Product Description
Reissued to coincide with the release of Spillane's twelfth Mike Hammer novel, "The Killing Man", the first for 20 years. Mike Hammer finds himself involved with a very nasty underground network conspiring to destroy the USA. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by Thomson Gale on March 1, 2007. The length of the article is 1781 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: His "customers" were the jury: Mickey Spillane (1918-2006).(International Crime & Mystery International)
Author: J. Madison Davis
Publication: World Literature Today (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 81Issue: 2Page: 6(3)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Cancer Deaths in South Carolina, Infectious Disease Deaths in South Carolina, Mickey Spillane, Robert Gray, Martin Delany, Osceola, Ormsby M. Mitchel, Robin Beard, Jeremiah Evarts, Nathaniel Fanning, Webster Anderson, Don Dubbins, Robert Evander Mcnair, James Henley Thornwell, John C. West, Jerry Zucker, Clarke Bynum, Theodore Dehon, Joseph Emile Harley, Bo Griffin. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 81. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Robert Gray (May 10, 1755 c. July, 1806) was an American merchant sea-captain who is known for his achievements in connection with two trading voyages to the northern Pacific coast of North America, between 1790 and 1793, which pioneered the American maritime fur trade in that region. In the course of those voyages, Gray explored portions of that coast and, in 1790, completed the first American circumnavigation of the world. Perhaps his most remembered accomplishment from his explorations was his coming upon and then naming of the Columbia River, in 1792 while on his second voyage. Gray's earlier and later life are both comparatively obscure. He was born in Tiverton, Rhode Island, and may have served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. After his two famous voyages, he carried on his career as a sea-captain, mainly of merchantmen in the Atlantic. This included what was meant to be a third voyage to the Northwest Coast, but was ended by the capture of his ship by French privateers, during the Franco-American Quasi-War, and command of an American privateer later in that same conflict. Gray died at sea in 1806, near Charleston, South Carolina, possibly of yellow fever. Many geographic features along the Oregon and Washington coasts bear Gray's name, as do numerous schools in the region. Robert Gray was born in Tiverto...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1591873 ... Read more

Product Description
A Mike Hammer Novel. In this scintillating tale, Spillane's quick-fisted herohunts for the brutal killer of a red-head who got her kicks in all the wrong ways. 2 cassettes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A Search for a Missing Identity
Chapter One reminds the reader that what they read about in books is actually happening outside, somewhere. Its real life, not vicarious entertainment, and it isn't nice. Mike Hammer just completed a job and stopped at an all-night diner for coffee. A redheaded woman asked him for a cup of coffee. A man came in to meet the redhead and there was trouble. Mike ended it. Later when Mike returned to his office he saw a newspaper that told how this woman was killed in a hit and run accident. Mike visited the Captain of Homicide to see if she was identified; she wasn't. [No fingerprints?] So Mike Hammer begins his quest to solve the murder of this unknown woman.

Mike locates where the redhead lived. Her room was torn apart by someone looking for something. A lead takes him to a wealthy person on an estate out on Long Island. Later he learns why the redhead's room was searched. Captain Chambers tells him the hit and run was solved - it was a young kid who was drunk and speeding. But Mike noticed the redhead's ring was missing; it wasn't a simple accident! More facts are discovered, her name was Nancy Sanford. Mike learns more about her (Chapter Four), and then about the racket (Chapter Five). Does Mike give too many details to his client (Chapter Six)? An old overnight bag has some clues about Nancy (Chapter Seven). Will Mike's source be safe? Will another lead find more clues (Chapter Nine)? Inspecting a hidden cache of photographs yields new clues (Chapter Twelve).

The police begin a series of raids that create chaos for organized crime. Will the ones on the top get caught (Chapter Thirteen)? Will they get revenge against Mike's friend (Chapter Fourteen)? The solution in the final chapter ties up the loose ends. Mike gets his revenge on the man behind all this evil. [Did the ending inspire the film version of "Kiss Me, Deadly"? Was this story inspired by an actual New York city scandal?]

