Tag / Castle

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Streaking Authors

Every other year or so, we take a fresh look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  I thought it would be interesting to mix it up a bit and, instead of looking at the overall total, to instead look at the authors I have read continuously for the longest period of time.  So, without further ado, it’s time to take a look at which authors have the longest streak of consecutive years read.

Ten

Jeffery Deaver – Thanks mostly to his Lincoln Rhyme series, Deaver put together a streak of ten years with at least one book read by me starting in 2015 with The Vanished Man and ending in 2024 with Fatal Intrusion, his first collaboration with Isabella Maldonado.  After a one-year absence, corresponding with my completing the Rhyme series, he returned in 2026 to hopefully start a new streak.

Nine

Riley Sager – Sager burst onto the scene in 2017 with his first novel, Final Girls.  Every year since, he has put out a new book and I have read it, continuing through last year’s With a Vengeance.  He can extend his streak and tie Deaver for the longest if the library can deliver his latest in the next two months or so.

Karin Slaughter – Another current streak, Slaughter first came across my notice in 2018 thanks to Pretty Girls.  Due in part to her Will Trent and Grant County series, she has showed up at least once every year since, including Girl, Forgotten, which I completed earlier this year.

Eight

Richard Castle – The ghost writer for Richard Castle, the character portrayed by Nathan Fillion in Castle, made appearances in eight straight years, thanks to the novels that were supposedly written in the show, starting in 2010 with Heat Wave and culminating in 2017 with A Bloody Storm.

Six

Sarah Pekkanen – Starting in 2020, with her writing partner Green Hendricks, Pekkanen started her streak with The Wife Between Us.  Her streak outlived the partnership, continuing through last year with The Locked Ward.

Five

Nancy Holder – Thanks to her television show tie-in work, Nancy Holder was able to string together a streak of five years, starting in 1998 with Halloween Rain, based on the adventures of Bully the Vampire Slayer, and finishing in 2002 with The Burning, a collaboration with Jeff Mariotte.

Stephen King – My history with King is long but contains many frequent breaks.  His longest streak, which is current through the end of the year, started in 2021 with Later and runs through last year, when I completed his latest, Never Flinch.

Mary Kubica – The local author first came to my attention in 2015 with The Good Girl.  She appeared at least once annually through 2019, when I completed When the Lights Go Out.

Rebecca Forster – Forster was a constant presence as I worked through her Witness series, beginning in 2021 with Silent Witness and completing last year with Lost Witness.

Alex Finlay – Finlay first landed on my Kindle in 2022, thanks to Every Last Fear.  His streak continues on, thank to this year’s The Anniversary.

Richard Osman – His Thursday Murder Club series has helped him put together a streak of five years, starting in 2022 with The Thursday Murder Club and continuing through 2026 with The Impossible Fortune.

Elin Hilderbrand – We wrap up with Hilderbrand, who also has a current five-year streak going into 2027.  She started in 2022 with The Hotel Nantucket and continued this year with Winter in Paradise.

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Prolific Authors – Fifteen Books

It is time once again to take a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, I’m once again on pace to set a new record for books read in a year, so I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August of this year. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 1xx books, so there should be some movement over the past two years.  Without further ado, it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much over the years.  We continue today the lone author I’ve read fifteen times, who just so happens to be a fictional character.

Richard Castle

Debuting in 2009, the television series Castle follows the lives of Richard Castle, a best-selling novelist, and Kate Beckett, a New York homicide detective, as they solve various unusual murders.  As Castle, portrayed by Nathan Fillion, wrote and released Nikki Heat novels on the show, those novels were released in the real world as well, the first of which, Heat Wave, was released in 2009.  The two most recent efforts, Heat Storm and Crashing Heat, were released after the cancellation of the show, though it appears unlikely that there will be any future installments.

Richard Castle – Driving Heat

The first seven books in the series were eventually revealed to have been ghost-written by Tom Straw. It is unknown if Straw wrote the final entries, though I highly doubt he was responsible for the last one, which had a much different feel to it.

 

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Book 47 (of 52) – The Late Show

The Late Show – Mchael Connelly

Detective Renée Ballard, who has burned a bridge or two in her day, is assigned to the night shift in Hollywood, where she takes calls with her partner but then turns them over to the dayshift to investigate.  When a trans prostitute is beaten nearly to death, she decides that she will keep this one close to vest. giving it the attention that other cops might not.  While at the hospital looking to interview her victim, she picks up part of a bigger case, a multiple murder at a nightclub.  Both cases end up putting Ballard in danger, either personal or professional.  Can she close the cases while keeping her job and her life?

The Late Show, released in 2017, is the first entry in a new series from Michael Connelly.  This was my first time reading anything from Connelly, who was a frequent guest star as himself in Castle.  I look forward to seeing where the story goes from here.

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Prolific Authors – 15 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we continue with the two authors I’ve read fifteen times, up one from 2021.

Richard Castle

Debuting in 2009, the television series Castle follows the lives of Richard Castle, a best-selling novelist, and Kate Beckett, a New York homicide detective, as they solve various unusual murders.  As Castle, portrayed by Nathan Fillion, wrote and released Nikki Heat novels on the show, those novels were released in the real world as well, the first of which, Heat Wave, was released in 2009.  The two most recent efforts, Heat Storm and Crashing Heat, were released after the cancellation of the show, though it appears unlikely that there will be any future installments.

Frozen Heat – Richard Castle

The first seven books in the series were eventually revealed to have been ghost-written by Tom Straw.  It is unknown if Straw wrote the final entries, though I highly doubt he was responsible for the last one, which had a much different feel to it.

Stephen King

I first read King’s work during my freshman year of high school.  In fact, I remember reading Pet Sematary after finishing my Biology final at the end of freshman year, waiting for the class to be dismissed.  My total reached nine novels by 1993, but then college and other pursuits got in the way and King fell out of my favor.

