Note: Naked Heat

I read this book, and the previous Nikki Heat volume, Heat Wave, because I found the concept of a book by a ghost writer, writing for a fictional author interesting. (OK, that sentence is too convoluted, but I’m not going to fix it.) I find the ABC show Castle entertaining in a non-intellectual sort of way. It’s good relaxation.

As for Heat Wave, it took me half the book to get interesting. It almost fell into a rating of 1 on my scale, by virtue of my failing to finish reading it. But about half way through it managed to become mildly interesting and ended up OK. Because I decided to check out the next volume, it makes it, just barely, to a 3.

Naked Heat was better. I was interesting throughout. It’s not a book I couldn’t put down. In fact, I put it down in the middle of quite a number of scenes, including one with Nikki Heat in the middle of a fight. I also had a fair idea what was going on too early in the book, though the evidence was not always presented all that clearly. Some authors keep you guessing by having a complex case. Others do it through some obscure presentation of the evidence. This one uses the latter a bit.

It’s still a decent book, and the concept is fun. I give it 3 out of 5 stars. I also give Heat Wave 3 out of five stars, but Heat Wave barely made it, while Naked Heat is a solid 3.