A half-century's perspective
After a hiatus of 50 years, I read this hardboiled novel again.I was in high school the first time and very taken by the tough-guy attitude and Mike Hammer's ease with willing women.I had neither and still don't, I'll add as an aside.The book still works for me, but for somewhat different reasons.Nickel calls, "rods," cheap subway fares, etc. date it but delightfully so.After all, 1950 (when this was published) was in a vastly different world from today.

The plot doesn't really matter much.We see Mike Hammer get beaten severely of an evening, never hospitalized, and fully recovered apparently by morning.So what?That's part of the theme in Spillane.The dark, wet streets of Manhattan are a perfect setting, a sort of film noir on paper.The characters are comic book cutouts, hookers with good hearts, twisted bad dudes, tough-minded and tough-muscled good guys.The dialogue is almost funny sometimes, especially in the last chapter with Hammer laying it all out for the lord-high evil doer.And we don't get the denouement until the last page.Mickey Spillane doesn't waste time with cool downs.

I give this one five stars for nostalgia if for nothing else.

More of the same from Spillane
Private Detective Mike Hammer meets and befriends a prostitute known as 'Red'. The next day Hammer finds that 'Red' has been killed in a hit and run. He's convinced that it was no accident but murder, and vows revenge against those responsible.
'My Gun Is Quick' finds Mickey Spillane in a rut. Once again a friend of Mike Hammer's has been killed and once again the private detective is out for revenge. In 'I, the Jury' it was a wartime buddy, in 'Vengeance Is Mine' it was another friend, in 'The Big Kill' it was an orphaned child's father, and now in 'My Gun Is Quick' it is a hooker with a heart of gold.
Spillane was just going through the motions in this one. Half-way through the book you will already be able to guess the ending if you've ever read any other Mike Hammer book.

I Loved this book!
This book was exciting, moved fast, and Spillane's character, Mike Hammer, as always, was in top form. Spillane's stories are always suspenseful and exciting.

eh.
a lot of people have been saying how "hardboiled" mickey spillane is.

i suppose that's fair to say.

a lot of people have been saying that he's trash.

that too is accurate.

spillane is hard to describe.he can make a good plot outline and occasionally some decent diolauge, but most of the time it kind of just walks from one point to another, and predictably, too.the whole thing is like an inept chandler homage, but spillane deserves credit because the book at least can evoke memories of chandler.i guess it's good for a look, but really it's just kind of a book one would buy at an airport, read, then throw away. ... Read more

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The Big Kill ... Read more

Product Description
Seventeen original short mysteries include Lawrence Block's ""Keller on Horseback,"" Andrew Greeley's ""The Bishop and the Hit Man,"" Mickey Spillane's ""Everybody's Watching Me,"" and others. Reprint. AB. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Spillane's hard and distinctive style used to create a story about returning unwanted to the old neighborhood
Bennett and Deep were childhood friends who grew up in a tough neighborhood and were delinquents. When they got older, Deep left the neighborhood and Bennett became a crime boss. Mysteriously, Bennett is murdered and in his will, Bennett bequeathed everything to Deep. In order to act on the terms of the will, Deep comes back to the neighborhood, which displeased the people who thought they could profit on Bennett's death.
Deep gets reacquainted with all the people in the neighborhood, the cop who beat him silly, old female flames, crooked politicians, a journalist with a passionate hatred for him to the crime people that are either for or against him. His goal is largely to determine who killed Bennett, but the fact that many want to see him dead hampers his efforts.
Deep is still a very tough man, he immediately acts to take over Bennett's organization and many fall in line. However, there are some who are recalcitrant and the murders and attempted murders begin. All of this is presented in the hard Spillane style, his prose is distinctively harsh, and the characters all sound very tough, from the professional killers to the women. Deep eventually learns who killed Bennett and the story closes with a revelation that was completely unexpected.
Stylistically, Spillane is a writer where you could probably select a paragraph at random and fairly easily identify it as Spillane's. In this book he presents a tough guy in a tough neighborhood with a tough task in a manner that keeps you turning the pages.

