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Tiger Mann #1
Day of the Guns
A tough-guy mystery to please even the most bloodthirsty of fans
Paperback
First published April 1, 1965
About the author
Mickey Spillane
319 books453 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 36 reviews
May 16, 2024
With a healthy 3.56 stars, and a more 4 star reviews than others, this seems to be a book well received by the reviewers on GR. I didn't think this was Spillane's best work - by some distance. I thought the twist in the story was so obvious that I can't believe there is any reader who didn't see it approaching... It was that and the main character's complete block on seeing the obvious that disturbed my reading of this.
But I have jumped ahead - this is a story of counterespionage, with Tiger Mann (I know, right?) as a agent working for a private counterespionage/espionage company run by an independently wealthy man who has big political sway, meaning they are able to force the assistance of the Feds and other agencies where required.
Published in 1964, the main storyline is that during the war Tiger Mann was in love with a British Agent Rondine Lund, who double crossed him shot him in the stomach and left him for dead, disappearing into the Nazi system. All this time later, Mann sees her in a restaurant, and although she has had some excellent plastic surgery to change her age, he recognises her instantly. She now works for the UN as a translator and the UN has a leak that is providing the Russians with all the inside intel on the deals being done on the UK/US side, allowing them to make good in the political manoeuvring.
Tiger is intent on killing Rondine - or Edith Caine as she is now known, but he won't do it until he has torn apart whatever she is involved in. Edith Caine has passed all the security checks and her background is as faultless as her plastic surgery - Tiger having made an opportunity to check everywhere for scars.
Ian Fleming's James Bond has been around 10 years before Spillane dips into the secret agent genre, and are four books in this series - and yes I have the other three. Hopefully the next one is a bit less obvious, as there is at least some potential in this character and setting.
2.5 stars really, so 3 stars from me.
But I have jumped ahead - this is a story of counterespionage, with Tiger Mann (I know, right?) as a agent working for a private counterespionage/espionage company run by an independently wealthy man who has big political sway, meaning they are able to force the assistance of the Feds and other agencies where required.
Published in 1964, the main storyline is that during the war Tiger Mann was in love with a British Agent Rondine Lund, who double crossed him shot him in the stomach and left him for dead, disappearing into the Nazi system. All this time later, Mann sees her in a restaurant, and although she has had some excellent plastic surgery to change her age, he recognises her instantly. She now works for the UN as a translator and the UN has a leak that is providing the Russians with all the inside intel on the deals being done on the UK/US side, allowing them to make good in the political manoeuvring.
Tiger is intent on killing Rondine - or Edith Caine as she is now known, but he won't do it until he has torn apart whatever she is involved in. Edith Caine has passed all the security checks and her background is as faultless as her plastic surgery - Tiger having made an opportunity to check everywhere for scars.
Ian Fleming's James Bond has been around 10 years before Spillane dips into the secret agent genre, and are four books in this series - and yes I have the other three. Hopefully the next one is a bit less obvious, as there is at least some potential in this character and setting.
2.5 stars really, so 3 stars from me.
May 24, 2025
"Day of the Guns" was the first of four Tiger Mann novels, followed by "Bloody Sunrise," "Death Dealers," and "By-Pass Control." Although it seems like nearly every writer in the mid-sixties wanted to camp onto the James Bond bandwagon, there are perhaps none who did a spy novel as successfully as Mickey Spillane.
Tiger Mann is an aging spy who had fought the Nazis twenty years earlier, nearly dying at the betraying hands of the bombshell Nazi spy Rondine. He has vowed to catch this voluptuous fantasy girl and end her life as she did to so many of his buddies and is amazed years later to spot her, after plastic surgery, working for the British UN mission. Or is it her? No one else seems to think so and her background as Edith Caine from a well -heeled British family checks out.
It is a cat and mouse game with the sexiest spy that ever lived and, Tiger relives his years ago romance with this deadly dame. This is spy fiction done right, mean, nasty, hardboiled, and just great reading. Spillane tells this story well with just the right amount of intrigue, action, and cattiness.
