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Dead Street
Haunted by his girlfriend's death in an attempted abduction, former NYPD cop Jack Stang discovers that she is alive but has lost her sight, her memory, and everything else, except her enemies, and realizes that he has been given a second chance to save the only woman he has ever loved. Original.
219 pages, Paperback
First published October 30, 2007
About the author
Mickey Spillane
321 books467 followersMickey Spillane was one of the world's most popular mystery writers. His specialty was tight-fisted, sadistic revenge stories, often featuring his alcoholic gumshoe Mike Hammer and a cast of evildoers who launder money or spout the Communist Party line.
His writing style was characterized by short words, lightning transitions, gruff sex and violent endings. It was once tallied that he offed 58 people in six novels.
Starting with "I, the Jury," in 1947, Mr. Spillane sold hundreds of millions of books during his lifetime and garnered consistently scathing reviews. Even his father, a Brooklyn bartender, called them "crud."
Mr. Spillane was a struggling comic book publisher when he wrote "I, the Jury." He initially envisioned it as a comic book called "Mike Danger," and when that did not go over, he took a week to reconfigure it as a novel.
Even the editor in chief of E.P. Dutton and Co., Mr. Spillane's publisher, was skeptical of the book's literary merit but conceded it would probably be a smash with postwar readers looking for ready action. He was right. The book, in which Hammer pursues a murderous narcotics ring led by a curvaceous female psychiatrist, went on to sell more than 1 million copies.
Mr. Spillane spun out six novels in the next five years, among them "My Gun Is Quick," "The Big Kill," "One Lonely Night" and "Kiss Me, Deadly." Most concerned Hammer, his faithful sidekick, Velda, and the police homicide captain Pat Chambers, who acknowledges that Hammer's style of vigilante justice is often better suited than the law to dispatching criminals.
Mr. Spillane's success rankled other critics, who sometimes became very personal in their reviews. Malcolm Cowley called Mr. Spillane "a homicidal paranoiac," going on to note what he called his misogyny and vigilante tendencies.
His books were translated into many languages, and he proved so popular as a writer that he was able to transfer his thick-necked, barrel-chested personality across many media. With the charisma of a redwood, he played Hammer in "The Girl Hunters," a 1963 film adaptation of his novel.
Spillane also scripted several television shows and films and played a detective in the 1954 suspense film "Ring of Fear," set at a Clyde Beatty circus. He rewrote much of the film, too, refusing payment. In gratitude, the producer, John Wayne, surprised him one morning with a white Jaguar sportster wrapped in a red ribbon. The card read, "Thanks, Duke."
Done initially on a dare from his publisher, Mr. Spillane wrote a children's book, "The Day the Sea Rolled Back" (1979), about two boys who find a shipwreck loaded with treasure. This won a Junior Literary Guild award.
He also wrote another children's novel, "The Ship That Never Was," and then wrote his first Mike Hammer mystery in 20 years with "The Killing Man" (1989). "Black Alley" followed in 1996. In the last, a rapidly aging Hammer comes out of a gunshot-induced coma, then tracks down a friend's murderer and billions in mob loot. For the first time, he also confesses his love for Velda but, because of doctor's orders, cannot consummate the relationship.
Late in life, he received a career achievement award from the Private Eye Writers of America and was named a grand master by the Mystery Writers of America.
In his private life, he neither smoked nor drank and was a house-to-house missionary for the Jehovah's Witnesses. He expressed at times great disdain for what he saw as corrosive forces in American life, from antiwar protesters to the United Nations.
His marriages to Mary Ann Pearce and Sherri Malinou ended in divorce. His second wife, a model, posed nude for the dust jacket of his 1972 novel "The Erection Set."
Survivors include his third wife, Jane Rodgers Johnson, a former beauty queen 30 years his junior; and four children from the first marriage.
He also carried on a long epistolary flirtation with Ayn Rand, an admirer of his writing.
His writing style was characterized by short words, lightning transitions, gruff sex and violent endings. It was once tallied that he offed 58 people in six novels.
Starting with "I, the Jury," in 1947, Mr. Spillane sold hundreds of millions of books during his lifetime and garnered consistently scathing reviews. Even his father, a Brooklyn bartender, called them "crud."
Mr. Spillane was a struggling comic book publisher when he wrote "I, the Jury." He initially envisioned it as a comic book called "Mike Danger," and when that did not go over, he took a week to reconfigure it as a novel.
Even the editor in chief of E.P. Dutton and Co., Mr. Spillane's publisher, was skeptical of the book's literary merit but conceded it would probably be a smash with postwar readers looking for ready action. He was right. The book, in which Hammer pursues a murderous narcotics ring led by a curvaceous female psychiatrist, went on to sell more than 1 million copies.
Mr. Spillane spun out six novels in the next five years, among them "My Gun Is Quick," "The Big Kill," "One Lonely Night" and "Kiss Me, Deadly." Most concerned Hammer, his faithful sidekick, Velda, and the police homicide captain Pat Chambers, who acknowledges that Hammer's style of vigilante justice is often better suited than the law to dispatching criminals.
Mr. Spillane's success rankled other critics, who sometimes became very personal in their reviews. Malcolm Cowley called Mr. Spillane "a homicidal paranoiac," going on to note what he called his misogyny and vigilante tendencies.
His books were translated into many languages, and he proved so popular as a writer that he was able to transfer his thick-necked, barrel-chested personality across many media. With the charisma of a redwood, he played Hammer in "The Girl Hunters," a 1963 film adaptation of his novel.
Spillane also scripted several television shows and films and played a detective in the 1954 suspense film "Ring of Fear," set at a Clyde Beatty circus. He rewrote much of the film, too, refusing payment. In gratitude, the producer, John Wayne, surprised him one morning with a white Jaguar sportster wrapped in a red ribbon. The card read, "Thanks, Duke."
