Ultimate Storm by Richard Castle
| Ultimate Storm by Richard Castle | |
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| Category: Crime | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Ng
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| Summary: Easy to read crime - forget about the sexist lead character and just enjoy the ride! | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 336 | Date: June 2015 |
| Publisher: Titan Books Ltd | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9781783291861 | |
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As if it wasn’t complicated enough trying to figure out what was real and what wasn’t when reading Raging Heat now I find myself reading another story written by this fictional television character that made him a bestselling author. I do wonder, reading these, who the real writer (or writers) behind Richard Castle must be! Anyway, this time we’re with Castle’s fictional character (a fictional character’s fictional character!) Derrick Storm, a PI turned CIA agent, though in this book he’s being called back into service after disappearing into early retirement and officially being 'dead'. This book is actually a collection of three Storm stories, but they are all related and part of the same overall arc.
Initially called in on a high-profile kidnapping case, Storm soon realises that there is more to the case than meets the eye. With Russian intrigue, lost gold bars, some fast action in England and the continuing challenge of trying to figure out who is lying and who is telling the truth, Storm has a difficult case to solve. I wasn’t always entirely sure of him as a character. He’s a little old-school in his treatment of women for a start. He flirts heavily with the female agent working with him and oversteps the boundaries of sexual harassment continually. He’s smart, but not as funny as I’d imagined the character would be from the Television show Castle, and I just wasn’t sure I really liked him. Still, you feel sympathy towards him in that he’s been taken from his anonymous refuge and thrown back into the world of intrigue. Like Storm, you’re unsure as you read who can be trusted and who can’t.
It moves from corrupt senators to assassination attempts to lost Russian gold. There is an undercurrent of romance brewing for Storm, of course. How FBI agent April Showers (I know, I groaned too!) somehow sees beyond his lame advances I’m not sure, but she falls for him, rather obviously. I felt this was a shame - I rather liked Agent Showers, especially when she was being mean to Storm. The Russians are mean, there’s a twist in the tale (of course) and it’s all very easy to read.
The story, like Storm’s character, feels rather old-school with Russian spies and Americans coming to save the day. It’s exciting though, with plenty of suspense and action and moments of peril! You get to know the characters better through the three stories, with each one building upon the previous set-up. I think being three books in one works in this book’s favour. Had I read the stories individually I would’ve felt disappointed at the lack of a complete ending each time, wondering what the full story was. They are also quite short, so putting them together in one volume makes sense. I did find them compelling reads, and I whizzed through the book quickly, wanting to know what would happen next. They aren’t the best crime fiction novels I’ve read, but they’re not terrible! I did roll my eyes a few times, and some parts I guessed, but they still made for an exciting read, easy to get into, and fun for a long plane flight or a few lazy days on the beach.
For more intrigue with senators and the CIA, try Slash And Burn by Colin Cotterill.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Ultimate Storm by Richard Castle at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Ultimate Storm by Richard Castle at Amazon.com.
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