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The Consummata
It’s the long-awaited sequel to Mickey Spillane’s 1967 thriller, The Delta Factor, featuring a professional thief known only as Morgan the Raider. The Consummata was one in a small stack of uncompleted manuscripts that Spillane left behind--and specifically in Collins’ care--when he died in the summer of 2006. Since that time, Collins has been slowly but surely finishing those Spillane yarns and arranging for their publication.
253 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
40 people are currently reading
450 people want to read
About the author
Mickey Spillane
315 books449 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 69 reviews
October 12, 2011
While on the run from the feds after being betrayed, Morgan the Raider gets tasked with recovering some money from Cuban refugees in Miami. His search takes him through Miami's S & M undergound and into a web of sex, lies, and murder. But what does the mysterious masked dominatrix known as the Consummata have to do with things?
Posthumous collaborations are always a crap shoot, emphasis on the crap. Mickey Spillane wrote The Consummata in the 60's and then let it sit after a bad experience with The Delta Factor, the book preceding this one, being made into a movie. After Spillane's death, it was finished by Max Allan Collins. Should he have left it unpublished?
Yes. The Consummata is very dated, feels unfinished, and is rife with cliches. I know that Spillane is one of the first pulp detective writers but that doesn't mean he had the Midas touch by any means. Morgan the Raider is the standard tough guy smart mouth character that Spillane helped pioneer with Mike Hammer. Morgan's attempts humor fell flat for me on most occasions. He's like that unfunny uncle you have that thinks he's hilarious.
I'm going to breeze by the female characters since a lot of this book takes place in a whore house and even the women in the book who aren't prostitutes want a piece of Morgan and go straight for the parts that really bugged me.
The plot was kind of clunky, and like Dead Street, needlessly involved communists and nuclear secrets and the identity of the Consummata was fairly obvious. Even though Morgan did illogical things because the plot required him to do so, he was such a superhuman that there was no time that I thought he as going to get hurt, let alone killed.
The writing was really repetitive. Couldn't Spillane have thought of a phrase other than 'dark delta' to describe a woman's pubic hair? Or gone without describing it altogether? I counted three 'dark deltas' and I may have missed a couple because I started skimming about halfway through. The writing also had an unfinished feel and I get the feeling no felt confident enough to edit what Spillane had written prior to his death. Some good editing might have bumped this up to a three.
In spite of all that, I caught myself digging it a few times. Spillane wrote good action scenes, that's for sure, although the cliche density was pretty high. I guess I have to cut Mickey some slack since he invented some of those cliches. I'm giving it a 2 since I didn't actually hate it. I just found it to be flawed. I guess the new Hard Cases can't all be winners.
Posthumous collaborations are always a crap shoot, emphasis on the crap. Mickey Spillane wrote The Consummata in the 60's and then let it sit after a bad experience with The Delta Factor, the book preceding this one, being made into a movie. After Spillane's death, it was finished by Max Allan Collins. Should he have left it unpublished?
Yes. The Consummata is very dated, feels unfinished, and is rife with cliches. I know that Spillane is one of the first pulp detective writers but that doesn't mean he had the Midas touch by any means. Morgan the Raider is the standard tough guy smart mouth character that Spillane helped pioneer with Mike Hammer. Morgan's attempts humor fell flat for me on most occasions. He's like that unfunny uncle you have that thinks he's hilarious.
I'm going to breeze by the female characters since a lot of this book takes place in a whore house and even the women in the book who aren't prostitutes want a piece of Morgan and go straight for the parts that really bugged me.
The plot was kind of clunky, and like Dead Street, needlessly involved communists and nuclear secrets and the identity of the Consummata was fairly obvious. Even though Morgan did illogical things because the plot required him to do so, he was such a superhuman that there was no time that I thought he as going to get hurt, let alone killed.
