Book Description
When the theft of a purse from a stroller results in an infant's death, two teenagers are in trouble. Unaware of the enormity of their crime, Zipp and Andreas are intent on committing still another. They follow an elderly woman home, and Andreas enters her house with his ever-reliable switchblade. Motionless in the dark, Zipp waits for his friend to come out.
Inspector Konrad Sejer and his colleague Jacob Skarre see no connection between the infant's death and the reported disappearance of a local delinquent. And so while the confusion in the world outside mounts, the chilling, heart-stopping truth unfolds inside the old woman's home.
Unflappable as ever, Sejer digs below the surface of small-town tranquillity in an effort to understand how and why violence destroys everyday lives. Another brilliantly observed, precisely rendered psychological mystery from the highly acclaimed Karin Fossum.
Customer Reviews:
More Than He Bargained For..........2007-09-07
This third of Karin Fossum's Inspector Sejer mysteries to be published in the United States takes the unusual approach of hardly mentioning Sejer at all for roughly the first third of the novel. Instead, Fossum places the reader into the minds and lives of the three people, be they criminals, victims, or both, who drive the plot of this stark psychological thriller.
Andreas Winther, a stunningly handsome 18-year old, is totally self-absorbed and is hiding what he considers to be a terrible secret even from the one friend he has. Zipp is that friend, and the two of them have come to depend on each other in a way that is far from healthy. Both boys still live at home with their mothers and, although he is unemployed, Zipp has a car that they can use to cruise around town looking for trouble. As long as Andreas is willing to share his wages with Zipp and they can borrow or steal a little extra cash on the side, they are happy enough with their lives. Irma Funder, a strangely eccentric elderly woman, realizes that she is "different" and works hard to appear normal to her neighbors and her few friends. It is when these three lives intersect one day that things come crashing down for all of them.
Nothing went right for Andreas and Zipp that day. Their mugging of a young mother pushing a baby carriage left them with only a small bit of cash and the knowledge that the runaway carriage had rolled downhill and roughly ejected the baby. A few minutes later, Andreas giving in to the temptation to reveal his secret to Zipp, was embarrassed by the horrified and disgusted reaction of his friend. When an elderly woman passed them on the street, Andreas decided that she offered him a chance to regain Zipp's respect, so he followed her to her home in order to rob her there.
What Andreas didn't expect was that he was dealing with someone even crazier than himself, someone who was willing to push him backward down the cellar stairs in order to defend herself. His underestimation of what the old woman was capable of left him lying at the foot of the stairs with a broken neck, unable to move his arms or legs, and at the mercy of a woman who decided that she liked having him down there.
Inspector Sejer and his colleague Jacob Skarre at first consider the purse snatching incident and the disappearance of someone like Andreas Winther to be, at most, petty crimes. They see no connection between the two incidents and only slowly come to realize that the old woman who has visited the police station, and called them at least one other time, might know something of the whereabouts of Andreas. But as they patiently push Zipp for some answers, things begin to make sense and it becomes a question of whether or not they will solve the crime in time to save Andreas' life.
Karin Fossum's combination of a police procedural and a psychological thriller works especially well because of the characters she has created on both ends of the spectrum. She manages to make even her most unlikable characters into sympathetic figures because of the insights she offers into what makes them the people that they are. And, at the same time, she continues to make the reader care about the personal lives of her two recurring characters, Konrad Sejer and Jacob Skarre. Fans of the Sejer series will enjoy this one, but it works equally well for readers unfamiliar with the other books in the series.
Chilling and disturbing...I loved it!.......2007-07-01
I bought this book on a whim at the airport because the title creeped me out and I needed something to pass the time and I got lucky. This is a great book. It reminds me a lot of the book/movie "Misery" but with a slightly creepier feel. The way Erma holds the young man prisoner and watches him as he slowly suffers is absolutely chilling. Fossum paints such a vivid picture of mental illness that you literally feel as though you are inside the deranged human mind. I highly recommend this book to anyone.
