Growing up on a farm, when I heard “really into heat,” I always assumed people were talking about letting the bulls out into the cow pasture, but once my friends open-hand slapped me upside the head and showed me the movie Heat, it all made much more sense. I’ve been really into Heat ever since.
Twenty-seven years after the movie dropped, Heat 2, the novel, is being released into the wild. Heat 2, written by director Michael Mann and the brilliant thriller writer Meg Gardiner, tracks many of the characters from the original movie both before and after the incidents that took place in the movie. Kicking off the book in the moments and days following the infamous LA shootout from the movie (spoiler alert if you’ve been living in a cave in Nova Scotia for the last three decades), Detective Vincent Hanna is on the hunt for the wounded Chris Shiherlis. Will he catch him?
This book brings back all of the memories I have from watching the movie. This novel is such a brilliant piece of fiction. I devoured it. I’ve been wearing a diaper for the last three days just so I wouldn’t need to take a break from reading it. With enough action to emulate the Playboy mansion, Mann and Gardiner have crafted the most realistic thriller I’ve ever read. When some authors try to write action scenes or realistic dialogue, it feels like they’re pushing a muffin through wicker furniture, but Mann and Gardiner crafted a stellar prequel/sequel with the chaos and intrigue of a prostate exam.
Like a donkey kick to my backside, this novel kicks ass. You can call me ol’ J Todd, because this is one of my favorite novels of the year.
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Purchase Heat 2
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Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen
