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Killer Mine
Shows signs of having been read but is still tight with no writing inside or out. The cover does show signs of light creasing.
1 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
3 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Mickey Spillane
316 books446 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 4, 2024
Two short stories in this 158 page book from Mickey Spillane.
The titular Killer Mine is the story of cop Lieutenant Joe Scanlon who is sent back to the neighbourhood of his childhood where his old school friends are turning up dead. Scanlon is your classic Spillane tough guy 'cop who doesn't always play by the rules, but gets the job done' character. It wouldn't be Spillane without a beautiful woman involved who becomes interwoven in the story.
I found this one of his poorer efforts, where the twist was pretty obvious from quite early on, and I just don't think it was as well executed as normal.
The second story Man Alone features cop Pat Regan who has been acquitted of murder and taking a payoff, but everyone still thinks he is guilty, including most of his former police comrades. As there still has a police conduct process to go through, he is still suspended, and he sets about clearing his name. Reconnecting with an old friend (who happens to be a beautiful woman, see above) helps him progress on solving the case.
This one was a better story better executed, although it meandered for a while in the middle and wrapped up pretty quickly as the last pieces fell into place. There wasn't a lot of mystery about who the guilty party was from the midpoint though.
Probably the least satisfying of the fifteen Spillane books I have read.
2.5 stars, rounded up (which ironically leaves it as 3 stars, where most of Spillane's work lands with me).
The titular Killer Mine is the story of cop Lieutenant Joe Scanlon who is sent back to the neighbourhood of his childhood where his old school friends are turning up dead. Scanlon is your classic Spillane tough guy 'cop who doesn't always play by the rules, but gets the job done' character. It wouldn't be Spillane without a beautiful woman involved who becomes interwoven in the story.
I found this one of his poorer efforts, where the twist was pretty obvious from quite early on, and I just don't think it was as well executed as normal.
The second story Man Alone features cop Pat Regan who has been acquitted of murder and taking a payoff, but everyone still thinks he is guilty, including most of his former police comrades. As there still has a police conduct process to go through, he is still suspended, and he sets about clearing his name. Reconnecting with an old friend (who happens to be a beautiful woman, see above) helps him progress on solving the case.
This one was a better story better executed, although it meandered for a while in the middle and wrapped up pretty quickly as the last pieces fell into place. There wasn't a lot of mystery about who the guilty party was from the midpoint though.
Probably the least satisfying of the fifteen Spillane books I have read.
2.5 stars, rounded up (which ironically leaves it as 3 stars, where most of Spillane's work lands with me).
January 3, 2020
"Killer Mine" is a slim volume, containing two hard-edged, gritty novelletes, each clocking in under 80 pages. Both stories are Spillane at his hardboiled best.
In the title piece, "Killer Mine," a tough cop, Lt. Joe Scanlon returns to his old neighborhood to solve a series of murders. He is partnered with a big, beautiful, voluptuous woman who he had known when they were known kids. This book is about toughness, grittiness, and hardboiled all-out fun. The atmosphere through the whole piece is dark and dreary. The second novellete is "Man Alone" and it's about Officer Regan who is acquitted by a jury of bribery and murder, but his fellow officers and the public don't buy it.
In the title piece, "Killer Mine," a tough cop, Lt. Joe Scanlon returns to his old neighborhood to solve a series of murders. He is partnered with a big, beautiful, voluptuous woman who he had known when they were known kids. This book is about toughness, grittiness, and hardboiled all-out fun. The atmosphere through the whole piece is dark and dreary. The second novellete is "Man Alone" and it's about Officer Regan who is acquitted by a jury of bribery and murder, but his fellow officers and the public don't buy it.
January 9, 2016
Mickey Spillane is a bad writer. He's comically macho to the point of goofiness. But that's also why he is fun. His main character is always "a man who plays by his own rules" and takes no crap from anyone. That can be fun.
This book is two stories. I guessed the ending of the first one halfway through. The second one meanders pointlessly and ends with a thud.
But reading Spillane for plot is like waltzing to punk music. You can do it, but you're going to look silly. The real reason to read Spillane is the occasional crazy turns of phrase that are hilariously over the top.
A passage of prose about "Helen the Melons" (guess why they call her that) was great enough that I posted the paragraph on twitter. Every Spillane book has gold nuggets of goofy glory in them.
This book provides them, but not a lot of them. These two tales are a little rough. Not great. But fun.
This book is two stories. I guessed the ending of the first one halfway through. The second one meanders pointlessly and ends with a thud.
But reading Spillane for plot is like waltzing to punk music. You can do it, but you're going to look silly. The real reason to read Spillane is the occasional crazy turns of phrase that are hilariously over the top.