Karin Fossum Inspector Sejer Mysteries.......2007-02-18
I have read two of Fossum's novels now, and I think she is an unusual writer. There is not much mystery in the suspects and victims, but great excitement in how the case is solved. Both in "He Who Fears the Wolf" and "When the Devil Holds the Candle," she excels in getting into the mind of the disturbed suspects. The Wolf novel begins with the most incredible introduction to an insane suspect. And I stayed up reading the last half of the Devil novel to follow the delusions of the murderer in a desperate situation. The writing is masterful, even in translation. The two novels that I have read build slowly, and impatient readers may become frustrated. But the payoff is great, because these characters are intricate, though crazy, and she creates great anticipation about what they will do next. And the Devil novel ends with a real surprising punch. This is an author to take seriously.
disappointed.......2007-01-06
After reading the first two books by Karin Fossum, I couldn't wait to read more. This book started out slow and I also kept looking at the cover to make sure it was a Sejer book. He didn't come in until later in the book and actually wasn't in too much. I felt the storyline was gruesome and very hard to read. (spoiler) I could have possibly dealt with the torture she put the boy through, if he had lived,but he died in the end anyway. The male characters ended up killing a baby, and the revelation that the character was gay was meaningless, i felt no attachment to any character-- There was no enjoyment or satisfaction after reading this book. very disappointing.
"We encounter the Devil all the time. The question is, how do we handle him?".......2006-11-15
The undisputed queen of psychological horror, Norwegian author Karin Fossum takes an up-close view of three deaths in this novel in which Evil touches Inspector Konrad Sejer's own family. Andreas Winther, a handsome 18-year-old of little motivation and less morality, is cruising with his friend Zipp Skorpe when they decide to taunt a small brown boy. The boy is Sejer's adopted grandson Mattheus, a Somali immigrant trying to fit into Norwegian society. Their arrogance and their attitude of being above the rules of society ensure from the outset that they will never be characters with whom the reader will identify as author Fossum deals with broader, more important issues and themes.
Bored, Andreas and Zipp then decide to rob a young woman pushing a baby stroller, and later on to rob a house in which an old woman lives alone. It gives nothing away to say that the baby ends up dead, and Andreas ends up missing--and eventually dead. An acquaintance named Robert, taunted by his girlfriend Anita, who is flirting with one of Robert's friends, is driven to distraction, shoots at the friend, and kills Anita.
Each of these deaths is examined in minute detail from the perspective of the killer (and in one case, the victim), and the question of responsibility and the extent to which the killer intended to kill--and whether that is relevant--are considered from many angles. For each of the three deaths, there are mitigating factors. Robert, Anita's killer, is regarded by the police as "a good person," suddenly overwhelmed by the desire to protect his relationship. Irma Funder, the 60-year-old woman whom Andreas intended to rob, finds herself caring for Andreas for many days after he is injured in her house--and even going to the police for help--but she is unable or unwilling to be specific about what has happened and what she wants the police to do. As for the baby, his death could be crib death, the result of the fall that took place during the robbery, or the mother's "fault" for letting go of the carriage.
As Fossum pursues her themes and illustrates them vividly through her carefully drawn characters, the book becomes a powerful investigation of evil and its ability to seize and control lives. No one, however terrible his/her crime, is completely evil here, but, as Fossum shows, the justice system can only deal with issues that are black and white. When "justice" eventually resolves each of these cases, few readers will be surprised by the resolution. By turns exciting and thoughtful, dramatic and contemplative, When the Devil Holds the Candle is a fine novel dealing with important themes in new ways. n Mary Whipple
Average customer rating:
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When the Devil Holds the Candle
Karin Fossum
Manufacturer: Harvill Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1843430916 |
Book Description
The line between victim and killer is fine, and easily crossed.
Teenage troublemakers, Zipp and Andreas unwittingly commit murder when they accidentally kill a baby in the course of a petty crime. Unaware, the pair move onto their next crime. Having followed an elderly lady home, Andreas enters her house armed, as always, with his trusty knife. Zipp waits nervously outside, but his friend never reappears. He will never see him alive again.
Fossum toys with the roles of victim and killer and pens the inner monologue of her characters to chilling effect. It is the mental processes behind the sinister act that form the real pieces to this puzzle, and they fall gradually into place as Irma and Andreas converse and reveal more information about themselves. We are forced to question the familiar stereotype – that it is always bad people who do bad things.