Done initially on a dare from his publisher, Mr. Spillane wrote a children's book, "The Day the Sea Rolled Back" (1979), about two boys who find a shipwreck loaded with treasure. This won a Junior Literary Guild award.
He also wrote another children's novel, "The Ship That Never Was," and then wrote his first Mike Hammer mystery in 20 years with "The Killing Man" (1989). "Black Alley" followed in 1996. In the last, a rapidly aging Hammer comes out of a gunshot-induced coma, then tracks down a friend's murderer and billions in mob loot. For the first time, he also confesses his love for Velda but, because of doctor's orders, cannot consummate the relationship.
Late in life, he received a career achievement award from the Private Eye Writers of America and was named a grand master by the Mystery Writers of America.
In his private life, he neither smoked nor drank and was a house-to-house missionary for the Jehovah's Witnesses. He expressed at times great disdain for what he saw as corrosive forces in American life, from antiwar protesters to the United Nations.
His marriages to Mary Ann Pearce and Sherri Malinou ended in divorce. His second wife, a model, posed nude for the dust jacket of his 1972 novel "The Erection Set."
Survivors include his third wife, Jane Rodgers Johnson, a former beauty queen 30 years his junior; and four children from the first marriage.
He also carried on a long epistolary flirtation with Ayn Rand, an admirer of his writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
July 19, 2011
"You think you're some kind of writer? You think you're Mickey f****** Spillane?"
When I saw Full Metal Jacket and heard that line, coupled with the Bud Lite commercials and the legend, I knew someday I would read a Mickey Spillane novel. It took me a long time but I did, and like hundreds of millions of readers before me I enjoyed it. This being his last novel, actually published posthumously and finished by a friend, it is special.
Part of the attraction of the hard boiled crime genre is that there is no pretense, no ambitious for greatness. Like it's writer (not author) a Spillane book is what you see and what you get; a simple, no frills, black and white tale with good guys, bad guys and beautiful women.
The good guys are packing heat and the women respond to monickers like "doll" and "dame". Like a Louie L'Amour book or any of the Left Behind novels, hard boiled crime books have much in common; besides being wildly popular and with sales in the mythical hundreds of millions, they tend to have flat dialogue, one dimensional characters, and a simple but entertaining plot.
I also loved reading about Spillane and his comical feud with Ernest Hemingway and his unlikely friendship with Ayn Rand.
When I saw Full Metal Jacket and heard that line, coupled with the Bud Lite commercials and the legend, I knew someday I would read a Mickey Spillane novel. It took me a long time but I did, and like hundreds of millions of readers before me I enjoyed it. This being his last novel, actually published posthumously and finished by a friend, it is special.
Part of the attraction of the hard boiled crime genre is that there is no pretense, no ambitious for greatness. Like it's writer (not author) a Spillane book is what you see and what you get; a simple, no frills, black and white tale with good guys, bad guys and beautiful women.
The good guys are packing heat and the women respond to monickers like "doll" and "dame". Like a Louie L'Amour book or any of the Left Behind novels, hard boiled crime books have much in common; besides being wildly popular and with sales in the mythical hundreds of millions, they tend to have flat dialogue, one dimensional characters, and a simple but entertaining plot.
I also loved reading about Spillane and his comical feud with Ernest Hemingway and his unlikely friendship with Ayn Rand.
April 13, 2023
a super silly yet somewhat endearing book.
not my favorite spillane so far, but still a light breezy fun read. if it weren’t for all the ridiculous plot contrivances, and there are A LOT of em, this would’ve rated much higher for me. spillane isn’t even trying to make it believable in this story and my guess is, since this was finished by max allan collins, mickeys first draft (before he passed away) was likely not very polished, and what we’re seeing here is what his writing looked like before he got a chance to do more drafts to smoothen the prose, the story, and fix all the absurd plot coincidences.
tbh — i found myself just wanting to read the love story of jack and betty reuniting as older people, and skip all the mystery and intrigue stuff, which isn’t nearly as good here as it was back when spillane was in his prime with hammer. yet he’s much more sentimental here in his older years, which is nice.
in the end, dead street is a mickey spillane minor work, but….
it’s got a lotta heart, kid.
not my favorite spillane so far, but still a light breezy fun read. if it weren’t for all the ridiculous plot contrivances, and there are A LOT of em, this would’ve rated much higher for me. spillane isn’t even trying to make it believable in this story and my guess is, since this was finished by max allan collins, mickeys first draft (before he passed away) was likely not very polished, and what we’re seeing here is what his writing looked like before he got a chance to do more drafts to smoothen the prose, the story, and fix all the absurd plot coincidences.
tbh — i found myself just wanting to read the love story of jack and betty reuniting as older people, and skip all the mystery and intrigue stuff, which isn’t nearly as good here as it was back when spillane was in his prime with hammer. yet he’s much more sentimental here in his older years, which is nice.
in the end, dead street is a mickey spillane minor work, but….
it’s got a lotta heart, kid.
May 22, 2019
A ridiculous plot that revolves around ridiculous things happening (no less than two people get amnesia to make this clunker work).
This was written by a very old Mickey Spillane and it really shows. The characters are constantly complaining about "these darn, confusing computers" and "these darn kids with their weird fashions". The story takes place after 9/11 (that's referenced quite a bit, too), and yet it feels like it takes place in 1993 with how mysterious and unknowable computers and technology are made out to be.
This was written by a very old Mickey Spillane and it really shows. The characters are constantly complaining about "these darn, confusing computers" and "these darn kids with their weird fashions". The story takes place after 9/11 (that's referenced quite a bit, too), and yet it feels like it takes place in 1993 with how mysterious and unknowable computers and technology are made out to be.
October 24, 2011
This is going to be a short-ish review.
A kind of sentimental novel set in post 9/11 gentrified New York. I haven't had the best experiences with reading Mickey Spillane in the past, his writing generally doesn't do too much for me. This one was fine though, there were parts of it that were a little incredulous to me, but generally it was an ok enough book. Not one of the better Hard Case novels I've read in the past month, but there wasn't anything about it that made it awful either.
