First things first: if you haven’t seen Michael Mann’s 1995 unhinged, 3h long heist movie, you probably won't get much out of the book (although I’d love to be proven wrong!). It’s a solid crime novel with great plot and pacing, but relies on readers being familiar with the actors’ (superb) portrayal of the main characters. If, however, you have seen the film, then the book is GREAT. The writing does a spectacular job of capturing Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino), Neil McCauley (DeNiro) and Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer) - both before and after the movie events. In particular I LOVED Hanna’s early story set in 80s Chicago: the chapters where he visits a victim in the hospital were absolutely beautiful, provide great insight into the character and drop little clues that make his evolution into movie-Hanna believable. I challenge you to read his lines and not hear Al Pacino’s memorably unhinged delivery, every single time. Shiherlis, who becomes the focus of the book, also gets a great background story and I hugely enjoyed how prequel-he and Charlene were portrayed. Similarly I found his early conflict between his old life and his ambition really well written. I’m not sure how much I believe his later development, but it does make for a good storyline. What made me knock a star off the rating is the uneven writing: sometimes it’s spectacular and beautiful, nails down to the actors’ exact voice and mannerism, and perfectly captures the very urban, metallic and cold atmosphere that makes the movie such a visual masterpiece. Being able to render that aesthetics into words is no small feat, and I’m amazed that came across so well. But at other times chapters are just dry and cheesy descriptions with super choppy sentences, or even just chunks of sentences, which I didn’t particularly enjoy. And while the characters are mostly super well written, there were specific moments that didn't meet my movie-expectations. Look, Heat might be famous for the real life robberies it inspired and for *that* shooting scene that’s apparently shown to Marines as part of their training - but what always stands out to me is how the movie succeeds in humanizing fairly violent ‘bad guys’ without ever glamorising or romanticising them. Unfortunatley that approach is not always there in Shiherlis’s sequel story (a bit too much heroism for my taste) - and especially not in McCauley’s origin story, which I found unconvincing and overly romanticised (it reads more like run-of-the-mill fan fiction than anything). But those points aside, Heat 2 is a great, entertaining novel, with well-woven, intricate storylines and action-packed scenes. And if you enjoyed the movie characters, it’s definitely a super satisfying prequel/sequel hybrid. Huge thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy - I couldn't have been more excited at the chance to read this one early!

I have to admit that I came to this book with a bias - Heat is one of my favourite films and I was very excited to read a book that was both prequel and sequel to it. Let me tell you, it didn't disappoint! The pace is frenetic and the action is totally amped the whole time - it was a rollercoaster ride from start to finish. The prequel elements give a great insight into the characters and their actions/decisions that makes the film richer. The sequel parts are a great thriller with interwoven storylines and twists, turns, and double-crossing galore. Absolute kudos for the creation of one of the most grotesque villians in a long time. This guy is just devoid of any human emotion bar anger and every page he was on made me nervous for what might happen. As you would expect from a film director writing a book, the visual descriptions are sublime and I found it easy to see in my mind how the scenes would play out. Reading the sequel parts also led to a fun discussion with my husband as to who could play the characters, and the awful baddie Wardell, in the film that I desperately hope gets made of this book. I believe that readers who have never seen Heat would still enjoy this as a standalone crime/thriller story - the plot is deep and rich and the feverish writing draws you in. The action set-pieces are breath-taking in their vastness and energy. This book jangles your nerves from the first word and you end up thanking it for the ride.