While the reader may be party to the truth of this crime, the police remain flummoxed. There is no reason for Inspector Sejer to see a connection between the infant’s death and the disappearance of a town trouble-maker. With Zipp too frightened to come forward, the police must wait for the evidence to present itself before they can begin to comprehend the unsettling nature of the case on their hands.
Book Description
"There's a kind of power about Mickey Spillane that no other writer can imitate." (The New York Times)
Apparently. With his trend-setting Mike Hammer detective novels, Mickey Spillane shot to superstardom as one of the most notorious bestselling sensations in publishing history. This powerhouse collection includes three of the master's long-out-of-print greatest novels-together for the first time in one explosive volume:
The Big Kill
One Lonely Night
Kiss Me, Deadly
Includes a special introduction by Shamus and Edgar Award-winner Lawrence Block.
Customer Reviews:
Great reading.......2007-06-08
Fine writing by a fine author. Pictures appeared in my mind with his use of words and always enjoyed each story. No one else like Spillane - not ever.
The Private Eye version of a Time Capsule.......2007-05-10
These Mickey Spillane novels that feature Mike Hammer are incredible. Spillane was immensely popular in the late 40s and early 50s. He wrote incredibly straightforward pulp novels of the sort that have been parodied endlessly in various media since, to the point that going back and reading the original invites laughs when they weren't intended.
The main character, Mike Hammer, is of course the private eye who's the toughest guy in New York City. He has his vices: he smokes constantly, drinks pretty much every chapter, and chases girls constantly. The women, especially, seem badly overdone. Each book he falls for at least three, and of course there's his secretary, Velda, who he claims to be in love with (though of course out of sight, out of mind definitely applies here). Velda never seems to get jealous when she figures out that he's been with another woman, at least not really, and none of the rest of them appear to think he should be monogamous either. They seem to understand that the book is for men, so they should let him chase as many girls as he can catch. He can catch a lot.
Some of the dialog is so overwritten and purple it's beyond parody, and often it's unintentionally funny. Some of the characters are a bit much too: Pat Chambers, his cop friend, never does anything beyond provide information and tell Mike to stay out of trouble, which Mike of course ignores. Mike is insanely tough: beat him up, shoot at him (or shoot him), whatever, he keeps trying to kill you until he succeeds.
One fascinating thing about the series, having read both volumes of the collection, is that Hammer almost never has a real client. Instead, he gets involved in these killings through being what amounts to a knight errant, wandering around and rescuing women. Of course the girl gets killed in the early going of the book, and of course Mike swears revenge, and of course he exacts it by the end of the book. Figuring out who the bad guy is by the end of the book is hard, though it's often another beautiful woman somewhere in the plot; if it isn't, it's some nefarious crime boss or something.
Everything is so dated it's funny. One of the books in this collection features bad guys who Mike invariably refers to as "Commies" as if he intends that as an insult. There's no pretense that someone should have the right to belong to a political party or anything like that: as far as Mike Hammer (and presumably Mickey Spillane too) is concerned, "Commies" deserve a firing squad.
I like dated things, things that are old and make you think about the past. Cultural references (the "Commies" mentioned above) are fascinating to me. I wonder what Hammett (who was a Marxist) thought of the book, if he read it. These books can be a bit hard to read (the characters are very cardboard, and the dialog is often way overdone) but they're interesting for what they are, and worth delving into.
Mike Hammer -- named appropriately.......2007-05-07
I read these books shortly after they were published originally. I was a teenager who fantisized myself as Mike Hammer and his conquests - both with the ladies and in giving the bad guys their due. Spillane introduced me to the wonderful world of paperback novels that have kept me a voracious reader of them to this day. A few years later, I marveled at the exploits of 007, first in the books by Ian Fleming and then the movies so ably done by Broccoli and Saltzman - not to mention Sean Connery (the only real James Bond). Mickey has now gone on to his reward and I would say to him "job well done, Mick."
Lord Breadalbane's Opinion.......2005-09-30
Nice format and great introduction but numerous typos and some dialogue was nonsensical to the point that I am tempted to go to local library and borrow a copy of Kiss Me, Deadly to compare text. Quality control obviously poor.