Tiger Mann is an aging spy who had fought the Nazis twenty years earlier, nearly dying at the betraying hands of the bombshell Nazi spy Rondine. He has vowed to catch this voluptuous fantasy girl and end her life as she did to so many of his buddies and is amazed years later to spot her, after plastic surgery, working for the British UN mission. Or is it her? No one else seems to think so and her background as Edith Caine from a well -heeled British family checks out.
It is a cat and mouse game with the sexiest spy that ever lived and, Tiger relives his years ago romance with this deadly dame. This is spy fiction done right, mean, nasty, hardboiled, and just great reading. Spillane tells this story well with just the right amount of intrigue, action, and cattiness.
September 25, 2023
Mickey Spillane's take on the spy novel. like Mike Hammer, Tiger Mann's approach to women and his enemies is brutal and final. Yes, the book contains language and attitudes that are inappropriate today. But there is a reason that Spillane sold so many books following WWII.
in the 1950's Ian Fleming introduced James Bond. Donald Hamilton introduced Matt Helm in 1960. I have always found the Matt Helm stories a good read, and an interesting comparison to Hall's Quiller series. Tiger Mann was featured in 4 Spillane novels, and besides being an answer to Bond, I think he was also poking at Matt Helm. When Tiger first meets with the head of a competing agency, the man is referred to as Mac and is described as having a crew cut. [this is the description of the head of Helm's agency].
A fun action filled read.
in the 1950's Ian Fleming introduced James Bond. Donald Hamilton introduced Matt Helm in 1960. I have always found the Matt Helm stories a good read, and an interesting comparison to Hall's Quiller series. Tiger Mann was featured in 4 Spillane novels, and besides being an answer to Bond, I think he was also poking at Matt Helm. When Tiger first meets with the head of a competing agency, the man is referred to as Mac and is described as having a crew cut. [this is the description of the head of Helm's agency].
A fun action filled read.
January 17, 2021
Three stars for the fact that this is the average normal Mickey Spillane novel and an extra star just to p!$$-off the whining, liberal, millennial crybabies. F#@k 'em and their over used stereotypes.
The novel is your typical 1960's action spy novel. Mickey's Tiger Mann is a mix of Mike Hammer and Matt Helm (not the Dean Martin version, thank GOD!). A British U. N. translator is actually a former Nazi spy. She tried to kill Tiger after the Nazis lost WWII.
This book is filled with the sex and violence that the fans demanded from Spillane. It's a great fun read to help escape the mind-numbing stupidity that passes for diplomacy and political correctness in this country.
The novel is your typical 1960's action spy novel. Mickey's Tiger Mann is a mix of Mike Hammer and Matt Helm (not the Dean Martin version, thank GOD!). A British U. N. translator is actually a former Nazi spy. She tried to kill Tiger after the Nazis lost WWII.
This book is filled with the sex and violence that the fans demanded from Spillane. It's a great fun read to help escape the mind-numbing stupidity that passes for diplomacy and political correctness in this country.
July 12, 2018
I think I picked this up for camp potential, and, indeed, it became more and more apparent as the book progressed, that this was just the same corny Race Williams escapade sexed up for the sixties, with Tiger Mann serving a James-Bond-like role for I.A.T.S., whatever that is, fighting commie fire with extra-legal U.S. fire.
So, 1964, and it owes a little to Goldfinger, and a little to Goldwater. I personally had no problem with Tiger Mann's cranky right-wing musings, although another reader might find them grating:
We made it the hard way and now the clunkers wanted to take it away and the eggheads were willing to give it to them. But there were some of us who weren’t going to let it go. There are ways of doing things and if there had to be a modern-day tea party we could do that too. If we had to stand in line abreast and challenge officialdom, red tape and radical thinking, it would be done. They’d never expect it. They knew the usual pattern of things, the way the compromise would come or the total back-down when the propaganda pressure went on. But let them know there was more to us than what they thought and some revisions would be made. Fast. Nobody liked to die at all. Who was it that had called it the day of the guns? It was back again. You can’t win with scared diplomacy, but a bullet on the way to somebody’s gut doesn’t know any fear at all and moves too fast to be stopped. It has a power all its own of changing the shape of things instantly and instituting a propaganda factor that sticks in a person’s mind all his life. They could stand up to words and would hold down a gun themselves, but what they did when the big hole in the end was pointed at them and they saw the hammer go back was a different story entirely and if ever there was a moment of truth it was then, and not in a bull ring.