A passage of prose about "Helen the Melons" (guess why they call her that) was great enough that I posted the paragraph on twitter. Every Spillane book has gold nuggets of goofy glory in them.
This book provides them, but not a lot of them. These two tales are a little rough. Not great. But fun.
July 7, 2017
"Killer Mine" is a slim volume, containing two hard-edged, gritty novelletes, each clocking in under 80 pages. Both stories are Spillane at his hardboiled best. In the title piece, "Killer Mine," a tough cop, Lt. Joe Scanlon returns to his old neighborhood to solve a series of murders. He is partnered with a big, beautiful, voluptuous woman who he had known when they were known kids. This book is about toughness, grittiness, and hardboiled all-out fun. The atmosphere through the whole piece is dark and dreary. The second novellete is "Man Alone" and it's about Officer Regan who is acquitted by a jury of bribery and murder, but his fellow officers and the public don't buy it.
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April 18, 2021Hard-boiled at its most boiled!
October 11, 2025
Killer Mine and Man Alone step away from the Mike Hammer formula to explore two standalone tough-guy protagonists. While Mickey Spillane's work has visceral action and comically macho appeal, this collection proves to be one of his less satisfying efforts.
Killer Mine features Lt. Joe Scanlon, a cop seeking a killer in his old neighborhood. The structure adheres to the classic Spillane trope of a rule-breaking hero, but its weak plotting allows the casual reader to anticipate the key twist easily.
I preferred Man Alone. Pat Regan is a more compelling character. After being acquitted of a crime, he’s still judged guilty of it. The setup establishes the core, and the writing allows Regan's isolation to resonate. Structurally, this story meanders through the middle sections. When the pieces connect, the ending is abrupt and lands with a thud. It's a quick afternoon read.
Both novellas demonstrate Spillane’s reliable ability to craft a protagonist who plays by his own rules. But both Killer Mine and Man Alone have predictable mystery plotting and imbalanced pacing.
Killer Mine features Lt. Joe Scanlon, a cop seeking a killer in his old neighborhood. The structure adheres to the classic Spillane trope of a rule-breaking hero, but its weak plotting allows the casual reader to anticipate the key twist easily.
I preferred Man Alone. Pat Regan is a more compelling character. After being acquitted of a crime, he’s still judged guilty of it. The setup establishes the core, and the writing allows Regan's isolation to resonate. Structurally, this story meanders through the middle sections. When the pieces connect, the ending is abrupt and lands with a thud. It's a quick afternoon read.
Both novellas demonstrate Spillane’s reliable ability to craft a protagonist who plays by his own rules. But both Killer Mine and Man Alone have predictable mystery plotting and imbalanced pacing.
January 1, 2024
Two fast-paced novellas, Killer Mine and Mine Alone, packaged together in one slim, propulsive volume. Killer Mine features a cop going undercover in his old neighborhood to solve a murder; Mine Alone has a different cop trying to clear his name.
I read Spillane years ago, and came back somewhat reluctantly as I remembered him being overly violent and somewhat offensive, but given the era these were written in they're not terrible (though I could have lived without some of the descriptions of the female lead in Killer Mine. To me Mine Alone was the stronger piece, though that could have been because I spotted the gimmick in Killer Mine early.
Not sure this was enough to send me deep-diving into Spillane's oeuvre, but it definitely inspired me to cue up a couple of the old Stacey Keach Mike Hammer episodes on YouTube.
I read Spillane years ago, and came back somewhat reluctantly as I remembered him being overly violent and somewhat offensive, but given the era these were written in they're not terrible (though I could have lived without some of the descriptions of the female lead in Killer Mine. To me Mine Alone was the stronger piece, though that could have been because I spotted the gimmick in Killer Mine early.
Not sure this was enough to send me deep-diving into Spillane's oeuvre, but it definitely inspired me to cue up a couple of the old Stacey Keach Mike Hammer episodes on YouTube.
January 31, 2020
She is a little girl who was molested. A man meets her now she's of age. He kills her pedofile to merry her. She struggles because she was sexually abused by a pedofile.
December 8, 2014
This is actually a collection of two novellas, "Killer Mine" and "Man Alone." Spillane has always been a tough-as-nails writer, but these two pieces contain some of his toughest dialogue, coupled with the trademark Spillane ultra-violence and hyper-sex. I'm not a big fan of most of his endings, but the conclusions of these two tales work out pretty well. A good, fun read, just as always.
July 8, 2016
Not vey credible and I didn't like the characters much. Some situations come out of nothing... but funny to read.
July 8, 2016
This book has two stories in it - Killer Mine and Man Alone. Both very awesome in their own right. Nobody does it like Spillane.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews