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Meg Gardiner, author portrait
Photo:Larry D. Moore·CC BY 4.0·
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Meg Gardiner

American
Meg Gardiner is an American thriller writer and author of fifteen published books. Her best-known books are the Evan Delaney novels, first published in 2002. In June 2008, she published the first novel in a new series, featuring forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett. More recently she has published three stand-alone novels—Ransom River, The Shadow Tracer, and Phantom Instinct —and four novels in a new series: UNSUB (2017), Into the Black Nowhere (2018), The Dark Corners of the Night (2020), and Shadow Heart (2024).
On LuvemBooks, we've reviewed Heat 2.
1
Books Reviewed
Cover of Heat 2
Heat 2

4.6/5

reader rating · 6,611 ratings

Heat 2 is Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner's novel serving as both prequel and sequel to the 1995 film Heat, following Vincent Hanna, Neil McCauley and Chris Shiherlis. Bloggers praise its heist set pieces; the Washington Post found it shapeless.

Reviewed Nov 2, 2026

Ask LuvemBooks about Meg Gardiner

Meg Gardiner is an American thriller writer with fifteen published books, and LuvemBooks currently has 1 reviewed title: Heat 2, written with Michael Mann. The book's most distinctive move is that it works as both prequel and sequel to the 1995 film Heat, following Vincent Hanna, Neil McCauley and Chris Shiherlis through heist material that bloggers praised even while the Washington Post found it shapeless. Its reader rating is 4.6/5 from 6,611 Amazon ratings.
Where should I start?
Start with Heat 2, because it is the only Meg Gardiner-related book we have reviewed. Its premise is unusually direct for curious readers: it follows Vincent Hanna, Neil McCauley and Chris Shiherlis as both a prequel and sequel to the 1995 film Heat. The reader rating is 4.6/5 from 6,611 Amazon ratings.
What's their writing style?
Based on the one book we've reviewed, Gardiner's work with Michael Mann is cinematic crime writing organized around a bold structural premise: Heat 2 moves backward and forward from the film while keeping Hanna, McCauley and Shiherlis in view. The clearest strength noted in our summary is the heist set-piece material, which bloggers praised. The main caution is that the Washington Post found the novel shapeless, so the appeal may depend on how much structure a reader wants.
Books we've reviewed
We have reviewed 1 book connected to Meg Gardiner. Heat 2: A Novel by Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner is a thriller built as both prequel and sequel to the 1995 film Heat, with a reader rating of 4.6/5 from 6,611 Amazon ratings.
What genre do they write?
The author bio identifies Meg Gardiner as an American thriller writer, though the broader genre field is not specified beyond that. The concrete evidence on LuvemBooks is Heat 2, which is categorized as a thriller and centers on crime-film characters and heist material.
How does Heat 2 connect to the film Heat?
Heat 2 is described in our review summary as both prequel and sequel to the 1995 film Heat. It follows Vincent Hanna, Neil McCauley and Chris Shiherlis, extending the film's crime saga in two directions rather than simply retelling it.
What should I read after Heat 2?
Within LuvemBooks coverage, there is not a second Meg Gardiner-related review to point to yet. The honest recommendation is to use Heat 2 as the starting point and check back as our coverage expands, rather than assume a reading order from a single reviewed title.
Who is Meg Gardiner?

Who is Meg Gardiner?

Meg Gardiner is an American thriller writer and the author of fifteen published books. On LuvemBooks, they are represented by 1 reviewed book: Heat 2, co-written with Michael Mann, which expands the story around the 1995 film Heat.

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