So, corny as it was, and as thinly veneered was the update from two-gun private eye (i.e., cowboy) to international man of mystery, I liked it well enough.
So, 1964, and it owes a little to Goldfinger, and a little to Goldwater. I personally had no problem with Tiger Mann's cranky right-wing musings, although another reader might find them grating:
We made it the hard way and now the clunkers wanted to take it away and the eggheads were willing to give it to them. But there were some of us who weren’t going to let it go. There are ways of doing things and if there had to be a modern-day tea party we could do that too. If we had to stand in line abreast and challenge officialdom, red tape and radical thinking, it would be done. They’d never expect it. They knew the usual pattern of things, the way the compromise would come or the total back-down when the propaganda pressure went on. But let them know there was more to us than what they thought and some revisions would be made. Fast. Nobody liked to die at all. Who was it that had called it the day of the guns? It was back again. You can’t win with scared diplomacy, but a bullet on the way to somebody’s gut doesn’t know any fear at all and moves too fast to be stopped. It has a power all its own of changing the shape of things instantly and instituting a propaganda factor that sticks in a person’s mind all his life. They could stand up to words and would hold down a gun themselves, but what they did when the big hole in the end was pointed at them and they saw the hammer go back was a different story entirely and if ever there was a moment of truth it was then, and not in a bull ring.
So, corny as it was, and as thinly veneered was the update from two-gun private eye (i.e., cowboy) to international man of mystery, I liked it well enough.
March 22, 2026
I’m not sure how to explain how I feel about this book. I liked it and also didn’t like it. It wasn’t what I expected from the author, but I at least finished it.
December 22, 2016
"Η γυναίκα με τα κόκκινα μαλλιά", εκδόσεις Ντετέκτιβ.
Βαθμολογία: 7/10
Μετά από σχεδόν πέντε ολόκληρα χρόνια, διαβάζω βιβλίο του Μίκι Σπιλέιν. Αυτό είναι το τέταρτο βιβλίο του που διαβάζω και μου φάνηκε το ίδιο ψυχαγωγικό και παλπ με τα τρία προηγούμενα (απ'όσο μπορώ να θυμηθώ τουλάχιστον, μιας και έχουν περάσει τόσα χρόνια). Λοιπόν, εδώ έχουμε τον (κάτι σαν) μυστικό πράκτορα Τάιγκερ Μαν, να βλέπει μετά από είκοσι χρόνια μια γυναίκα που ερωτεύτηκε και που προσπάθησε να τον σκοτώσει, όντας πράκτορας του εχθρού. Ένα ταράκουλο το παθαίνει, όσο να'ναι. Το θέμα είναι ότι αυτή η γυναίκα δηλώνει ότι είναι κάποια άλλη, που δουλεύει στο διπλωματικό σώμα. Στην Νέα Υόρκη, στις συνεδριάσεις του ΟΗΕ, διάφορα παιχνίδια κατασκόπων παίζονται, με κάποια άτομα να διαρρέουν πληροφορίες και κρυφές συμφωνίες προς την Σοβιετική Ένωση. Ο Τάιγκερ θα προσπαθήσει να βγάλει μια άκρη, όντας σίγουρος για την ενοχή της γυναίκας αυτής. Θα μπλέξει με αντίπαλους πράκτορες, εκτελεστές και κοινούς γκάνγκστερ, και όλα αυτά για την πατρίδα. Αυτή είναι η γενική ιστορία. Μπόλικη δράση, γρήγορη εξέλιξη των γεγονότων, λίγο μυστήριο, αρκετά μπερδέματα, κάποιες ωραίες αποκαλύψεις στο τέλος, σεξ και κουλές καταστάσεις είναι μερικά από τα συστατικά στοιχεία του βιβλίου. Η γραφή κάνει την δουλειά της, με τις περιγραφές των διαφόρων σκηνικών να μην κουράζουν με περιττές λεπτομέρειες. Η ελληνική έκδοση (Ντετέκτιβ, 1969), σίγουρα δείχνει τα χρονάκια της όσον αφορά την μετάφραση και την επιμέλεια. Πάντως, εντάξει, έχω συνηθίσει τις παλπ ελληνικές εκδόσεις παλαιότερων δεκαετιών και δεν έχω πρόβλημα!