Tough guys and curvy dames.......2005-09-23
Spillane's books can be found at used bookstores or online for cheap, but buy these new collections and see how fast you can read three books at a time. I tore through these yarns fast and can't wait for the third set. Spillane does more for me than Chandlier or Hammett, though I love their books too, but the Mike Hammer stories are cool, tough, brutal, sexy, post-war stories with all the right slang.
Mike Hammer is brutal, sure. Maybe even cruel. But he is an avenging angel, always seeking revenge for a friend, sometimes for a stranger, but always to set things right. Or at least as close to right as he can make it with his fists and his slabside .45.
Book Description
"I did not kill anyone, Francesca. And the fact that you wish to destroy evidence suggests you think me capable of murder."
New York, 1902
Called to the home of her fiancé Calder Hart's former mistress late one night, amateur sleuth Francesca Cahill's curiosity is piqued. But upon arrival, she is shocked to find Daisy Jones's bloodied body -- and even more devastated when the evidence points to one suspect: Calder.
Francesca cannot -- will not -- believe that Calder is capable of such an act. Still, she is unable to shake her instinctive sense that Calder is lying about something. The police are far less inclined to believe his innocence, and Calder is arrested for Daisy's murder. But Francesca's heart is not easily swayed . . . until a life-altering secret is exposed that could destroy their future together.
Download Description
"I did not kill anyone, Francesca. And the fact that you wish to destroy evidence suggests you think me capable of murder."
New York, 1902
Called to the home of her fiancé Calder Hart's former mistress late one night, amateur sleuth Francesca Cahill's curiosity is piqued. But upon arrival, she is shocked to find Daisy Jones's bloodied body - and even more devastated when the evidence points to one suspect: Calder. Francesca cannot - will not - believe that Calder is capable of such an act. Still, she is unable to shake her instinctive sense that Calder is lying about something. The police are far less inclined to believe his innocence, and Calder is arrested for Daisy's murder. But Francesca's heart is not easily swayed...until a life-altering secret is exposed that could destroy their future together.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing for Rick/Francesca shippers.......2006-11-10
I followed this series faithfully and when I got to the middle of the third book I was truly heartbroken. I had waited patiently all this time for something serious to develop with Rick and Francesca only to be let down seriously by the author having her affiance herself to Calder Hart. I suppose they are an okay couple but it was a major letdown. the plot is ok but slow and I didn't like the book as much as I did the first two.
Somewhat far-fetched........2006-03-25
Set in 1902 New York City, but written with a 21st Century mind, DEADLY KISSES is a fairly good sleuth story. Francesca Cahill, independent young uptown lady, is also a detective. One would think she would have a wall of male disapproval to hit her head against, but fortunately, she had a liason with the chief of police sometime previous, and although he is a married Victorian Era man, he is willing to accept Francesca as an equal. It just so happens that Francesca is engaged to Calder Hart, half-brother to the chief. Calder is a reprobate, albeit an extremely wealthy one. He leaves town on mysterious business without confiding to his fiance his destination or purpose in leaving town, and while he is away his ex-mistress, Daisy Jones, is murdered in a most foul and brutal fashion! Francesca insists that Calder is innocent, and nothing can sway her resolve to clear him, not even when he heartlessly breaks off the engagement and tells her to get out of his life. The plot becomes more and more involved as Daisy's true origins are uncovered, scandals exposed, and finally the murderer unmasked! Unfortunately, there will be no justice for Daisy the prostitute whom Francesca oddly comes to love and admire, even though she was her fiance's mistress and was trying to blackmail him by becoming pregnant. Yikes.
The characterization does not ring true. These are not 19th Century people with their tortured system of ethics, these are modern day Americans on a romp. We might be able to put that criticism aside, but the story line reminded me very much of a real good MONK eposide without the delightful characterization of Mr. Monk, or a LAW & ORDER SVU episode without the compelling characterization of the SVU Squad. The writing was a little too dense and wordy, no doubt in an effort to portray 19th Century writing style and draw the reader in with that hook. The sex was gratuitous and occurred at inappropriate and absurd moments.
For the reader hoping to find a logical (as logical as crime can be) murder mystery, Agatha Christi is still your best hope.