A retired cop is drawn back in to investigating some events that should have been ancient history to him when he finds out that the love of his life is still alive and wasn't killed twenty or thirty years ago. Love conquers all in a slightly convoluted plot involving stolen nuclear material, long dead mobsters, al-Qaeda and the bulldozing of old neighborhoods on Manhattan's West-Side.
I can't think of too much to say about this one, and it's due back to the library today.
A kind of sentimental novel set in post 9/11 gentrified New York. I haven't had the best experiences with reading Mickey Spillane in the past, his writing generally doesn't do too much for me. This one was fine though, there were parts of it that were a little incredulous to me, but generally it was an ok enough book. Not one of the better Hard Case novels I've read in the past month, but there wasn't anything about it that made it awful either.
A retired cop is drawn back in to investigating some events that should have been ancient history to him when he finds out that the love of his life is still alive and wasn't killed twenty or thirty years ago. Love conquers all in a slightly convoluted plot involving stolen nuclear material, long dead mobsters, al-Qaeda and the bulldozing of old neighborhoods on Manhattan's West-Side.
I can't think of too much to say about this one, and it's due back to the library today.
October 26, 2009
Retired NYPD cop Jack Stang finds out his lost love, presumed dead 20 years or more, is still alive, blind, and has amnesia. But what does she have to do with stolen nuclear material?
Well, I have mixed feelings on this one. I wanted to love it, since this was Mickey Spillane's swan song and because of his status as one of the founding fathers of the genre. But I didn't. The plot seemed like something out of the seventies or eighties and I found the whole Bettie angle implausible.
That's not to say I didn't like it. I liked the way Spillane wrote Stang, even if it did seem dated. Also, are all the Spillane stories this gore-strewn? Holy crap! I sure didn't expect head explosions.
While this wasn't my favorite Hard Case, it wasn't a waste of time either. It was worth plunking down my money to see one of the legends in action one last time.
Well, I have mixed feelings on this one. I wanted to love it, since this was Mickey Spillane's swan song and because of his status as one of the founding fathers of the genre. But I didn't. The plot seemed like something out of the seventies or eighties and I found the whole Bettie angle implausible.
That's not to say I didn't like it. I liked the way Spillane wrote Stang, even if it did seem dated. Also, are all the Spillane stories this gore-strewn? Holy crap! I sure didn't expect head explosions.
While this wasn't my favorite Hard Case, it wasn't a waste of time either. It was worth plunking down my money to see one of the legends in action one last time.
March 15, 2009
A completely ridiculous plot, but this book was really a curtain call for Mickey Spillane so it's best just to read it as such.
July 9, 2020
Dead Street was a super fun, fast-paced read. I picked this one up because I was feeling a bit slumpy and was looking for something quick to help me out. This book did not disappoint.
From the moment I picked up Dead Street I was unable to put it down. The plot was great and I really enjoyed getting to know the characters. The story started to taper off a little but near the end and it felt a little rushed, but all in all I enjoyed it.
From the moment I picked up Dead Street I was unable to put it down. The plot was great and I really enjoyed getting to know the characters. The story started to taper off a little but near the end and it felt a little rushed, but all in all I enjoyed it.
February 16, 2024
Finished my first Mickey Spillane. It was new to me and I wanted to see if I liked it. It was good, but I didn't love it. I liked some elements, but some of the tough guy vocabulary felt very dated and artificial. The plot felt well constructed and the writing was fine. I am not sure about more. Maybe another further down the road after I have had time to absorb and process how this style affects me as a reader.
August 8, 2012
It's Mickey Spillane's last book and I was ready for another trip down noir street with Dead Street. Didn't happen.
Spillane died July 17, 2006, and this book which was almost completed, was published in 2007. His friend and confidant Max Allen Collins, prepared the manuscript for publication and completed the last three chapters which Spillane had outlined. I should have paid more attention to the publication facts and not anticipated that this book would be so similar in flavor to some of the earlier hard boiled noir books I've read by Spillane. However, I didn't pay attention,and was slightly disappointed because of it.
The plotline is about retired NYPD cop Jack Stang. He's told that the love of his life, Bettie, is alive, is blind and has no memory of the night she was abducted 20 years ago. The whys of the abduction and Stang's move to Florida where she lives is a part of the story. Scenes shift from Florida to NYC and from the present to 20 years back when Bettie and Stang were living together and engaged. At the time, Stang was a detective and Bettie a computer expert (and virus specialist) who worked for a computer storage company. Computers, of course, were in the early stages of being in every office and household.
Yes, I do think it would be considered 'hard-boiled' but references to 9/11, computers, and oil rich Middle Eastern nations, just threw me off a bit. Now I'm used to a 1950's and '60's setting in Spillane's books. It was disconcerting and I had a difficult time getting past it from the first mention of 9/11 and terrorism.
Still love Spillane's phasing such as "Patience is something that cops learn. The initial eagerness of putting on a uniform is like training a puppy. All bounce and yips with lots of circles to run in." I find Spillane's writing so much fun to read and after reading sentences such as that I found I really missed his writing. Plotline, three stars, writing four stars and it's a Spillane, so four stars it is.
The cover of the book, so '50's, was a bonus. It's so 'pulp fiction' looking thanks to artist Arthur Suydam. Was happy to carry it with me and showing it off when waiting in offices. Imagined people thinking, 'look at her reading that trashy novel.' Spillane would have said with pride, "no, it's a book written by a writer, ma'am."
With that said, I'll take Mickey Spillane's writing over so many, many of today's bestselling "authors."
Spillane died July 17, 2006, and this book which was almost completed, was published in 2007. His friend and confidant Max Allen Collins, prepared the manuscript for publication and completed the last three chapters which Spillane had outlined. I should have paid more attention to the publication facts and not anticipated that this book would be so similar in flavor to some of the earlier hard boiled noir books I've read by Spillane. However, I didn't pay attention,and was slightly disappointed because of it.