Βαθμολογία: 7/10
Μετά από σχεδόν πέντε ολόκληρα χρόνια, διαβάζω βιβλίο του Μίκι Σπιλέιν. Αυτό είναι το τέταρτο βιβλίο του που διαβάζω και μου φάνηκε το ίδιο ψυχαγωγικό και παλπ με τα τρία προηγούμενα (απ'όσο μπορώ να θυμηθώ τουλάχιστον, μιας και έχουν περάσει τόσα χρόνια). Λοιπόν, εδώ έχουμε τον (κάτι σαν) μυστικό πράκτορα Τάιγκερ Μαν, να βλέπει μετά από είκοσι χρόνια μια γυναίκα που ερωτεύτηκε και που προσπάθησε να τον σκοτώσει, όντας πράκτορας του εχθρού. Ένα ταράκουλο το παθαίνει, όσο να'ναι. Το θέμα είναι ότι αυτή η γυναίκα δηλώνει ότι είναι κάποια άλλη, που δουλεύει στο διπλωματικό σώμα. Στην Νέα Υόρκη, στις συνεδριάσεις του ΟΗΕ, διάφορα παιχνίδια κατασκόπων παίζονται, με κάποια άτομα να διαρρέουν πληροφορίες και κρυφές συμφωνίες προς την Σοβιετική Ένωση. Ο Τάιγκερ θα προσπαθήσει να βγάλει μια άκρη, όντας σίγουρος για την ενοχή της γυναίκας αυτής. Θα μπλέξει με αντίπαλους πράκτορες, εκτελεστές και κοινούς γκάνγκστερ, και όλα αυτά για την πατρίδα. Αυτή είναι η γενική ιστορία. Μπόλικη δράση, γρήγορη εξέλιξη των γεγονότων, λίγο μυστήριο, αρκετά μπερδέματα, κάποιες ωραίες αποκαλύψεις στο τέλος, σεξ και κουλές καταστάσεις είναι μερικά από τα συστατικά στοιχεία του βιβλίου. Η γραφή κάνει την δουλειά της, με τις περιγραφές των διαφόρων σκηνικών να μην κουράζουν με περιττές λεπτομέρειες. Η ελληνική έκδοση (Ντετέκτιβ, 1969), σίγουρα δείχνει τα χρονάκια της όσον αφορά την μετάφραση και την επιμέλεια. Πάντως, εντάξει, έχω συνηθίσει τις παλπ ελληνικές εκδόσεις παλαιότερων δεκαετιών και δεν έχω πρόβλημα!
October 19, 2018
When secret agent Tiger Mann finds an old nazi lover (now U.N. Assistant or something) in a night club, he vows revenge, but only after he breaks up whatever she’s doing, upon hearing about multiple leaks coming from inside the U.N., the Tiger goes in for the kill...
Okay, so that Tiger pun was poorly done, but I had to make up for the complete lack of them in this Spillane fun-fest, featuring a brand new character. If you’re familiar with other Spillane novels, you’ll find the setup shares some similar ground to his other works, especially those with a certain Mike Hammer, who new comer Mr. Mann seems to be very similar to.
But that doesn’t make this book any less fun! Despite his reputation, I’ve always found the Mike Hammer novels a little lacking in the action department (except for One Lonely Night, of course), but once again, Spillane proves that working outside of the Hammer mold, he delivers the goods. Action and sex abound in this novel, and Agent Mann gets a lot of use out of his .45 caliber weapon of choice.