The writing was really repetitive. Couldn't Spillane have thought of a phrase other than 'dark delta' to describe a woman's pubic hair? Or gone without describing it altogether? I counted three 'dark deltas' and I may have missed a couple because I started skimming about halfway through. The writing also had an unfinished feel and I get the feeling no felt confident enough to edit what Spillane had written prior to his death. Some good editing might have bumped this up to a three.
In spite of all that, I caught myself digging it a few times. Spillane wrote good action scenes, that's for sure, although the cliche density was pretty high. I guess I have to cut Mickey some slack since he invented some of those cliches. I'm giving it a 2 since I didn't actually hate it. I just found it to be flawed. I guess the new Hard Cases can't all be winners.
November 4, 2011
This wasn't the best book ever.
The book was started in the late 60's by Spillane, and he gave up on it after some problems with the film version of the first novel in this attempted series. Something happened and Spillane gave up on book two. Years later he entrusted the unfinished book to Max Allan Collins to finish, I guess after his death.
I have no idea what or how much of the book is Spillane's and how much is Collins's. I don't know where to lay blame, I guess there is enough blame to go around equally.
The main character is a thief with one name, Morgan AKA Morgan the Raider. I might just have Richard Stark on the mind, but this seemed like another Parker knock-off, a second or maybe even third rate one. He is being chased by the Feds for a forty million dollar heist he pulled and some Cuban refuges save him from the Feds and he agrees to help them find some money a triple agent has stolen from them. Some stuff happens and the book comes to an unsatisfying conclusion.
Reading this book was the equivalent of watching a bad action movie from sometime in the mid-80's. The kind of action movie with bad dialogue punctuated with very unfunny one-liners and a hero who can be shot at by the whole arsenal of a third world country and never once be in serious danger. The only thing making this different from one of these movies is the obsession with women's pubic hair. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Spillane might not have originally written in all the 'dark deltas', the loving yet bland descriptions of untamed jungles in women's panties are pretty much identical to the ones Collins uses in The Last Quarry (although in that book there is also quite a bit of revulsion over the Paris Hilton-esque Punky socialite being smooth down there, and then there is comparing it to a full 'dark delta'). When all other details of this book fade from my memory I will remember it as the one with all the bushy women.
Note: stop reading now if you don't want to be bored with some more of my rambling nonsense about fighting......
Leaving behind the books hirsute praisings, much of this book is like an adolescent's fantasy. It's the kind of stupid shit I might have thought of when thinking of what a cool action hero would be like when I was 11 years old. This paragraph stood out as something I might have thought of when I was a dumber goon than I am today,
And I remembered what one of the feds had told me about her: that Kim Stacy had shot and killed five men on previous assignments, that she was trained in all the martial arts and weaponry....
Really? All of them? And every weapon? This is just a throw away description of a woman who posed as his wife for a previous mission, but it reeks of the kind of idiocy of a pre-teen who thinks ninja's are the coolest thing in the world and is sure that a black belt in Karate would be unstoppable against Mike Tyson (this would be the way I thought when I was about 11, I now realize that Mike Tyson (at the time, pre-jail, face tattoo and ear biting) would have knocked any black belt in Karate out in about 30 seconds, I do remember having lots of deep conversations with friends about this exact scenario, and sadly this was pre-UFC, MMA days so the coupling of say Chuck Norris-skills versus Mike Tyson-skills could only be settled through imaginative musings by kids seduced by too many bad action films, but as one might be able to extrapolate it was in these very important arguments with friends that the seeds for my current MMA fascination were sown (in case you want my opinion now on this question? Black Belts in traditional striking based martial arts I'd rank pretty low in being able to win a fight against other types of fighters (I'm talking pure styles, like a boxer versus a karate guy, or a tae-kwon-do dude versus a bjj black belt, assuming they fought only with the skills inherent in their particular martial art), I'd rank them probably lowest, then wrestlers (but can they punch on the ground? If yes move them up above the next ranking, but traditionally wrestlers don't punch or elbow), then boxers (Western and Thai) and then Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Sambo fighters. (early UFC events and Royce Gracie are what I'm pretty much basing this stuff on)).*
This lengthy aside is just my way of rambling on about the impossibility of some thirty something year old woman being trained in all the martial arts and all weapons. That's just stupid.