The plotline is about retired NYPD cop Jack Stang. He's told that the love of his life, Bettie, is alive, is blind and has no memory of the night she was abducted 20 years ago. The whys of the abduction and Stang's move to Florida where she lives is a part of the story. Scenes shift from Florida to NYC and from the present to 20 years back when Bettie and Stang were living together and engaged. At the time, Stang was a detective and Bettie a computer expert (and virus specialist) who worked for a computer storage company. Computers, of course, were in the early stages of being in every office and household.
Yes, I do think it would be considered 'hard-boiled' but references to 9/11, computers, and oil rich Middle Eastern nations, just threw me off a bit. Now I'm used to a 1950's and '60's setting in Spillane's books. It was disconcerting and I had a difficult time getting past it from the first mention of 9/11 and terrorism.
Still love Spillane's phasing such as "Patience is something that cops learn. The initial eagerness of putting on a uniform is like training a puppy. All bounce and yips with lots of circles to run in." I find Spillane's writing so much fun to read and after reading sentences such as that I found I really missed his writing. Plotline, three stars, writing four stars and it's a Spillane, so four stars it is.
The cover of the book, so '50's, was a bonus. It's so 'pulp fiction' looking thanks to artist Arthur Suydam. Was happy to carry it with me and showing it off when waiting in offices. Imagined people thinking, 'look at her reading that trashy novel.' Spillane would have said with pride, "no, it's a book written by a writer, ma'am."
With that said, I'll take Mickey Spillane's writing over so many, many of today's bestselling "authors."
August 26, 2018
This one was a little weird... it felt like it should be set in the 60s, with a retired cop going back to investigate an old case from the mob. Then there was what almost felt like a side plot, but turned out to be the main story that sorta kinda involved Middle Eastern terrorists, but in such a generic way as to not really seems real.
I definitely need to read some of his older stuff, I'm sure it works a lot better, this one was certainly a page turner, it just was weird. The whole lost girlfriend is really alive thing is a bit of a standard, and it was too easy...20 years and suddenly talking to the old flame all fixes it, after years of therapy and such had no effect?
The whole 'Cops retirement home in Florida next to a gangsters retirement home' thing is really kinda silly. There were really some fun characters, though, from the main character, Stang, to the old lady that witnesses everything on the Street, to the mobster turned terrorist lackey, even the old cops, all some great characters in a fun version of New York that had this weird old time vibe that was entertaining, but felt just enough off to throw me out of the story at times.
I definitely need to read some of his older stuff, I'm sure it works a lot better, this one was certainly a page turner, it just was weird. The whole lost girlfriend is really alive thing is a bit of a standard, and it was too easy...20 years and suddenly talking to the old flame all fixes it, after years of therapy and such had no effect?
The whole 'Cops retirement home in Florida next to a gangsters retirement home' thing is really kinda silly. There were really some fun characters, though, from the main character, Stang, to the old lady that witnesses everything on the Street, to the mobster turned terrorist lackey, even the old cops, all some great characters in a fun version of New York that had this weird old time vibe that was entertaining, but felt just enough off to throw me out of the story at times.
October 20, 2019
I wasn't terribly impressed, but it was one of the last books Spillane worked on. He wrote the first 8 chapters & Max Allan Collins's finished it up. This probably accounts for the slightly disjointed feel of the story.
Merged review:
Apparently I read this as a paperback 4 years ago. It was new to me listening to it as an audiobook today. I guess that says something. It was fun, if not memorable. Way to much tough guy stuff & convenience in the plot. Everyone knows Stang (aka The Shooter) retired police captain, & all around tough guy. The romance was over done, but not as bad as the Tiger Mann series.
Most memorable was the afterword by Collins who finished the book. I really want to watch "The Girl Hunters" (1963) in which Spillane plays Mike Hammer & "Ring of Fear" (1954) in which the real Jack Stang, the hero of this novel, acts with Spillane. According to Collins, Spillane wanted Stang to play Mike Hammer, but Spillane's own performance in this movie put that idea to rest.
This was read by Richard Ferrone. He's a better narrator than Stacey Keach, but I still like Keach for the Mike Hammer novels since he played him on TV.
Merged review:
Apparently I read this as a paperback 4 years ago. It was new to me listening to it as an audiobook today. I guess that says something. It was fun, if not memorable. Way to much tough guy stuff & convenience in the plot. Everyone knows Stang (aka The Shooter) retired police captain, & all around tough guy. The romance was over done, but not as bad as the Tiger Mann series.
Most memorable was the afterword by Collins who finished the book. I really want to watch "The Girl Hunters" (1963) in which Spillane plays Mike Hammer & "Ring of Fear" (1954) in which the real Jack Stang, the hero of this novel, acts with Spillane. According to Collins, Spillane wanted Stang to play Mike Hammer, but Spillane's own performance in this movie put that idea to rest.
This was read by Richard Ferrone. He's a better narrator than Stacey Keach, but I still like Keach for the Mike Hammer novels since he played him on TV.
January 6, 2020
This Mickey Spillane novel was finished after his death by his friend and fellow crime novelist Max Alan Collins. It was part of the early rollout of Hard Case Crime, a fun imprint of pulp mysteries and hard-boiled crime fiction with charmingly lurid cover art. The story's a brisk read with the cynicism and Chandleresque patter one expects from a writer like Spillane, but the plot feels like something that wasn't fully baked yet. Retired New York police detective Jack Stang moves to Florida, right next door to the love of his life 20 years after she was believed dead following her kidnapping by mobsters. This is no coincidence, but instead the first in a set of events set into motion that lead to a widening conspiracy involving national security, old mobsters, and old cops. You'll never read a novel where a man who thought his true love was murdered, and a woman who has developed blindness and amnesia to forget him entirely, pick things up more easily. Perhaps I'm conditioned by soap operas to expect a reunion like this to play big, but Spillane and Collins make it seem as mundane as a pair of high school sweethearts running into each other again at their 20-year reunion.