I’d honestly consider this book my second favorite Spillane novel next to One Lonely Night, just due to how much happens in it, despite the fact I couldn’t give you an honest plot synopsis with a gun to my head. (Who the hell was I.A.T.S again?)
A lot of fun, recommended if you like Spillane’s style.
Okay, so that Tiger pun was poorly done, but I had to make up for the complete lack of them in this Spillane fun-fest, featuring a brand new character. If you’re familiar with other Spillane novels, you’ll find the setup shares some similar ground to his other works, especially those with a certain Mike Hammer, who new comer Mr. Mann seems to be very similar to.
But that doesn’t make this book any less fun! Despite his reputation, I’ve always found the Mike Hammer novels a little lacking in the action department (except for One Lonely Night, of course), but once again, Spillane proves that working outside of the Hammer mold, he delivers the goods. Action and sex abound in this novel, and Agent Mann gets a lot of use out of his .45 caliber weapon of choice.
I’d honestly consider this book my second favorite Spillane novel next to One Lonely Night, just due to how much happens in it, despite the fact I couldn’t give you an honest plot synopsis with a gun to my head. (Who the hell was I.A.T.S again?)
A lot of fun, recommended if you like Spillane’s style.
March 17, 2017
Mickey Spillane is the one author that must get credit for the popularity of paperback thrillers mysteries, and spy novels of the 1950's and 60's. His popularity is returning today due to the work of author Max Allan Collins, who worked with Spillane prior to his death and continues to work with the author's unpublished manuscripts.
While "Day of the Guns" does not feature Mike Hammer, the character most closely identified with the author, it introduces a spy character, Tiger Mann, who I believe was the key figure in at least three novels. The novel contains all the trademarks that made Spillane one of the most highly sold novelists of all time-- good story with twists and turns, plenty of action and gun play, and sexy but hard women. Even Spillane said his work wasn't high class literature but his popularity speaks volumes about his craftsmanship. It's hard to imagine what today's thrillers and hardboiled detective novels would be without his influence. Anyone interested in this genre should read his works, this one included.
While "Day of the Guns" does not feature Mike Hammer, the character most closely identified with the author, it introduces a spy character, Tiger Mann, who I believe was the key figure in at least three novels. The novel contains all the trademarks that made Spillane one of the most highly sold novelists of all time-- good story with twists and turns, plenty of action and gun play, and sexy but hard women. Even Spillane said his work wasn't high class literature but his popularity speaks volumes about his craftsmanship. It's hard to imagine what today's thrillers and hardboiled detective novels would be without his influence. Anyone interested in this genre should read his works, this one included.
September 24, 2023
I have really mixed feelings about this book. I'm a huge Mike Hammer fan. So I thought I would really love this. But sadly it was just ok for me. It seemed to really jump all over the place. I considered a few times to just put it down. I pushed through. If someone asked me to recommend a Mickey Spillane book. This would not be on the list at all.
October 30, 2016
Now that was wicked awesome. I certainly didn't see the twist at the end coming. Too cool.
May 1, 2021
Another ultraviolent, bloodthirsty Spillane read. You can't go wrong with his work. There are a few things that bug me about his protagonists, in particular Tiger Mann. He's the uber American, a Commie-hating lunatic who feels better killing people than getting laid, and he does a lot of both. Some of his inner musings turn me off. I don't know if that was Spillane projecting himself into the character or not, but I suspect it was. All things considered, I'm sad to say I think the Spillane who wrote this book would have voted for Trump. I think Spillane mellowed in age after he found religion, but when he wrote this WWII spy with a heart of pure lead, he most certainly toed the American line. But regardless of this, his writing had a high quality to it that most people would try to deny. Despite the overtones, I really enjoyed this book.
July 13, 2018
Tough cold war spy out for revenge on the job. Younger readers of the 21st century might find Spillane's writing sexist and opinionated, but that makes it fascinating. I had trouble keeping track of some of the minor characters, and was leaning toward 3.5 - 4 stars, but it gets so good nearer the end I'm rating it 5 stars.