As is this review.
*To sum up this lengthy parenthetical aside, I believe now that in the mid-80's Mike Tyson could have beaten the shit out of Chuck Norris, none of his fancy kicks or harnessing of 'chi' or whatever it's called would have done much good against a couple of Tyson's devastating punches. I also believe that any decent brawler would have whipped the Karate Kid's ass.
The book was started in the late 60's by Spillane, and he gave up on it after some problems with the film version of the first novel in this attempted series. Something happened and Spillane gave up on book two. Years later he entrusted the unfinished book to Max Allan Collins to finish, I guess after his death.
I have no idea what or how much of the book is Spillane's and how much is Collins's. I don't know where to lay blame, I guess there is enough blame to go around equally.
The main character is a thief with one name, Morgan AKA Morgan the Raider. I might just have Richard Stark on the mind, but this seemed like another Parker knock-off, a second or maybe even third rate one. He is being chased by the Feds for a forty million dollar heist he pulled and some Cuban refuges save him from the Feds and he agrees to help them find some money a triple agent has stolen from them. Some stuff happens and the book comes to an unsatisfying conclusion.
Reading this book was the equivalent of watching a bad action movie from sometime in the mid-80's. The kind of action movie with bad dialogue punctuated with very unfunny one-liners and a hero who can be shot at by the whole arsenal of a third world country and never once be in serious danger. The only thing making this different from one of these movies is the obsession with women's pubic hair. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Spillane might not have originally written in all the 'dark deltas', the loving yet bland descriptions of untamed jungles in women's panties are pretty much identical to the ones Collins uses in The Last Quarry (although in that book there is also quite a bit of revulsion over the Paris Hilton-esque Punky socialite being smooth down there, and then there is comparing it to a full 'dark delta'). When all other details of this book fade from my memory I will remember it as the one with all the bushy women.
Note: stop reading now if you don't want to be bored with some more of my rambling nonsense about fighting......
Leaving behind the books hirsute praisings, much of this book is like an adolescent's fantasy. It's the kind of stupid shit I might have thought of when thinking of what a cool action hero would be like when I was 11 years old. This paragraph stood out as something I might have thought of when I was a dumber goon than I am today,
And I remembered what one of the feds had told me about her: that Kim Stacy had shot and killed five men on previous assignments, that she was trained in all the martial arts and weaponry....
Really? All of them? And every weapon? This is just a throw away description of a woman who posed as his wife for a previous mission, but it reeks of the kind of idiocy of a pre-teen who thinks ninja's are the coolest thing in the world and is sure that a black belt in Karate would be unstoppable against Mike Tyson (this would be the way I thought when I was about 11, I now realize that Mike Tyson (at the time, pre-jail, face tattoo and ear biting) would have knocked any black belt in Karate out in about 30 seconds, I do remember having lots of deep conversations with friends about this exact scenario, and sadly this was pre-UFC, MMA days so the coupling of say Chuck Norris-skills versus Mike Tyson-skills could only be settled through imaginative musings by kids seduced by too many bad action films, but as one might be able to extrapolate it was in these very important arguments with friends that the seeds for my current MMA fascination were sown (in case you want my opinion now on this question? Black Belts in traditional striking based martial arts I'd rank pretty low in being able to win a fight against other types of fighters (I'm talking pure styles, like a boxer versus a karate guy, or a tae-kwon-do dude versus a bjj black belt, assuming they fought only with the skills inherent in their particular martial art), I'd rank them probably lowest, then wrestlers (but can they punch on the ground? If yes move them up above the next ranking, but traditionally wrestlers don't punch or elbow), then boxers (Western and Thai) and then Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Sambo fighters. (early UFC events and Royce Gracie are what I'm pretty much basing this stuff on)).*
This lengthy aside is just my way of rambling on about the impossibility of some thirty something year old woman being trained in all the martial arts and all weapons. That's just stupid.
