If you love writer Richard Castle and detective Kate Beckett on the small screen, you will LOVE Jameson Rook and Nikki Heat. Heat Wave, a best-seller by “Richard Castle” is a racy, pacy read.

The premise is familiar — a crime scene, (real-estate mogul Matthew Starr has been killed. He’s survived by his high-maintenance wife Kimberly, toddler son and a ditzy nanny) the precinct and the hot-as-hell chemistry between the two protagonists.

Rook, the celebrity magazine writer “tag-along”, is quite like our Castle — goofy meets gorgeous, charming meets clever. With an all-area access thanks to his friendship with the influential, he is Mr First-Name-basis with Mick (Jagger, come on) and Bono (U2, what else)! Of course he has mover-shaker poker pals — judges, news anchors, Oscar-winning directors….

But the real surprise through these 198 pages is Nikki Heat, whose character is dramatically different from Beckett. Sure, she’s a brave top cop, ever so quick in pulling out the gun, contemplating the white board in the middle of the night by herself but “heat”-wise, things are far hotter in print than on telly.

She trains with Don, an ex-navy seal. After hours they, er, train as well. When it comes to Rook, she blushes easy, too easy, in fact. She also checks out his butt. They lick salt off each other before downing that tequila. And wait for this, somewhere in the middle of the book, Rook and Heat land up in bed (but not without him making a “project” out of her blouse button)! Yeah, while it took Castle and Beckett four seasons and 81 episodes to finally “do it”, in the book the action takes place just after 100 pages!

When Rook and Heat are not hotting it up, they are playing a game of good-cop-no-cop with enough cool-it glances that we are only so familiar with on TV.

Castle addicts will feel at home through this read. Be prepared to hear the voices of actors Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic (picture left) as you read the lines of Rook and Heat.

It’s a happy ending, with the murder being solved in signature style, though the killer was quite obvious. There are heart-stopping moments too, especially when the Russian bad guy tries to kill Heat. The supporting Castle cast is also there in the book, in the form of associate detectives Ochoa, Raley and Roach. Then there’s autopsy expert Lauren Parry, who’s very much like the likeable Lanie Parish from the show.

The lines of the book match those on the show and we can’t wait to get our hands on the second, third and fourth books. And if you are wondering where Alexis (Castle’s daughter) and Martha (his mother) are, find them on “author” Richard Castle’s acknowledgements section at the end of Heat Wave!

RUN FOR COVER

Harlequin, the house behind Mills & Boon romance novels, is calling all Indians above age 18 to participate in its “Friends for Life” campaign. No, this time you don’t have to write a love story, the idea is to select three male and three female models to feature on Mills & Boon covers.

This is the second year of the contest in India. In 2011, the drive attracted 1,100 entries. Selected models were featured on the cover of titles like His Monsoon Bride (in picture) and Monsoon Wedding Fever.

To participate in the

M&B Cover Model Hunt, log on to www.millsandboonindia.com. Entries close on September 30.

Shradha Agarwal

Which do you like better — the Castle show or the books? Tell t2@abp.in