A++++++.......2006-03-11
I read all types of books, stand alones and series. My favorite are series books and this series is fabulous. I am in love with Calder, he is so dark and hot. Francesca is great at getting into so many scrapes, it's a wonderful series. I highly recommend it.
Totally Worthy.......2006-03-04
This book has been long awaited by many fans of the Deadly Series. Once I purchased the book, I could not put it down until I was finished. Many of the character plots are becoming more complex. I suspect this is to keep us all on a string until the next book arives in a couple of years. I was a little disappointed with Fran's character. Really, how noble can you be when the man you love may go to prison for a crime that he did not committ. In this installment, I believe that Fran's character is finally growing up.
Enjoyable............................2006-02-23
After reading the last couple of books in this series and not enjoying them I decided to give Brenda one more chance. Deadly Kisses was a real good treat for me. This book finally put it all together. Calder is framed for murder and Fran will have to risk everything to save him. Leigh Ann and Rick Bragg have everything on the line to protect their future daughters from harm and finally Evan,Fran's brother throws the Bartello woman out on her butte and dumps her flat. Very enjoyable read and highly recommended read if you have been caught in this series. Now the only problem is waiting for the next book in this series. Now I want Calder and Fran to be together.
Book Description
Death cocktail is what the vampires call a witch's blood. It's poisonous—a drop will destroy a vampire within minutes. Nikolaus Drake is the rare vampire who has survived his first taste. Now he's on the hunt for the witch who almost brought him to his demise— Ravin Crosse.
A witch who spends her nights hunting vampire tribes, Ravin has three obligations to fulfill to set her soul free. One of those obligations—crafting a love spell— twists her world upside down when Nikolaus draws the spell from her veins. Natural enemies rarely make the best bedfellows—but is it possible their intentions are really, truly the same? Can Nikolaus's tribal loyalty survive if he surrenders to desires far darker than his own?
Customer Reviews:
creative paranormal romance .......2007-09-12
Vampires know that one drop of a witch's blood touching them is fatal. Nikolaus Drake died two months ago when witch Ravin Crosse dropped her blood on him. However, he recovered and believes he is now immune to this toxin. He plans to kill the witch who almost killed him.
Ravin the vampire hunting witch owes three debts in order to free her soul. She works on a love spell to meet one of her obligations only to have Nikolaus arrive at a critical juncture. The love spell enters his soul and he finds he loves the witch. She quickly reciprocates as these natural enemies are unable to stop kissing one another.
KISS ME DEADLY is a creative paranormal romance in which Michele Hauf uses a Twilight Zone like spin to create love between the witch and the vampire. Nikolaus and Ravin are a superb pairing as he wants to avenge her killing him with her blood only to fall in love with her due to a spell. Ironically he must convince the witch he cherishes that he loves her spell or not and that they belong together taboo or not. This is a winner for sub-genre fans.
Harriet Klausner
Average customer rating:
- 4 stars
- Winning money can be murder.
- Interesting premise done in a unique way
- Haven't finished but great start
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Kiss Me Deadly
Susan Kearney
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0765356678
Release Date: 2007-06-26 |
Book Description
Mandy Newman won the biggest lottery in history
She and her coworkers picked the right numbers and hit the jackpot… and then someone stole the ticket.
Now Mandy's fellow winners are being murdered one by one, and an attempted drowning convinces Mandy she's next on the killer's hit list. In urgent need of protection and help to recover the ticket, she finds both, wrapped in the sexy form of DEA agent Zachary Taylor.
But Zack abandoned Mandy once before, so relying on him doesn't come easy. If she's going to trust him, he needs to start telling her the truth. And she must do the same—since Mandy has a secret that could devastate them both. While on the run, Mandy and Zack struggle between sparking sensuality and latent distrust. But can they overcome their past as a killer attempts to destroy their future?
Customer Reviews:
4 stars.......2007-08-31
Winning the largest lottery in U.S. history should be a dream come true for Mandy and the other women in the lotto pool, but life has turned into a nightmare as one by one, the members are attacked and or killed. The danger forces her to turn to the one man she most wants and most wants to avoid, Zack Taylor, a sexy DEA agent who she once loved, but who left her. Yet, with her life on the line and her child in danger, trust issues and secrets are of secondary importance.