As is this review.
*To sum up this lengthy parenthetical aside, I believe now that in the mid-80's Mike Tyson could have beaten the shit out of Chuck Norris, none of his fancy kicks or harnessing of 'chi' or whatever it's called would have done much good against a couple of Tyson's devastating punches. I also believe that any decent brawler would have whipped the Karate Kid's ass.
August 27, 2019
Max Collins' completion of Mickey Spillane's manuscript "The Consummata". Set in the 1960s, Morgan is is being hunted for stealing 40 million dollars from the US government. Trapped in Miami's Cuban section, he agrees to hunt down the man who stole $75,000 from thee Cuban Revolution. What follows is a trail of violent death and the sex trade.
January 24, 2012
One thing these thrillers have going for them is their pulse pounding openings. One thing these thrillers have going against them is maintaining that level of adrenaline throughout the book. The light of foot hard man Morgan the Raider, literally stumbles upon his latest adventure whilst trying to outrun the alphabet agents in hot pursuit. Ordered not to rest until they recover the allegedly stolen 40 million from the previous installment, Morgan again has to tend with converging plots and gun toting men from both sides of the law out to do him harm. Before long Morgan's nominating his services, ready to jump back into a world of danger to satisfy a thrill. The Cubans who provided a form sanctuary during his chase need to recoup a large sum of money stolen from them by one of their own. Money which had been earmarked for the revolution.
Enter the dames - a staple in any Spillane novel. First there's Gaitia, then Tami, followed by Bunny, concluded by the infamous Consummata. Morgan sure knows how to maximise the delta factor. Reading like a lost pulp, 'The Consummata' is loaded with twists, turns, and true to form characterisation of the golden era. Unfortunately, 'The Consummata' sufferers from one too many twists in the final stages with many proving easily predictable. That said, the reappearance of a certain character from 'Delta Factor' did give me a moment of fan boy enjoyment.
The continuity is there from 'Delta Factor', however it could have been build upon further than what was delivered. Some of the better peripheral characters from 'Delta Factor' were written off or out of 'The Consummata' a little too quickly for my liking. The allure of the $40 million and the impending chase to recover it was good to see as was the lead FBI agent again returning in an attempt to nab his famous escapee.
The Morgan the Raider series has got some legs, no doubt about it - personally I was hoping for a more engaging story than its predecessor, however 'The Consummata' delivered more of the same. Still fun to read and pretty entertaining but I couldn't help but feel as though these books (inc. The Delta Factor) are the start of something more - here's hoping for further installments. 2.5 stars.
Enter the dames - a staple in any Spillane novel. First there's Gaitia, then Tami, followed by Bunny, concluded by the infamous Consummata. Morgan sure knows how to maximise the delta factor. Reading like a lost pulp, 'The Consummata' is loaded with twists, turns, and true to form characterisation of the golden era. Unfortunately, 'The Consummata' sufferers from one too many twists in the final stages with many proving easily predictable. That said, the reappearance of a certain character from 'Delta Factor' did give me a moment of fan boy enjoyment.
The continuity is there from 'Delta Factor', however it could have been build upon further than what was delivered. Some of the better peripheral characters from 'Delta Factor' were written off or out of 'The Consummata' a little too quickly for my liking. The allure of the $40 million and the impending chase to recover it was good to see as was the lead FBI agent again returning in an attempt to nab his famous escapee.
The Morgan the Raider series has got some legs, no doubt about it - personally I was hoping for a more engaging story than its predecessor, however 'The Consummata' delivered more of the same. Still fun to read and pretty entertaining but I couldn't help but feel as though these books (inc. The Delta Factor) are the start of something more - here's hoping for further installments. 2.5 stars.