Nihilistic.
A gangster named Deep returns to his former New York neighborhood to establish himself as mob boss.He's been away for 25 years but finds that surprisingly little has changed.Plenty of hardboiled action ensues with many characters introduced only to die violently before much time has past.
The Deep overflows with tough guy talk and strong arm tactics.The plot is a nihilistic one with what appears to be one pointless killing after another.The very last page contains a surprise which helps to redeem an otherwise depressingly downbeat and repetitious narrative.Because of the ending, I was almost inspired to award The Deep 4 stars instead of the 3 it deserves.
Bottom line: Spillane had the makings of an excellent short story here.His mistake was in stretching it out to book length.Too much padding.

WAITED NINE YEARS FOR THIS ONE!
With the publication of "The Deep" in 1961 Mickey Spillane ends a nine year writing silence.This tale has Hammer doing a lot of reflecting along with the fast action.

Today Mickey Spillane is 85-years-old, and acclaimed around the globe for inventing the hard-hitting, hard-boiled protagonist who is a compelling mix of sex and sharp shooting.It's hard to believe this many years have gone by for the Brooklyn born Spillane.He's outlasted and out sold many of his contemporaries, and when last heard from was still hard at work.

Perhaps those of us who love to read don't take time to thank the writers who have given us so many hours of pleasure.I certainly fall into that category, so a big hats off to Mickey Spillane and gratitude for the wealth of reading pleasure he's given so many.

A going-back to your childhood book, for a man of violence
This is one of the best Mickey Spillane books because it appeals to a broader audience by not being quite as quick to violence as his Mike Hammer series.I have given this book to people who thought they would never reada Mickey Spillane book, and they have enjoyed it.

The master of last minute plot twists
I've read a lot of books.Every once in a while I read a book that takes me by supprise.This book not only did that, it took me to a bar, got me drunk, and left me wanting more.Mr. Spillane is one of the bestwriters that it has been my pleasure to read.He makes that Louis L'amorguy look like a girly-boy. While this book isn't for the squeemish, Iwould highly recomend it to anyone who likes last-minute kicks in the head. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A NEW SERIES CHARACTER IS INTRODUCED
Appearing in 1964 "Day Of The Gun" introduces another series character - Tiger Mann.Mann is strong but in this reader's opinion pales beside Mike Hammer.Nonetheless, Spillane fans were quick to embrace a new anti-hero.

"I, The Jury" (1947) was the beginning,the beginning of a round of thrillers bythen unknown Mickey Spillane.Mike Hammer, one of thrillerdom's ace protagonists was introduced, and the world couldn't read enough of his adventures.

Today Mickey Spillane is 85-years-old, and acclaimed around the globe for inventing the hard-hitting, hard-boiled protagonist who is a compelling mix of sex and sharp shooting.It's hard to believe this many years have gone by for the Brooklyn born Spillane.He's outlasted and out sold many of his contemporaries, and when last heard from was still hard at work.

Perhaps those of us who love to read don't take time to thank the writers who have given us so many hours of pleasure.I certainly fall into that category, so a big hats off to Mickey Spillane and gratitude for the wealth of reading pleasure he's given so many.

Meet Tiger Mann, Baby!
This was Mickey SPillane's short-lived Cold War spy series.These two episodes featured Tiger Mann (his real name), a former World War II OSS operative who now works for a private sector espionage agency dedicated to preserving liberty and the free enterprise system.