Joyland – Stephen King

That changed in 2012, when the release of 11/22/63 brought me back in to the King fold.  I’ve added six of his more current work, half of which has been through the Hard Case Crime imprint, which limited, but did not completely remove, the horror elements.

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Prolific Authors – 15 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 54 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we have our penultimate entry, with the fake television author I’ve read 15 times.

Richard Castle

Debuting in 2009, Castle follows the lives of Richard Castle, a best-selling novelist, and Kate Beckett, a New York homicide detective, as they solve various unusual crimes.  As Castle, portrayed by Nathan Fillion, wrote and released Nikki Heat novels on the show, those novels were released in the real world as well, the first of which, Heat Wave, was released in 2009.  The two most recent efforts, Heat Storm and Crasing Heat, were released after the cancellation of the show, though it appears unlikely that there will be any future installments.

Heat Storm – Richard Castle

The first seven books in the series were eventually revealed to have been ghost-written by Tom Straw.  It is unknown if Straw wrote the final entries, though I highly doubt he was responsible for the last one, which even I could tell had a different feel to it.

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Book 23 (of 52) – Buzz Killer

Buzz Killer – Tom Straw

When a thief gets charged with murdering his partner, he turns to his defense lawyer for help.  When she teams up with an ex-cop-turned-journalist, she finds that this case has more entanglements than she initially bargained for.  The deeper she digs, the less it becomes about getting her client off and more about saving her own life.

Tom Straw has written quite a few novels prior to Buzz Killer, most under the pen name of Richard Castle.  Now that the show is over and (I assume) those novels have come to an end, Straw released the first work under his own name in over a decade.  While it doesn’t have the built-in appeal of the Castle tie-ins (although there is one sly nod in there somewhere), Straw does a good job of drawing the reader in and making them invest in the investigation.  I’m sure if Straw were to release another offering, especially if it featured the same characters, I’d find a way to acquire said offering.

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Prolific Authors 2019

Way back in December of 2011 (and again in the Decembers of 2013, 2015, and 2017), we took a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 48 books from 50 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span. Once again, we will be limiting ourselves to the now 70 authors from whom I have read more than one book.

 

Author Name Current Total 2017 Total Difference
Nancy Holder 16 15 1

Nancy Holder adds 1 new book over the past 2 years to maintain her lead.

Richard Castle 15 14 1

The writer (or writers) using the nom de plume of the main character from the television show Castle sees a slight increase, despite the show being off the air for well over 3 years now.

Stephen King 13 12 1
Greg Rucka 13 13 0
Christopher Golden 12 12 0
Brad Meltzer 12 11 1

Very little movement in the next tier the past 2 years.

Jeffery Deaver 11 8 3

We round out the double digits with Deaver, who will be going up again soon, as I’m currently reading one of his books. Continue reading →

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Book 9 (of 52) – Crashing Heat

Crashing Heat – Richard Castle

More than 2 years since the last novel, and 3 years since the end of Castle, I was a bit surprised to see that there was a new Richard Castle novel in the works.  In this installment, a dead student found in Jameson Rook’s bed makes him a murder suspect.  Heat takes time off to travel upstate and prove her husband innocent.

When I saw that there was a new Castle novel coming out, I ordered it immediately.  I was looking forward to another chance to interact with the thinly veiled versions of the characters from one of my favorite TV shows.  While this entry wasn’t the best of the series, the main mystery was satisfying enough.  I don’t know if there are any more plans to continue the series, but I hope they do.  It is a nice opportunity to check in with old friends.

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2018 New Fall Season – Tuesdays

old-tv-set1Continuing our look at the new fall season, here are the offerings that I may find myself interested in for Tuesdays.

7:00

The Conners – Following last spring’s Twitter meltdown by Roseanne Barr and the cancellation of the reboot of Roseanne, the show moves on without her.  Will it be worth watching?  I’m honestly not sure.

The Flash – The gang returns for the fifth season.

The Gifted – The series about Marvel’s mutants returns for a second season.  I still need to finish the first.

8:00

Black-ish – For its fifth season, the show moves on without creator Kenya Barris.

FBI – Missy Peregrym and Jeremy Sisto are FBI agents trying to keep New York safe.

This Is Us – The emotionally manipulative hit is back for a third season, assuming I ever go back and finish the previous one.

Black Lightning – The Pierce family returns for their second season, which I will be happy to watch once I get done with season one.

8:30

Splitting Up Together – After a successful run last spring, the show, starring Oliver Hudson and Jenna Fischer, returns for another go-around.

9:00

The Rookie – Castle alum Nathan Fillion re-teams with his former EP for this tale about the oldest rookie police officer in the LAPD.

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Prolific Authors 2017

Way back in December of 2011 (and again in the Decembers of 2013 and 2015), we took a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 47 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span. Once again, we will be limiting ourselves to the now 54 authors from whom I have read more than one book.

Author Name Current Total 2015 Total Difference
Nancy Holder 15 13 2

A new leader in the clubhouse, as Nancy Holder adds 2 new additions over the past 2 years to put her out front.

Richard Castle 14 9 5

The second largest increase (or largest for someone I had read before) goes to the writer (or writers) using the nom de plume of the main character from the television show Castle.  I’m guessing this total will stay pretty static, with the show off the air for over a year now.

Greg Rucka 13 13 0
Christopher Golden 12 12 0
Stephen King 12 12 0

These three round out the top 5 with absolutely no movement over the past 2 years.

Brad Meltzer 11 9 2
Jeffery Deaver 8 5 3

Slight increases for both of these authors, with more to come.  Meltzer’s next book is already pre-ordered, while there are a few unread Deaver works on my Kindle. Continue reading →