June 9, 2018
Mickey Spillane told good stories. He was a bit of a roughneck with his prose and characters and settings. But his tales were fun to read when I was younger and even more enjoyable to catch up on now. Max Collins finished this story which sat in Spillane's files for many years. Set in the mid sixties it tells of greed and corruption in the CIA / FBI and the Cuban community after the failure to overthrow Castro and the death of JFK.
October 7, 2017
"The knife meant for me was hilt-deep in his chest, his fingers still gripped in a deathlock around the handle" - boy, do I love this stuff!
The Consummata is a solid pulp novel by one of the masters in the genre; Mickey Spillane. Apparently Spillane gave the unfinished manuscript to Max Allen Collins before he died, so I'm not entirely sure how much was written by Spillane and how much was added or changed by Collins, however the result is phenomenal. A real little treat in the Hard Case Crime series that seems to get better and better (with the occasional stinker added for good measure and to remind us that no-one is perfect, not even Charles Ardai)
Set in the underbelly of Miami amongst the Cuban immigrants that would like to see Cuba back in the hands of it's people we find Morgan 'the Raider'. A modern day Robin Hood in some respects, but mostly a smart thief with a warm heart to those that are less fortunate around him.
When the Cuban's savings are being stolen he takes it upon himself to find out where it went and to recover it.
The Consummata is a great pulp novel that completely deserves a prominent place in pulp-history.
The Consummata is a solid pulp novel by one of the masters in the genre; Mickey Spillane. Apparently Spillane gave the unfinished manuscript to Max Allen Collins before he died, so I'm not entirely sure how much was written by Spillane and how much was added or changed by Collins, however the result is phenomenal. A real little treat in the Hard Case Crime series that seems to get better and better (with the occasional stinker added for good measure and to remind us that no-one is perfect, not even Charles Ardai)
Set in the underbelly of Miami amongst the Cuban immigrants that would like to see Cuba back in the hands of it's people we find Morgan 'the Raider'. A modern day Robin Hood in some respects, but mostly a smart thief with a warm heart to those that are less fortunate around him.
When the Cuban's savings are being stolen he takes it upon himself to find out where it went and to recover it.
The Consummata is a great pulp novel that completely deserves a prominent place in pulp-history.
June 29, 2011
Mickey Spillane began this novel in the late sixties, a sequel to THE DELTA FACTOR, a big commercial and critical success, only to set it aside after his frustrations over producing a movie of that first book. Twenty-five years later, he gave it to Max Allan Collins, saying "maybe we'll do something with this one day."
It opens in the late sixties, a year after DELTA, and Morgan is still on the run. In Miami, the authorities are closing the net on him pretty tight, him seeing no way out. He still hadn't found the forty million in new bills he'd been convicted of stealing and had only the vaguest notion of where it had been hidden. The real thief said it was where his namesake, Morgan the pirate, had hidden his treasure just before he died. And, of course, the authorities hadn't believed his wife when sh told about hearing the confession.
Just as he was about to be taken, a group of Cuban refugees, and a pack of kids, had helped engineer his escape, spiriting him away and hiding him for a day until the heat was off.
They then asked him for advice, that was all, on recovering seventy-five thousand hard-earned dollars stolen by a man they'd trusted, money saved with every spare nickel or dime, to send into Cuba to help family left behind. They wanted to know what they could do to get it back.
Morgan knew they could never get it done, two already died trying, so he decided to get it for them. A small thing.
He began to suspect more was going on when hit men popped up, after him. How did the thief get on to him so fast? Only one answer, a traitor in the ranks.
And who, or what was the mysterious Consummata? What was the connection with the thief?
The answers surprised me.
Due out on October 4th.
It opens in the late sixties, a year after DELTA, and Morgan is still on the run. In Miami, the authorities are closing the net on him pretty tight, him seeing no way out. He still hadn't found the forty million in new bills he'd been convicted of stealing and had only the vaguest notion of where it had been hidden. The real thief said it was where his namesake, Morgan the pirate, had hidden his treasure just before he died. And, of course, the authorities hadn't believed his wife when sh told about hearing the confession.