**** Ms. Kearney has found her niche; when writing romantic suspense, she truly shines. Though some scenes seemed a bit too hot, especially under the circumstances, her pacing and ability to evoke suspense is spot on. This is a quick, compelling read that leads you through a labyrinth of intrigue at a heart-stopping pace.
Winning money can be murder........2007-08-17
Amanda "Mandy" Newman is a lawyer. She practices family law and has been dealing with many divorce cases recently. So when a man in a white truck begins riding her bumper, Mandy figures the driver is drunk, near sited, or the husband of someone she represented out to scare her. But all bets were off when the truck rams her vehicle three times, sending her crashing and sinking into the Hillsborough River (which flows out into Tampa Bay). Thoughts of her one-year-old daughter, Gabby, gives Mandy the needed mental and physical strength to survive.
Things begin looking up when Mandy learns that the Powerball jackpot ticket she and some of her coworkers purchased won. They now have three hundred and sixty million dollars to divide between them. (Sixty million dollars each.) Then someone stole the ticket. One by one Mandy's coworkers are being attacked. Mandy has no choice but to wonder if her near brush with a watery grave had anything to do with the ticket. Each person gets bodyguards, which Mandy thinks is a good idea until she learns that her bodyguard is Zachary "Zach" Taylor. The man who does not know he has a daughter. The man who told her that he never wanted kids or a family.
Zach and Mandy had a one night together before he disappeared into his next assignment. Zach is a DEA agent and often goes deep undercover. He is currently on leave, due to a death in his last mission, so when his sister, Dana, calls him to be Mandy's bodyguard he agrees. Though Zach never phoned or wrote Mandy after that night, he has been unable to forget her. They are soon kept busy, dodging a killer who seems determined to kill her.
**** I found this to be a wonderful romantic suspense story. I have no doubts readers will be hanging on the edge of their seats at some points. I certainly did. Author Susan Kearney proves that she knows suspense, whether in space or in Florida. Encore! ****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
Interesting premise done in a unique way.......2007-08-11
Most people have fantasized at one point or another about winning the lottery. When they do, they tend to think of all the good things that can come from it.
Kiss Me Deadly is about a group of women who work in a law office who win the lottery, but their joy becomes short-lived as one by one, they are targeted. The women decide they need protection. The main character, Mandy, is given a former bodyguard, brother to her partner Dana, and former lover, Zack. Mandy and Zack had a child together a few years ago, but Zack doesn't know that. So as they try to keep Mandy (and her partners) alive, Mandy has to decide if she can trust Zach with her life, her child and her love.
This book really keeps you intrigued, between the storyline about why the women are targeted, and the love affair between Zach and Mandy. The love scenes are nice, not overly done. And every emotion and action is well-defined, so what they do seems to make sense. I hate it when books have characters behaving in ways that don't make sense. If you like suspense and intrigue, try this.
Haven't finished but great start.......2007-07-31
I just started this book and it is off to a great start. I just wanted to put a review because the only other review of this book giving it two stars appears to be for a different book. I review customer reviews frequently before buying and didn't want someone to not buy this book because it had a poor rating.
Customer Reviews:
Mike Hammers the Mob.......2007-01-27
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.
Well now, this is a surprise.......2005-11-02
The plot really doesn't matter; they're all basically the same, whether it's Ian Fleming doing James Bond or the Executioner or Matt Helm. What places Spillane above the rest, and right up there up John MacDonald, is that he is a heck of a writer. He not only tells a good story, he is truly a stylish and natural writer. Had he gone in a different direction rather than Mike Hammer (which is no where as cool as name as Mickey Spillane) he could have produced some serious stuff that would have really lasted.
HAMMER SEEMS TRAPPED.......2004-02-13
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.......2003-11-11
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.
Product Description
Multiple books shipped as one item for your convenience. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.
Books:
- A Blood-Dimmed Tide
- A Sparrow Falls
- After Glow (Ghost Hunters, Book 2)
- Air: Or, Have Not Have
- Amagansett
- Around the Way Girls 3
- Asking for Trouble: A Novel
- Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Novel
- Beach Road
- Because They Wanted To: Stories
Books Index
Books Home
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