December 12, 2007
I've gotten hooked big time in the Hard Case Crime series and really looked forward to this one. It's good but not great---not as visceral or as immediate as I, the Jury or Kiss Me Deadly. But then again, what is? The degree to which you enjoy this one depends on the degree to which you're willing to ride back to the bygone days when villains were shot in the "melon," naked women sported an "inverted delta," and villains had names like Douchebag McGuillicuty (or some such variation). The popcorn is fun, but the popcorn has also been tastier---in particular in some of HCC's other entries. That said, this is a labor of love, and maybe the best compliment I can pay it is that I didn't know until weeks after reading DEAD STREET I returned to the afterward and learned that the book's final chapters had been completed by Max Allan Collins. It's a credit to him and HCC that they did the master such bittersweet justice.
September 16, 2016
This was the last novel that Spillane completed before his death in 2006. It was prepared for publishing by Max Allen Collins and first hit the shelves in 2007.
All the hallmarks of a good Spillane novel are here. A tough retired cop, a beautiful doll and a full cast of bad guys. It's interesting to note how his bad guys changed over the years to somewhat reflect the era he was writing in. In his early works they were straight mob guys, closely followed by red commies in the McCarthy years and concluded with Middle Eastern terrorists, post 9/11, at the end of his career.
I've always been a fan and this one contains quite a lot of the old Spillane style so I'm giving it 4 stars.
All the hallmarks of a good Spillane novel are here. A tough retired cop, a beautiful doll and a full cast of bad guys. It's interesting to note how his bad guys changed over the years to somewhat reflect the era he was writing in. In his early works they were straight mob guys, closely followed by red commies in the McCarthy years and concluded with Middle Eastern terrorists, post 9/11, at the end of his career.
I've always been a fan and this one contains quite a lot of the old Spillane style so I'm giving it 4 stars.
January 10, 2009
There are so many false notes in Dead Street that an explication of them would be longer than the novel itself. Here is one of my favorites from early on: Our hero, ex-cop Jack Stang, has discovered that his fiancée, who supposedly died twenty years ago in an accident after being kidnapped by the mob, is actually alive. When Stang, a.k.a. "The Shooter," learns this remarkable news, he proclaims, "Somebody has got to pay for twenty lost years." Somebody has got to pay for all that lost time, Captain Stang? That's strange. Why didn't they have to pay back when you thought that all they had done was kill your fiancée?
December 31, 2010
Entertaining in that pulp noir way, but the Saudis? Really? Besides, cops have never been my favourite good guys and a gated community in Florida ain't never been my idea of paradise. And I hate, oh how I hate to watch a good neighborhood street go down without a fight, and then you blame the arabs for that shit too? Don't get me started on that so yeah, I know this review is mostly about politics, but the plot is a stretch and I didn't understand why Stang needs vengeance when he finds out out his fiancee is ALIVE, that usually happens when you find out she's dead. And more, but life is short...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 19, 2025
Dead Street is a perfect title for a Mickey Spillane mystery, even one completed posthumously from the great one’s copious notes by his biggest fan, Max Allan Collins. Initially, one might think that because the novel begins on a dying street, symbolic of a retired police captain’s life, the title is a pun on the fact that several people will die on that street before the story unfolds completely. That would be partially true, but it is also a figurative way of speaking about one’s past, even when one is given a chance to redeem some of that past like Captain Jack “Shooter” Stang, the story’s protagonist.
Dead Street offers intriguing psychological insights in thoughts and conversations without unnecessary exposition. Spillane’s steady pacing takes one through numerous mysteries: a) an old abduction, b) an ongoing amnesia, c) an unsolved armored heist, d) a luxury mob retirement village next to a luxury law enforcement retirement village, and e) what is important about dusty old files from decades ago. The best part is that these simultaneous investigations are so perfectly paced that one simply has to keep reading to find the next lead.
There are some tropes that are to be expected. There is the ally who proves untrustworthy, though not the one I originally suspected. There is the dead mobster who is “not quite dead.” There is the unexpected relationship and the double-cross. And as corny as some of those sound, they fit together perfectly.
While Dead Street is not exactly a Cold War thriller, it does touch on both Cold War and modern terrorist issues yet without losing that hard-boiled Spillane touch. And, since this was Spillane’s favored project prior to his death, Dead Street has an eery echo of the loss to readers past and future with the passing of its creator. Kudos to Max Allan Collins and Charles Ardai for making this happen with such respect and finesse.
Dead Street offers intriguing psychological insights in thoughts and conversations without unnecessary exposition. Spillane’s steady pacing takes one through numerous mysteries: a) an old abduction, b) an ongoing amnesia, c) an unsolved armored heist, d) a luxury mob retirement village next to a luxury law enforcement retirement village, and e) what is important about dusty old files from decades ago. The best part is that these simultaneous investigations are so perfectly paced that one simply has to keep reading to find the next lead.
There are some tropes that are to be expected. There is the ally who proves untrustworthy, though not the one I originally suspected. There is the dead mobster who is “not quite dead.” There is the unexpected relationship and the double-cross. And as corny as some of those sound, they fit together perfectly.
While Dead Street is not exactly a Cold War thriller, it does touch on both Cold War and modern terrorist issues yet without losing that hard-boiled Spillane touch. And, since this was Spillane’s favored project prior to his death, Dead Street has an eery echo of the loss to readers past and future with the passing of its creator. Kudos to Max Allan Collins and Charles Ardai for making this happen with such respect and finesse.
February 25, 2021
I wish I could say I loved this book, but I don’t. Is it a good read, for the most part. I enjoy the old cop retiring to Florida after a hard life in New York. He should be able to settle down and just enjoy the waves of the ocean and a love he thought he lost twenty years ago. New York wasn’t done with Stang or “Shooter” as his enemies call him. This story follows Stang on his last case. If you like the old man badass genre this book will be a good read for you.