Just as he was about to be taken, a group of Cuban refugees, and a pack of kids, had helped engineer his escape, spiriting him away and hiding him for a day until the heat was off.
They then asked him for advice, that was all, on recovering seventy-five thousand hard-earned dollars stolen by a man they'd trusted, money saved with every spare nickel or dime, to send into Cuba to help family left behind. They wanted to know what they could do to get it back.
Morgan knew they could never get it done, two already died trying, so he decided to get it for them. A small thing.
He began to suspect more was going on when hit men popped up, after him. How did the thief get on to him so fast? Only one answer, a traitor in the ranks.
And who, or what was the mysterious Consummata? What was the connection with the thief?
The answers surprised me.
Due out on October 4th.
May 19, 2019
I feel cheated.
First of all, if you picked this book up because you wanted to read about a mysterious dominatrix named "Consummata", put it back down. I know pulp fiction has a habit of using covers that don't reflect at all what is inside but when I read the teaser and saw the cover, I thought this was what I'd get - a dangerous, powerful and mysterious adversary for the main character. Which is why I felt a little let down when in my 146 page book Consummata showed up on page 130
The plot itself was also more like the main character stumbling from one situation to another and then figuring out the answer to the mystery lacking any real effort. There were bodies dropping and things happening but the main character was too badass for me to ever worry about him.
The female characters were pretty much what you'd expect from the genre - losing their panties the moment they see the main character. That didn't bother me really, I am sort of a sucker for certain pulp cliches. Although I would have minded it even less if the main character was at least likeable. Off-handed comments about rape and calling them jokes...that's going to be a yikes from me. The women also tended to be more defined by their trauma than anything else but I guess that had to do with the subject matter too so it didn't bother me that much. And I did like some of them, especially Kim and Bunny.
As I said, perhaps I have spoiled myself lately and begun to expect too much. But damn it, can't the book at least try to be about what is on the cover, in the title and in the teaser?
First of all, if you picked this book up because you wanted to read about a mysterious dominatrix named "Consummata", put it back down. I know pulp fiction has a habit of using covers that don't reflect at all what is inside but when I read the teaser and saw the cover, I thought this was what I'd get - a dangerous, powerful and mysterious adversary for the main character. Which is why I felt a little let down when in my 146 page book Consummata showed up on page 130
The plot itself was also more like the main character stumbling from one situation to another and then figuring out the answer to the mystery lacking any real effort. There were bodies dropping and things happening but the main character was too badass for me to ever worry about him.
The female characters were pretty much what you'd expect from the genre - losing their panties the moment they see the main character. That didn't bother me really, I am sort of a sucker for certain pulp cliches. Although I would have minded it even less if the main character was at least likeable. Off-handed comments about rape and calling them jokes...that's going to be a yikes from me. The women also tended to be more defined by their trauma than anything else but I guess that had to do with the subject matter too so it didn't bother me that much. And I did like some of them, especially Kim and Bunny.
As I said, perhaps I have spoiled myself lately and begun to expect too much. But damn it, can't the book at least try to be about what is on the cover, in the title and in the teaser?
January 30, 2025
Review to follow.
September 3, 2015
THE CONSUMMATA is the sequel to a 1967 action-adventure novel THE DELTA FACTOR. Spillane apparently began the book immediately following the first book’s publication but then abandoned it after he became frustrated trying to adapt DELTA FACTOR for a Hollywood studio. Forty years later, Max Allan Collins has completed the unfinished book.
The first half of this book is frankly a disjointed mess. Collins clearly assumed many readers would not be familiar with DELTA FACTOR, so the first several chapters relate a lot of backstory. At first, none of it seems to have any bearing on the story at hand. Last time Morgan the Raider was seen, he was jumping out of an airplane, escaping Federal custody and leaving his new wife, to find the $40 million he was convicted of stealing and clear his name. CONSUMMATA begins a year later with Morgan in Miami still running from the police and protected by a bunch of Cuban refugees who view him as a modern-day Robin Hood.