July 29, 2025
Hard-boiled. Sensuale. Cattivo.
June 7, 2020
Another Tenacious Tiger Mann Epic
Mickey Spillane’s first novel introducing Tiger Mann is a hard boiled, no-nonsense yarn where the corpses stack up and our indefatigable hero triumphs over the Soviets spies with only minor bruises. Tiger thinks that he has seen a dame from his past who shot him twice in the stomach. Now, with her in his gunsights, he plans to ice her, but not before he sabotages her plans involving a United Nations politician from Britain. Mind you, the talk is tough in this first-person narrative and our hero is red, white, and blue to the core, in this right-wing, Cold War fantasy. One of the flaws is that Tiger doesn’t so much as outwit the Soviet gunmen who track him down as they behave stupidly by never confirming their kills. Consequently, we have these assassins barging into Tiger’s apartment and blasting away at the shapeless lump of pillows with administering a coup de grace. Our brawny hero survives several attempts on his life. Nevertheless, despite the villainous cretins that fail to knock him off, the Tiger Mann melodrama is a fast, easy read.
Mickey Spillane’s first novel introducing Tiger Mann is a hard boiled, no-nonsense yarn where the corpses stack up and our indefatigable hero triumphs over the Soviets spies with only minor bruises. Tiger thinks that he has seen a dame from his past who shot him twice in the stomach. Now, with her in his gunsights, he plans to ice her, but not before he sabotages her plans involving a United Nations politician from Britain. Mind you, the talk is tough in this first-person narrative and our hero is red, white, and blue to the core, in this right-wing, Cold War fantasy. One of the flaws is that Tiger doesn’t so much as outwit the Soviet gunmen who track him down as they behave stupidly by never confirming their kills. Consequently, we have these assassins barging into Tiger’s apartment and blasting away at the shapeless lump of pillows with administering a coup de grace. Our brawny hero survives several attempts on his life. Nevertheless, despite the villainous cretins that fail to knock him off, the Tiger Mann melodrama is a fast, easy read.
September 9, 2016
goes to bar, leaves bar, cornered by hoods, shoots up hoods, meets girl, sex with girl, cornered by hoods, kills hoods, nightclub, hoods, hotel, hoods, cabaret, sex, hoods, cops, hoods, sex, hotel, TWIST ENDING, sex.
November 12, 2007
Best last line of a book, ever.
August 9, 2012
Tiger Mann is Mickey Spillaine's best continuing Character, in my opinion.
November 17, 2024
In the '60s it was fashionable for the protagonists of thrillers written in the first person to give the reader all sorts of observations about life, the universe and everything. Travis McGee, Matt Helm, Harry Palmer and others delighted in sharing their thoughts with us on pretty much anything that crossed their minds, whether it was relevant to the story they were telling us or not.
Luckily, Mickey Spillane's Tiger Mann novels spare us all that. Tiger Mann tells us his story, and keeps to the point with nary a wasted word. Occasionally he comments on some wider issues--he doesn't have much use for the artsy types who live in Greenwich Village, or weak-kneed diplomats in Washington. But Mann generally keeps whatever thoughts he has on the world around us to himself.
In the first Tiger Mann novel, Mann is taking a break from his usual Black Ops activities, enjoying himself with an old friend in a bar in Manhattan, when into the bar walks Rondine. They had worked on opposite sides in Nazi Occupied France during World War II. They fell in love. And then Rondine shot him in the belly and left him for dead. She's now working at the U.N., under a different identity. Tiger suspects she's leaking secrets to the Soviets. He plans to kill her and smash whatever spy ring she's involved with now.
In typical Spillane manner, "Day of the Guns" is a hard-edged, fast-moving thriller. Most of the action takes place in New York City, and we get a nice little tour of some of the less savory nightspots of that city. There's also plenty of mayhem, beautiful women in various stages of undress and actually a bit of poignancy to this one. Tiger may be out for revenge, but he's still got it bad for Rondine. What's a Mickey Spillane hero going to do when he has to kill the woman he loves?