April 23, 2021
Dead Street by Mickey Spillane my first Mickey Spillane novel how did I go so long without reading this wonderful author. Great little story concise, hard hitting, simple but plausible, very enjoyable read and quick not hundreds and hundreds of pages will not be the last of his books I read but I do think this was his last book what a shame such a talent.
January 18, 2026
Spillane’s last novel was incomplete and finished off by Max Allan Collins. It doesn’t quite hold together with its old fashioned style and atomic plot not meshing very well with its contemporary setting.
May 19, 2017
Dead Street is a 2007 novel published by Hard Case Crime. After
Mickey Spillane died, his pal Max Allan Collins was tasked with
completing Spillane's unfinished manuscripts. In the afterword, Collins
explains that Spillane wrote the first eight of eleven chapters and left
extensive notes for the final chapters.
It is not a Mike Hammer novel. Jack Stang is a retired police captain
who sees his old street dying. Twenty years ago, his fiancé was
abducted and killed and he never remarried. Turns out she's still alive,
has no memory of anything before the accident, but Is all of a sudden
in need of Stang's protection.
Although there are a few far fetched coincidences in this book, it is one
helluva good book and I started and finished it in the same evening.
Stang moves into a retirement community in Florida with all the other
retired cops, but soon finds himself running back and forth to the old
neighborhood to solve the twenty year old mystery before someone
else puts the pieces together and he loses Bettie all over again.
A good story that captures the reader from page one.
Mickey Spillane died, his pal Max Allan Collins was tasked with
completing Spillane's unfinished manuscripts. In the afterword, Collins
explains that Spillane wrote the first eight of eleven chapters and left
extensive notes for the final chapters.
It is not a Mike Hammer novel. Jack Stang is a retired police captain
who sees his old street dying. Twenty years ago, his fiancé was
abducted and killed and he never remarried. Turns out she's still alive,
has no memory of anything before the accident, but Is all of a sudden
in need of Stang's protection.
Although there are a few far fetched coincidences in this book, it is one
helluva good book and I started and finished it in the same evening.
Stang moves into a retirement community in Florida with all the other
retired cops, but soon finds himself running back and forth to the old
neighborhood to solve the twenty year old mystery before someone
else puts the pieces together and he loses Bettie all over again.
A good story that captures the reader from page one.
May 31, 2018
After reading the postscript where the co-author who finished the book based on notes said that he wrote chapters 9 through 11, I was able to pinpoint where exactly the writing became jarring. The style changed slightly right then--and got more virulently racist and venomous.
Beyond that, as a mystery story, it felt too simple right from the beginning (I don't like it when I've solved the clues two chapters in advance of the detective) only to get more and more ridiculous with each twist and turn. Blind amnesiac woman in a Florida retirement village for cops, fine. I've read worse. But once you add nuclear materials and evil ice cream trucks, my eyes start rolling into the back of my head.
Beyond that, as a mystery story, it felt too simple right from the beginning (I don't like it when I've solved the clues two chapters in advance of the detective) only to get more and more ridiculous with each twist and turn. Blind amnesiac woman in a Florida retirement village for cops, fine. I've read worse. But once you add nuclear materials and evil ice cream trucks, my eyes start rolling into the back of my head.
November 3, 2013
I wonder just how good a friend Collins was to Spillane. The reason I say this is because there seems to be a large plot hole in the story and it takes place in Collin's last three chapters. In the beginning of Dead Street, Jack Stang is antsy and suspicious about the veterinarian's son. Hell, he wants to shoot him. So one would expect Spillane intended to involve the veterinarian in the original kidnapping and that involvement would reveal itself in the final chapter's. I'm guessing Spillane didn't mention this to his good friend Collins or his wife Jane. But, I've been wrong, before.
May 18, 2026
Dead Street is a posthumous novel by Mickey Spillane, completed by Max Allan Collins, about retired NYPD detective Jack Stang, who discovers his fiancée, long thought dead, is alive but amnesiac and blind, and he must protect her from the mobsters who originally kidnapped her. Published by Hard Case Crime, the book is considered a late-career work that blends classic Spillane hardboiled elements with a more sentimental, "swan song" feel, offering a second chance for the hero to save the woman he loves. Core Reasons to Read It
A Legend's Swan Song: It is the final novel from Mickey Spillane, one of the founding fathers of the 20th-century noir genre.
Vintage Style with Modern Stakes: You get Spillane’s classic, gritty "tough-guy" dialogue blended with modern post-9/11 threats like cyber-crime and national security conspiracies.
Action-Adventure Vibe: The protagonist, Jack "The Shooter" Stang, favors direct, unapologetic action over slow police investigations, keeping the momentum remarkably high.
Pulp Nostalgia: Published by Hard Case Crime, the book embraces old-school charm—where bad guys are thoroughly nasty and the hero carries an unforgiving Colt .45.A Tender Core: Beneath the stacked body count is a surprisingly touching, second-chance romance between two aging characters in a Florida retirement community.Dead Street was written to serve as a nostalgic, modern "swan song" for Mickey Spillane’s legendary career, reflecting his own experiences with aging and the passage of time. 1. A Reflection on Aging and Change
Spillane wrote the core of the book toward the end of his life (he passed away in 2006). Unlike his iconic, hyper-aggressive Mike Hammer books from the 1950s, Spillane wanted to write about a protagonist who mirrored his own stage in life. The main character, Jack Stang, is an aging, retired cop watching his old neighborhood literally being demolished. It was written as a deliberate rumination on how an old-school, gritty anti-hero functions in a post-9/11 world.2. Honoring a Real-Life Friend
The protagonist's name, Jack Stang, was not fictional. He was named after a real-life, close friend of Spillane who was a former cop and ex-Marine. Spillane had always promised Stang he would write a book dedicated to a character bearing his name.
