NIKKI & TEMPERANCE

I've written before about the enjoyment I've gotten from the Nikki Heat novels, written by the writers of the Castle TV show.  I can't get over my bemusement at the layers they've generated.  This picture is a good example.

This is Laura Prepon, as the actress Natalie Rhodes, in character as Detective Nikki Heat (L), a character in a set of real books written by a fictional writer, Richard Castle, based on the life of Detective Kate Beckett (R) played by Stana Katic.  Natalie is preparing for her role as Nikki in a new (fictional) movie and is shadowing Det. Beckett.  The complexity is just fascinating.

I've downloaded and read two of the Nikki Heat novels, and will probably get the whole series eventually.  I've now discovered another set of books that I might need to get into.

I've noticed before that the TV show Bones has a starting credit that says the show is based on the life of Kathy Reich.  Now here are the wrinkles.  Kathy Reich is a real, and very well-respected forensic anthropologist who has written (among other things) fifteen novels about a fictional version of herself named Temperance Brennan.  Although an executive producer and occasional writer for the TV show, she has maintained that the show's plot is not based on her books.  She views TV's Temperance as a sort of prequel to her book series.  Just to complete the circle, the TV Brennan has written several best-selling novels about a fictional forensic anthropologist named (wait for it) Kathy Reich.

So anyway, now that I've finally finished The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson, I think I'll get started on the Reich books, beginning with Deja Dead.

By the way, NBC hasn't pick up on these tie-in possibilities.  Timothy McGee's novels based on his NCIS teammates, Deep Six and Deep Six: Rock Hollow, have not been published.