The bulk of the narrative concerns Morgan’s attempt to find Jaime Halaquez, a double agent who stole money from the Cuban refugees. It’s unclear why Morgan cares, except that he wants to say thank-you to the Cubans. The good guys and the bad guys are all surprisingly well organized and surrounded by vast networks of spies and informants, which means Morgan’s involvement should be superfluous from the get-go, but of course he turns out to be the only person able to solve the case.
Conveniently Halaquez has a penchant for S&M bondage, so Morgan ultimately tracks him down through a mysterious shadowy prostitute known as The Consummata. All the unresolved plotlines of the first book do eventually come back into play, and the second half begins to make a lot more sense. There is a communist plot… and the CIA shows up… a lot of people are not who they seem… and, well, it just gets complicated and a lot of people die.
All in all, turns out to be a fun story, but still full of coincidences and implausible circumstances. I was particularly annoyed how Morgan would always get a "tingling in the back of his neck" to warn him of impending danger. The door is left open for a sequel, so it seems likely Spillane may have left more Morgan stories behind.
CONSUMMATA was the 5th book completed by Max Allan Collins after Spillane’s death in 2006. (Collins has completed 10 novels so far, with more apparently on the way.) Generally speaking, Collins began with the most complete manuscripts--those closest to finished product--and is working his way down to manuscripts that are essentially just story fragments or outline notes. I have no idea how much of this resulting tale was originally Spillane’s plan.
Also, I’ve never read Spillane before, so I cannot comment how these posthumous collaborations compare. However, I can say neither DEAD STREET nor THE CONSUMMATA are anywhere close to the quality of Collins’ Quarry novels.
The first half of this book is frankly a disjointed mess. Collins clearly assumed many readers would not be familiar with DELTA FACTOR, so the first several chapters relate a lot of backstory. At first, none of it seems to have any bearing on the story at hand. Last time Morgan the Raider was seen, he was jumping out of an airplane, escaping Federal custody and leaving his new wife, to find the $40 million he was convicted of stealing and clear his name. CONSUMMATA begins a year later with Morgan in Miami still running from the police and protected by a bunch of Cuban refugees who view him as a modern-day Robin Hood.
The bulk of the narrative concerns Morgan’s attempt to find Jaime Halaquez, a double agent who stole money from the Cuban refugees. It’s unclear why Morgan cares, except that he wants to say thank-you to the Cubans. The good guys and the bad guys are all surprisingly well organized and surrounded by vast networks of spies and informants, which means Morgan’s involvement should be superfluous from the get-go, but of course he turns out to be the only person able to solve the case.
Conveniently Halaquez has a penchant for S&M bondage, so Morgan ultimately tracks him down through a mysterious shadowy prostitute known as The Consummata. All the unresolved plotlines of the first book do eventually come back into play, and the second half begins to make a lot more sense. There is a communist plot… and the CIA shows up… a lot of people are not who they seem… and, well, it just gets complicated and a lot of people die.
All in all, turns out to be a fun story, but still full of coincidences and implausible circumstances. I was particularly annoyed how Morgan would always get a "tingling in the back of his neck" to warn him of impending danger. The door is left open for a sequel, so it seems likely Spillane may have left more Morgan stories behind.
CONSUMMATA was the 5th book completed by Max Allan Collins after Spillane’s death in 2006. (Collins has completed 10 novels so far, with more apparently on the way.) Generally speaking, Collins began with the most complete manuscripts--those closest to finished product--and is working his way down to manuscripts that are essentially just story fragments or outline notes. I have no idea how much of this resulting tale was originally Spillane’s plan.
Also, I’ve never read Spillane before, so I cannot comment how these posthumous collaborations compare. However, I can say neither DEAD STREET nor THE CONSUMMATA are anywhere close to the quality of Collins’ Quarry novels.
