My New Book, Announcing The Winner (and Some Castle Thrown In)

I have some really awesome things to share with you today! And some hard feelings about Castle. *sad face*

But first, the happy!  I want to show you the cover for my new novel coming in November!

Isn't it great? I really love this one and it captures so many things about the book. Here's the back copy:

Former Navy SEAL Jake Williams is the newly appointed head of a task force assigned to rescue a kidnapped American diplomat. Their only hope is Mya Amari, the daughter of a notorious Algerian hostage negotiator, but she is full of secrets and complications–something Jake takes as a personal challenge.  As they grow closer, the threat to the mission escalates and time runs out for the hostages.  Can Jake unravel the web of deception to save them all without getting caught in the crossfire?

Mya Amari has been in hiding nearly her entire life to escape her father’s enemies. But when her sister is kidnapped along with an American diplomat, she’ll do anything to bring her home–including walking into the enemy’s lair.  She doesn’t trust anyone, especially the too-handsome-for-his-own-good Commander Williams, but when all her careful plans explode out of control, he’s the only one she can turn to with the truth about her family. Is it too little, too late?

I can't wait for you all to read it!

The second thing is I wanted to announce who won the Cokeville Miracle DVD! Our randomly chosen winner is . . .

*drum roll*

Tara Siddoway!

Tara, if you could email me your information (juliecoulterbellon AT gmail DOT com) I will get you your prize.

And now to Castle. I dreaded writing this review today. I didn't really enjoy last night's show at all and I rarely say that. I've watched Castle from the very beginning and I'm just not sure why the writers seem to be killing the audience joy.  

The case of the week was a guy who is praying in a church and gets shot from behind a stained glass window.  Then we cut to Martha coming down to the precinct to talk to Kate. This is where the knife stuck in my heart a bit. Martha reminded Kate that Castle has had two other divorces. He was obviously hurt and scarred by those. And here Kate is, making him twist in the wind for no apparent reason, by the woman who just vowed to love him and trust him and be his WIFE. I absolutely HATE IT that Castle thinks he has to "win her back." Every time he says it I cringe. He is the wronged party. Beckett left him with no real reason except she needed time. From what? She turned his whole life upside down, going from happily married and accepting the cute jewelry gift we started out the season with, to telling him she's leaving and not giving him any clue why. How sad is it that Castle's mother has to come and try to make sense of what Kate's doing to her son because there's no way for any of it to make it make sense. *deep sigh*

The episode goes on with Espo and Ryan talking about how to get pay raises and taking the sergeant's exam.  Ryan lies and says that there wasn't any more spots this time around, but the reality was, there was one spot and Ryan took it. Espo is hurt, and rightfully so. Ryan offers to give it up to him after a whole lot of guilty looks at his partner, but Beckett pulls some strings and gets them both in.

The actual murderer in the case was so obvious from the beginning. I called it up front. The dead guy's name was Dave Johnson, but he had told a few people that he was the reclusive author PJ Moffatt---one of Castle's literary heroes.  The more they investigate the more they realize he was lying. He also was mistaken for Jimmy Two Guns O'Malley who was connected to the Irish mob, but he wasn't that guy, either. He was a member of Pathological Liars Anonymous, though, and was in recovery. Something had upset him a couple of weeks ago and Espo and Ryan find out he was fired for breaking into an accountants office.  He'd been hired on the recommendation of the priest, so the boys go to talk to him and find out he's not really blind, had mismanaged church funds, and asked Dave to break into the office and fix the books to say that he'd made a payment. While he was in the accounting files, he found a $10 million skim fund and it's the comptroller Reed. They set up a sting at the church and catch him back at his office when he downloads Castle's phony thumb drive to his computer. But he didn't kill Dave. Dave's wife killed him because he'd lied to her about being a wealthy author. Is that what these writers think of marriage? Is this some sort of sign of what we're in for this season? Ugh.

The most cringe-worthy moment of the whole episode is when Castle has a random party. He invites Ryan and Espo over to offer them money to keep him updated on the cases so he can weasel his way closer to Kate. That is what we are reduced to, not two people trying to make a marriage work, but Castle bribing people and forcing interaction that Kate seems to be able to take or leave. It feels forced and hence the audience can't find joy in it because they should be beyond this. They WERE beyond this. It's stilted and wrong.

So difficult to watch. 

It's like the show took all character development away and reduced Castle to a college frat boy trying to get noticed by a cheerleader or something. 

Kate also did some "investigating" into the stupid conspiracy that makes no sense, but yeah, it didn't add anything at all to the show for me.

I really hope the episodes get better. I used to look forward to every Monday night and now I'm dreading it.  Bring back the good writers who had imagination and loved the characters! 

Did you watch? What did you think?