Mike Hammer hits his 75th anniversary hard, after the disappearance of Velda, in this brand new case set between Kiss Me, Deadly and The Girl Hunters, based on an unproduced screenplay from Mickey Spillane’s archives.
Mike Hammer is on the case, this time hunting the murderer of his old friend and bootlegger-turned-legit-businessman Packy Paragon. Already torn up by the disappearance of Velda, his beloved secretary, Mike Hammer carves a brutal path for vengeance. Drinking heavily, his relationships fraying, his behavior self-destructive, Hammer has to track down Paragon's secret ledger, with the names of every corrupt official in town. With deception everywhere, and a whole host of reasons to want the ledger, Hammer has to pull himself together and solve the case before all hell breaks loose.
Celebrating the 75th anniversary of Mike Hammer, and including five brand new short stories, read the lost story of Velda's disappearance after Kiss Me, Deadly. A thrilling ride for fans new and old.
PRAISE FOR KILL ME IF YOU CAN
"[Collins] has no problem serving up Hammer the same way Spillane did, with plenty of mayhem, violence, and sex, dished out in straight-ahead, no-frills prose, right on target, so direct, with no room for sissy stuff like digressions, detours, or doubts. Hammer is a shark that needs to keep swimming to survive, and Collins tosses plenty of chum into these waters...It's the real deal, folks: primo, primal detective fiction. Pass the peanuts." -Mystery Scene
"Collins, a first-rate storyteller who started his own career with paperback originals, adds some narrative finesse to what he calls the "Hammerverse" but remains true to Spillane's essence. This volume also includes five previously unpublished Hammer stories, adding extra pizzazz to what is a fitting celebration of a genre giant." -Booklist
PRAISE FOR MAX ALLAN COLLINS
"Max Allan Collins is the closest thing we have to a 21st century Mickaey Spillane." - ThisWeek (Ohio)
"Collins’ witty, hardboiled prose would make Raymond Chandler proud." - Entertainment Weekly
PRAISE FOR MICKEY SPILLANE
"Mike Hammer is an icon of our culture." - The New York Times
"A superb writer. Spillane is one of the century’s bestselling authors." - The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
Max Allan Collins was hailed in 2004 by Publisher's Weekly as "a new breed of writer." A frequent Mystery Writers of America nominee in both fiction and non-fiction categories, he has earned an unprecedented eighteen Private Eye Writers of America nominations, winning for his Nathan Heller novels, True Detective (1983) and Stolen Away (1991). In 2002, his graphic novel Road to Perdition was adapted into an Academy-Award winning film, starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law and Daniel Craig. He lives in Iowa, USA.
Mike Hammer hits his 75th anniversary hard, after the disappearance of Velda, in this brand new case set between Kiss Me, Deadly and The Girl Hunters, based on an unproduced screenplay from Mickey Spillane’s archives.
Mike Hammer is on the case, this time hunting the murderer of his old friend and bootlegger-turned-legit-businessman Packy Paragon. Already torn up by the disappearance of Velda, his beloved secretary, Mike Hammer carves a brutal path for vengeance. Drinking heavily, his relationships fraying, his behavior self-destructive, Hammer has to track down Paragon's secret ledger, with the names of every corrupt official in town. With deception everywhere, and a whole host of reasons to want the ledger, Hammer has to pull himself together and solve the case before all hell breaks loose.
Celebrating the 75th anniversary of Mike Hammer, and including five brand new short stories, read the lost story of Velda's disappearance after Kiss Me, Deadly. A thrilling ride for fans new and old.
Praise
PRAISE FOR KILL ME IF YOU CAN
"[Collins] has no problem serving up Hammer the same way Spillane did, with plenty of mayhem, violence, and sex, dished out in straight-ahead, no-frills prose, right on target, so direct, with no room for sissy stuff like digressions, detours, or doubts. Hammer is a shark that needs to keep swimming to survive, and Collins tosses plenty of chum into these waters...It's the real deal, folks: primo, primal detective fiction. Pass the peanuts." -Mystery Scene
"Collins, a first-rate storyteller who started his own career with paperback originals, adds some narrative finesse to what he calls the "Hammerverse" but remains true to Spillane's essence. This volume also includes five previously unpublished Hammer stories, adding extra pizzazz to what is a fitting celebration of a genre giant." -Booklist
PRAISE FOR MAX ALLAN COLLINS
"Max Allan Collins is the closest thing we have to a 21st century Mickaey Spillane." - ThisWeek (Ohio)
"Collins’ witty, hardboiled prose would make Raymond Chandler proud." - Entertainment Weekly
PRAISE FOR MICKEY SPILLANE
"Mike Hammer is an icon of our culture." - The New York Times
"A superb writer. Spillane is one of the century’s bestselling authors." - The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
Author
Max Allan Collins was hailed in 2004 by Publisher's Weekly as "a new breed of writer." A frequent Mystery Writers of America nominee in both fiction and non-fiction categories, he has earned an unprecedented eighteen Private Eye Writers of America nominations, winning for his Nathan Heller novels, True Detective (1983) and Stolen Away (1991). In 2002, his graphic novel Road to Perdition was adapted into an Academy-Award winning film, starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law and Daniel Craig. He lives in Iowa, USA.
