Damage banner. I met her when she had a signing at Houston’s Murder by the Book last October. I bought her book and read it. As a reader, I don’t normally choose the lighter, fun, effervescent type books. When it comes to written mystery fiction, I trend towards hard-boiled, gritty material. Not so with television, where “Castle,” “CSI: Miami,” and whatever’s on Masterpiece Mystery rule the day. Having said all of this, I intended to read Joelle’s book, like it enough to compliment her, and then think nothing more of it.

Skating Around the Law did nothing less than shake the foundations of my reading life. Suddenly, it was as if an entire section of the bookstore was opened to me, the section I so assiduously avoided. While the book doesn’t precisely fit within the strict definition of the cozy, it is a close relative. Thus, this book is the first of that type of book. And it won’t be the last.

The novel features Rebecca Robbins, a young professional in Chicago who returns to her small hometown with one goal in mind: sell the roller rink her deceased mother bequeathed to her and get back to the Windy City. There’s only one thing that’s bringing down the value of the rink: the dead body in the bathroom. When the police don’t really seem that interested in solving the death of Mack the handyman, Rebecca takes matters into her own hands. With a colorful cast of characters and the able assistance of her randy grandfather, Rebecca starts to poke her nose where most of the town thinks it doesn’t belong.

Perhaps the most charming subplot of the novel is that involving local veterinarian Lionel Franklin. That would be the the six-foot tall, ruggedly handsome Dr. Franklin, the very man who also happens to own Elwood the camel. Playful tête-à-têtes are alway good and Charbonneau gives Rebecca and Lionel plenty of time for spars, longing looks, and come-backs. To be honest, the romantic in me wanted a tad bit more, something she assures me is in the next book of the series.

Charbonneau’s prose is sharp, pointed, and quick. The heroine’s first person narration is natural sounding, full of observations with which any modern woman (or man) will be able to identify. I found myself chuckling aloud at certain passages that charmed me, even reading a few aloud to my wife. One of my favorites is this one: “I blinked as Lionel set me back down on my own two feet. What happened? Did I have eclair breath?” The grandfather, Pop, is hilarious, dating just about every single senior citizen in town. The structure of the mystery should satisfy even the most ardent of readers, and even I didn’t see the culprit until the very end.

One of the things that makes a book or television series work is the answer to a simple question: would you, the reader, want to return to the setting and the characters. For me, it is an unqualified and resounding yes. I have not had this much fun reading a book in a long time.

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