3. A Legacy Gift for His Fans
Spillane famously remarked that he "wrote for his fans, not the critics". As his health declined from pancreatic cancer, he wanted to leave behind a few final gifts for pulp-fiction enthusiasts. He managed to write the first eight of eleven chapters and left extensive plot notes for how the remaining chapters should unfold4. Fulfilling a Dying Wish
The book exists in its final form because of a promise between friends. A week before Spillane died, knowing he would not finish his current projects, he told his wife to give all his unfinished notes to author Max Allan Collins, saying, "Max will know what to do". Collins completed the final chapters based on Spillane's notes, explicitly choosing Dead Street as the very first posthumous manuscript to publish in 2007 to preserve his friend's legacy
A Legend's Swan Song: It is the final novel from Mickey Spillane, one of the founding fathers of the 20th-century noir genre.
Vintage Style with Modern Stakes: You get Spillane’s classic, gritty "tough-guy" dialogue blended with modern post-9/11 threats like cyber-crime and national security conspiracies.
Action-Adventure Vibe: The protagonist, Jack "The Shooter" Stang, favors direct, unapologetic action over slow police investigations, keeping the momentum remarkably high.
Pulp Nostalgia: Published by Hard Case Crime, the book embraces old-school charm—where bad guys are thoroughly nasty and the hero carries an unforgiving Colt .45.A Tender Core: Beneath the stacked body count is a surprisingly touching, second-chance romance between two aging characters in a Florida retirement community.Dead Street was written to serve as a nostalgic, modern "swan song" for Mickey Spillane’s legendary career, reflecting his own experiences with aging and the passage of time. 1. A Reflection on Aging and Change
Spillane wrote the core of the book toward the end of his life (he passed away in 2006). Unlike his iconic, hyper-aggressive Mike Hammer books from the 1950s, Spillane wanted to write about a protagonist who mirrored his own stage in life. The main character, Jack Stang, is an aging, retired cop watching his old neighborhood literally being demolished. It was written as a deliberate rumination on how an old-school, gritty anti-hero functions in a post-9/11 world.2. Honoring a Real-Life Friend
The protagonist's name, Jack Stang, was not fictional. He was named after a real-life, close friend of Spillane who was a former cop and ex-Marine. Spillane had always promised Stang he would write a book dedicated to a character bearing his name.
3. A Legacy Gift for His Fans
Spillane famously remarked that he "wrote for his fans, not the critics". As his health declined from pancreatic cancer, he wanted to leave behind a few final gifts for pulp-fiction enthusiasts. He managed to write the first eight of eleven chapters and left extensive plot notes for how the remaining chapters should unfold4. Fulfilling a Dying Wish
The book exists in its final form because of a promise between friends. A week before Spillane died, knowing he would not finish his current projects, he told his wife to give all his unfinished notes to author Max Allan Collins, saying, "Max will know what to do". Collins completed the final chapters based on Spillane's notes, explicitly choosing Dead Street as the very first posthumous manuscript to publish in 2007 to preserve his friend's legacy
February 13, 2018
Not so good, because it was not finished by Spillane. someone else finished it after his demise. few good lines, but leave you unsatisfied. Ending is poor, because the other author mostly did the last part. Spillane is a great author,his previous works vouch for it. I will never read the latest ones which were completed by someone else.
story is boring and everything is waraped up too quick. at midway you can guess the ending yourself. obvious plot twists and totally predictable story. the blind girl all of a sudden starts getting a lot of past memories after being rattled by past love. love can do wonders. it's absurd, the girl lost her memory completely but love pep talk and kisses revived it all of a sudden. I will not recommend it, avoid it if you can. while reading it seems like few parts are missing, the story keeps jumping from one point to another. it shows that lot of it was completed by the psedo author.
the moment nuclear word appear in the story, i.lost all the interest in it. the villain buy his security by providing the database of crime family to the computer firm. this plot device is completely meaningless. anyone can figure the crooked cop in the story from the very beginning.
the half dead dog finally saved the day. another stupid plot twist.
there are too many lines about stupid dog,it did this,it did that, my soul cringed everytime that stupid dog is mentioned.
finally it was not the nuke but the enriched plutonium, how the hell someone can use it to make nukes as if it's piece of cake. several countries have nuclear material, but none of them can turn it into deadly weapon even after best efforts. you also need saphosticaed missiles and planes to launch it, which makes the entire plot line even more ridiculous.
no one buys plutonium unless you can really achieve the purpose. those Arabian morons could have never done anything with it.
story is boring and everything is waraped up too quick. at midway you can guess the ending yourself. obvious plot twists and totally predictable story. the blind girl all of a sudden starts getting a lot of past memories after being rattled by past love. love can do wonders. it's absurd, the girl lost her memory completely but love pep talk and kisses revived it all of a sudden. I will not recommend it, avoid it if you can. while reading it seems like few parts are missing, the story keeps jumping from one point to another. it shows that lot of it was completed by the psedo author.
the moment nuclear word appear in the story, i.lost all the interest in it. the villain buy his security by providing the database of crime family to the computer firm. this plot device is completely meaningless. anyone can figure the crooked cop in the story from the very beginning.
the half dead dog finally saved the day. another stupid plot twist.
there are too many lines about stupid dog,it did this,it did that, my soul cringed everytime that stupid dog is mentioned.
finally it was not the nuke but the enriched plutonium, how the hell someone can use it to make nukes as if it's piece of cake. several countries have nuclear material, but none of them can turn it into deadly weapon even after best efforts. you also need saphosticaed missiles and planes to launch it, which makes the entire plot line even more ridiculous.
no one buys plutonium unless you can really achieve the purpose. those Arabian morons could have never done anything with it.
July 15, 2023
Dead Street was supposedly Mickey Spillane's last novel... When the great writer passed away he told his wife to give all of his notes, outlines, etc. to Max Allan Collins-- so he could get them into publication.
