A Brewing Storm is the first of a trilogy of e-book
shorts by Richard Castle featuring protagonist, Derrick Storm. Richard Castle is the pen name for the ghost
writer of the Derek Storm series and later the Nikki Heat series as well as the
popular ABC TV show, Castle where
Richard Castle is played by Nathan Fillion.
Apparently the identity of the ghost writer is buried so deep that
Fillion, the actor attends the author’s book signings.
In the TV
show, Richard Castle is often chided by his author buddies for killing off his
successful protagonist, Derek Storm thus ending his lucrative series. So in A
Brewing Storm, Derek is brought back to life. He is enjoying the life of an outdoorsman in
Montana in the CIA version of a witness protection program when spy master,
Jedidiah Jones calls in a favor and brings Storm back to Washington to
investigate the kidnapping of a Senator’s step-son. Derek must work with gorgeous but capable FBI
agent April Showers to sift through confusing ransom notes and complicated
relationships of families as well as decipher motives of U.S. and international
politicians. Of course the ending twist
segues nicely into novella #2 in the series, A Raging Storm.
I was at that
point in the process of selecting my next book where nothing looked all that
interesting and I needed a diversion… A
Brewing Storm served that purpose very well. So well in fact I immediately downloaded the
next e-book in the series… now it’s a guilty pleasure. Lots of fluff, no gray matter required but a
fun, quick read.
A Raging Storm is the second e-book short in Richard
Castle’s Derek Storm trilogy. Storm
witnesses the assassination of a U.S. Senator and is commissioned to solve the
murder as well as track down six billion dollars worth of gold bars previously
owned by Russia’s Communist Party and at the core of the Senator’s death. Storm and FBI agent April Showers are sent to
London to interrogate Russian outcast Ivan Petrov. Petrov is suspected of bribing the dead
Senator and of having knowledge of the missing gold bars. But there is a traitor in Petrov’s camp who
is loyal to Russia and dangerous to the American crime fighting duo.
A Raging Storm is just as corny and fluffy as the
first short in the series but just as entertaining… and yes, e-book short #3 is
already downloaded. By now I’m
wondering, who is the ghost writer and why is he hiding behind Richard
Castle? Is he embarrassed to be
associated with these sappy tales or more likely is this noise just part of
marketing the whole Richard Castle brand?
A Bloody
Storm is the final installment of Richard Castle’s e-book short trilogy
reviving his Derek Storm character. Storm’s
pal, April Showers was able to extract the location of the missing gold bars
from Petrov, a wealthy Russian outcast. Storm and a team of ghost CIS operatives are
commissioned to go find it. His team
consists of another ‘dead’ CIA agent named Casper, a Russian geologist and
Dilya, an Uzbekistani woman and CIA asset.
The coordinates pinpointing the location of the gold require the team to
cross the Molguzar Mountains (I don’t think these mountains even exist) into
Uzbekistan. Jeddiah, Storm’s CIA handler
suspects one of the team is a traitor but he’s not sure which one. The spy master’s suspicions are confirmed
when the team collides with deadly opposing forces in Uzbekistan.
The final
installment in this e-book short trilogy like its predecessors is short… short
on plot complexity, short on plausibility and short on character
development. But its subtle humor and
fast pace manages to keep the reader fully engaged and thoroughly
entertained. Plus for Castle TV fans, it
adds a new dimension to the whole lame but charming experience. As for the question, ‘Who is Richard Castle?’
an internet search reveals several possibilities including James Patterson,
Michael Connelly, the late Stephen Cannell, Tom Straw, and Terri E. Miller… but
so far no one will admit to it. Perhaps
the ghost writer just doesn’t want to be known by this name. According to Nathan Fillion, the character's name
"Rick Castle" was noted by the show creator as sounding like
"Rich Asshole" and is an accurate description of his character… I
love that.
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