Tiger is a typical Spillane hero, and the action moves along, but this dates badly -- chunks of dialogue that were once supposedly serious now seem very much in the style of AUSTIN POWERS, Baby! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Mike Hammers the Mob
Kiss Me Deadly, by Mickey Spillane

Mike Hammer is driving south to New York city when he found a woman standing in the road. He picked her up, and learned she escaped from a sanatorium. Soon a dark sedan cut them off, the men attacked Mike and knocked him out. The now dead woman and Mike are placed in his car, then it is pushed over the cliff. Mike rolls out before it goes over the cliff. He wakes up in a hospital, where State and Federal police want to question him. Mike resolves to get even with the guys who sapped him, then wrecked his car. Capt. Pat Chambers advises him against that, they work for a powerful member of organized crime. Mike learns his place had been searched, but not just by the FBI! Powerful forces suspended his PI license and cancelled his right to carry. This is all because Mike is "coincidence proof".

Mike tracks down Lily Carver, the roommate of Berga Torn (the hitchhiker on the road). Somebody left a new souped-up car for him, but he gets the bombs removed. He then started his investigation. Mike learns that two Miami boys are looking for him. Mike drives to the estate of Carl Evello, who once knew Berga. Upon his return, two gunman take him for a ride, but their plans are upset at a Dead End. Later Mike walks along Broadway and finds two more gunmen; they will not bother him again. Mike is searching for the reason Berga and others died. Could it be $4 million in hidden drugs (Chapter10)? This dirty racket created a lot of orphans and widows. Mike found a letter from Berga but could not understand the short message. The men from the dark sedan are there. Later Mike escaped from their trap, and has a hunch where the missing shipment was hidden.

After more events (padding out the story?) Mike figured out where Berga hid something, and he has someone retrieve it. Mike follows the leads and finds Velda, and the Big Wheel who had been well concealed. Mike gives him an early retirement. There is a final surprise at the end, for which clues had been planted earlier. Somebody is burned up over the ending, Mike lives for another day. The book lacks a final chapter to tie up the loose ends. Who got the long-hidden package? What effect did it have? In this novel Mike has no regular client. He acts as if he was subsidized by some hidden power, presumably the local government who can then disavow responsibility for his actions.

This story was change drastically for Hollywood, was the subject matter Too Controversial? The film seemed to kill off "Mike Hammer" with the appearance of a final explosion. It would be 10 years before Spillane wrote another "Mike Hammer" novel. [The devaluation of the dollar would make $4 about equal to $80 today.] Hammer mostly operates above the law, like the later James Bond, a more polished agent with the same license to kill. Spillane used to write stories for comic books. His violence may be a way to describe what was implied by cartoon drawings. The success of his early novels met the public's needs.

HAMMER SEEMS TRAPPED
Many will recall Berga Torn, the gorgeous gal wearing only a trenchcoat who brings Hammer's car to an abrupt halt.She's an escapee from a treatment center, and it's amazing how she treats Hammer.

It seems as the story ends that the jig may be up for Hammer, but is it?

Today Mickey Spillane is 85-years-old, and acclaimed around the globe for inventing the hard-hitting, hard-boiled protagonist who is a compelling mix of sex and sharp shooting.It's hard to believe this many years have gone by for the Brooklyn born Spillane.He's outlasted and out sold many of his contemporaries, and when last heard from was still hard at work.

Perhaps those of us who love to read don't take time to thank the writers who have given us so many hours of pleasure.I certainly fall into that category, so a big hats off to Mickey Spillane and gratitude for the wealth of reading pleasure he's given so many.

Completely Incomprehensible Ending
Kiss Me Deadly finds Mike Hammer confronting the Mafia over stolen narcotics. But this isn't the Mafia of the Godfather or the Sopranos. Spillane pictures them as a secret shadowy organization like the Illuminati or the Elders of Zion.
The last Mickey Spillane novel in the omnibus Five Complete Mike Hammer Novels (and therefore the last Spillane novel I will ever read), starts as an improvement on the last three (which all seemed like a rehash of I, The Jury). However the ending is completely incoherent.The fate of one character that had gone missing is never dealt with. One main characters' identity is proven to be false but it's never explained who she is. Spillane is, in common with a lot of the hardboiled genre, rather sparse on description and explication, but whole plot points are ignored or left unanswered. ... Read more