Dead Street features the typical Spillane macho (Dirty Harry-like) hero. Retired Cop Jack Strang has a reputation for shooting it out with the bad guys... so much so, that he is called "the Shooter." He hates being retired and has one great regret-- a lost love from his past who tragically died after being abducted by mob types..... Oh, Wait.. he promptly discovers that she is alive and well, and a wealthy benefactor not only cared for her, but has purchased the house next door to hers so that Jack can watch over her. Is the mob still after her-- even though she is blind and suffers from amnesia?
There is a decent plot here and the action is described well. The hero isn't quite as tough as Spillane's Mike Hammer, and this keeps him from bordering on sadistic.... (Sorry all of you Hammer fans, but Hammer does tend to cross the line once in awhile)..
While this is a Spillane plot-- the material was prepared (edited) by Collins-- the editing obviously included a great deal of rewriting. Much of it reflects much more of Collins than of Spillane. He's a great author, but nobody can absolutely emulate another writer... So, it is still pretty good.
Dead Street features the typical Spillane macho (Dirty Harry-like) hero. Retired Cop Jack Strang has a reputation for shooting it out with the bad guys... so much so, that he is called "the Shooter." He hates being retired and has one great regret-- a lost love from his past who tragically died after being abducted by mob types..... Oh, Wait.. he promptly discovers that she is alive and well, and a wealthy benefactor not only cared for her, but has purchased the house next door to hers so that Jack can watch over her. Is the mob still after her-- even though she is blind and suffers from amnesia?
There is a decent plot here and the action is described well. The hero isn't quite as tough as Spillane's Mike Hammer, and this keeps him from bordering on sadistic.... (Sorry all of you Hammer fans, but Hammer does tend to cross the line once in awhile)..
While this is a Spillane plot-- the material was prepared (edited) by Collins-- the editing obviously included a great deal of rewriting. Much of it reflects much more of Collins than of Spillane. He's a great author, but nobody can absolutely emulate another writer... So, it is still pretty good.
January 24, 2025
I must admit some disappointment at this Spillane entry, his last. It was finished by a Spillane expert, Max Allan Collins, but the whole thing reads like ‘Spillane Light.” The hero is Jack “Shooter” Stang, 56 and happily retired from the NYPD. His former girlfriend, Bettie, died in a car crash twenty years ago, but he is still pining over her loss and becomes rejuvenated when evidence turns out that she is actually alive. Brain injured in the crash that allegedly killed her, Bonnie is stashed away from those who would discover what secrets she still held in her damaged brain. She is also blind, which complicates things a bit. Bettie is, in fact, a non-entry in the actual plot, which involves finding a block of radioactivate material stolen from its government hiding place. Ho Hum. Jack at 56 is still a marksman. Readers of Spillane from the old days when he was hot may remember the accuracy of Mike Hammer’s pistol shots. Shooter Stang may be an even better shot as brains keep spattering walls at Stang’s headshots. Oh, he may tickle an arm or two along the way, but eventually he hits the head. I was sad to admit that I found the whole exercise a bit boring as I was looking for a nostalgic shot of the old Spillane to remember him by. Alas.
November 4, 2024
“The street wasn’t dead yet. Not all the way.”
“For a minute there I thought you were going to shoot me.”
“For a minute there,” I said, “I was.”
Police officer Jack Stang lost his fiancé, Bettie, twenty years ago when she was kidnapped and presumed dead. Now retired , he finds out she is alive! But she has no memory and has lost her sight! So, why was she abducted in the first place? And what might be in her lost memories that could stop a nuclear terrorist attack in Manhattan?
Honestly, I kind of lost interest in this story about the second or third time Jack flew from Florida to New York and back. That was how the plot felt to me, bouncing back and forth with no sensible reason to it. I started hoping for my own memory loss. By the end, I was kinda hoping that someone would just shoot The Shooter...
“For a minute there I thought you were going to shoot me.”
“For a minute there,” I said, “I was.”
Police officer Jack Stang lost his fiancé, Bettie, twenty years ago when she was kidnapped and presumed dead. Now retired , he finds out she is alive! But she has no memory and has lost her sight! So, why was she abducted in the first place? And what might be in her lost memories that could stop a nuclear terrorist attack in Manhattan?
Honestly, I kind of lost interest in this story about the second or third time Jack flew from Florida to New York and back. That was how the plot felt to me, bouncing back and forth with no sensible reason to it. I started hoping for my own memory loss. By the end, I was kinda hoping that someone would just shoot The Shooter...
October 24, 2016
This is not a great book -- it's overly sentimental, reads like it was written fifty years before it actually was, and the plot involves the mob, Saudi terrorists, crooked cops, the whole bit. Oh, and the protagonist was engaged to a woman 20 years ago, and she was killed in a heist gone wrong. But she is not dead! Instead, she is blind. And has amnesia. So my dude moves in next door and they get involved, and for totally mysterious reasons, when the woman finds out about this, she does not murder him. Instead there's a lot of swooning. So: not great! But Spillane's last, and so the sentimentality, at the very least, is excusable.
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October 13, 2021“Then Dr Thomas Brice broke the ice. It didn’t tinkle like a dropped champagne glass - it crashed like a piece from a glacier”
The thirty-seventh hard case crime novel completed and it’s my first mickey spillane novel. Published posthumously and finished by max allan collins it’s an intriguing mystery featuring a long lost love presumed dead but ultimately suffering from amnesia, a retired cop and some great turns of phrase. The love scenes are a little awkward (perhaps to be expected after 20 years) and the plot conveniently involves two significant locations (a particular street in New York and an area in Florida) but otherwise is pretty tough and hard boiled in the best ways
The thirty-seventh hard case crime novel completed and it’s my first mickey spillane novel. Published posthumously and finished by max allan collins it’s an intriguing mystery featuring a long lost love presumed dead but ultimately suffering from amnesia, a retired cop and some great turns of phrase. The love scenes are a little awkward (perhaps to be expected after 20 years) and the plot conveniently involves two significant locations (a particular street in New York and an area in Florida) but otherwise is pretty tough and hard boiled in the best ways
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