Luckily, Mickey Spillane's Tiger Mann novels spare us all that. Tiger Mann tells us his story, and keeps to the point with nary a wasted word. Occasionally he comments on some wider issues--he doesn't have much use for the artsy types who live in Greenwich Village, or weak-kneed diplomats in Washington. But Mann generally keeps whatever thoughts he has on the world around us to himself.
In the first Tiger Mann novel, Mann is taking a break from his usual Black Ops activities, enjoying himself with an old friend in a bar in Manhattan, when into the bar walks Rondine. They had worked on opposite sides in Nazi Occupied France during World War II. They fell in love. And then Rondine shot him in the belly and left him for dead. She's now working at the U.N., under a different identity. Tiger suspects she's leaking secrets to the Soviets. He plans to kill her and smash whatever spy ring she's involved with now.
In typical Spillane manner, "Day of the Guns" is a hard-edged, fast-moving thriller. Most of the action takes place in New York City, and we get a nice little tour of some of the less savory nightspots of that city. There's also plenty of mayhem, beautiful women in various stages of undress and actually a bit of poignancy to this one. Tiger may be out for revenge, but he's still got it bad for Rondine. What's a Mickey Spillane hero going to do when he has to kill the woman he loves?
August 15, 2023
This is the first book written by Mickey Spillane, that I’ve ever read, and it didn’t disappoint. There is certainly plenty of mid-20th century misogyny, patriarchy, and racism to reflect the era in which this was written, but there are redeeming qualities amongst the mess. First of all, it’s a page turner, and it has a good twist at the end. Is this something that I would read again? Maybe. It has surprisingly good character development for the main character who has the dumbest name in the history of protagonists. I lost track of the different organizations and the entities that were weaving in and out of a lot of the story but overall it was a quick and interesting read.
January 3, 2021
Con questo romanzo, Spillane introduce un nuovo personaggio seriale, Tiger Mann, un agente segreto implicato in un thriller di rilevanza internazionale. Come sempre, ci sono pallottole, botte e donne bellissime, anche se i toni sono un po' più soft rispetto ai volumi che vedono protagonista Mike Hammer. Il cocktail è sempre ben fatto e la lettura ne risulta godibile, ma a mio avviso manca qualcosa: manca quell'alchimia di caratterizzazioni, personaggi e storie parallele che si trovano in molti altri lavori di Spillane.
March 27, 2023
This was a messy spy yarn that shied away from intriguing action and espionage elements. It mainly revolved around a series boring interrogations and inquiries, usually involving the same people, and in no way reached the heights of a James Bond or Matt Helm novel. There was a lot of potential here for the introduction of an iconic main character, but it proved to be a meandering story with little substance and quality.
October 11, 2024
Awful. Preachy and approving of overthrowing governments because he knows so much better than everyone else. Can't even figure the twist out I guess he was blinded by love? Unbelievable. Explains a lot though that certain people were raised on this kind of thing. Assuming they read. Maybe it just reflects what was in the water.
February 28, 2023
Mickey Spillane at his most...Spillaneish. Hard boiled dialogue, the bad guys alwatys get it, and the women are always beautiful - and there if Mickey (I mean Tiger Mann) wants them. Mickey Spillane isn't for everyone but it is what it is and this is Spillane all the way.
January 21, 2019
Kind of silly, but whatever--
July 19, 2019
Great to true last word .
As with all of Mr Spillane’s books he take the excitement does to the last word. He never needs an epilogue or last chapter.
As with all of Mr Spillane’s books he take the excitement does to the last word. He never needs an epilogue or last chapter.
February 14, 2023
The master of Hard Boiled at his best. A “don’t miss book “ for all Mickey Spillane fans !
June 25, 2025
Utter rubbish - only read it as I couldn't sell it as the cover is missing. Terrible plot, characters unbelievable parodies of stereotypes and didn't care about the characters. Waste of time.
May 14, 2026
It was good but not a lot happened. Lots of talking to different people and going to different buildings.
February 5, 2017
A Tiger Mann story, not Mike Hammer as often listed.
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