June 30, 2012
THE CONSUMMATA Is Consummate Spillane, Thanks to Collins
Alas, hard-boiled novel fans, Mickey Spillane has left the building, and by “left the building” I mean that he’s passed into whatever great beyond may lie out there in wait for the rest of us. In the meantime, Max Allan Collins was passed the baton by no less the master himself to finish a few of Spillane’s manuscripts gathering dust in a drawer, from which THE CONSUMMATA descends. It may not be a match made in heaven, but it’s awfully close.
Morgan the Raider was a character Spillane first introduced in THE DELTA FACTOR. Equal parts spy and detective, Morgan is a man’s man much in the same way any male character was (thankfully) fleshed out. He thinks, but he’s just as quick with the snarky quips and his fists. This time out, Morgan is hired to recapture $75,000 stolen away from some Cuban dissidents in and around late 60’s Miami ; the problem here is that the thief may be tied in with the local sex traffic currently under investigation by the federal government. And, last he checked, Morgan was a wanted man, on the lamb from events that came down in the DELTA novel. This means that, before it’s all over, he’s not only going to butt heads with the secret CIA front man trying to bring him to justice but also a frosty mistress who might just be the death of him!
It’s a thrilling read, quick and brisk the way only the best hard-boiled prose tends to be, and it’s all handled so effortless that there’s no way to know where Spillane stopped and Collins began. If there’s any quibble, it’s that it’s all over WAY too quickly. I wanted the action to go on for about another hundred pages. It climaxes the way all good Spillane novels do … in the final pages, the action builds to a head, and the events of the last paragraph punctuate what came before like the bullet fired from a gun. It only makes me wish for more, though I know those chances are numbered.
Spillane fans can rejoice, and Collins’ fans won’t be disappointed. THE CONSUMMATA is great addition to the Hard Case series of books, one that’ll be read and reread by this loyal reader in the years ahead.
Alas, hard-boiled novel fans, Mickey Spillane has left the building, and by “left the building” I mean that he’s passed into whatever great beyond may lie out there in wait for the rest of us. In the meantime, Max Allan Collins was passed the baton by no less the master himself to finish a few of Spillane’s manuscripts gathering dust in a drawer, from which THE CONSUMMATA descends. It may not be a match made in heaven, but it’s awfully close.
Morgan the Raider was a character Spillane first introduced in THE DELTA FACTOR. Equal parts spy and detective, Morgan is a man’s man much in the same way any male character was (thankfully) fleshed out. He thinks, but he’s just as quick with the snarky quips and his fists. This time out, Morgan is hired to recapture $75,000 stolen away from some Cuban dissidents in and around late 60’s Miami ; the problem here is that the thief may be tied in with the local sex traffic currently under investigation by the federal government. And, last he checked, Morgan was a wanted man, on the lamb from events that came down in the DELTA novel. This means that, before it’s all over, he’s not only going to butt heads with the secret CIA front man trying to bring him to justice but also a frosty mistress who might just be the death of him!
It’s a thrilling read, quick and brisk the way only the best hard-boiled prose tends to be, and it’s all handled so effortless that there’s no way to know where Spillane stopped and Collins began. If there’s any quibble, it’s that it’s all over WAY too quickly. I wanted the action to go on for about another hundred pages. It climaxes the way all good Spillane novels do … in the final pages, the action builds to a head, and the events of the last paragraph punctuate what came before like the bullet fired from a gun. It only makes me wish for more, though I know those chances are numbered.
Spillane fans can rejoice, and Collins’ fans won’t be disappointed. THE CONSUMMATA is great addition to the Hard Case series of books, one that’ll be read and reread by this loyal reader in the years ahead.
January 6, 2015
I don't usually rate books with one star because I don't want to be thought of as saying a book isn't good... but the Goodreads scale is a personal one, with one star indicating that I don't like a book myself. And I don't care for Mickey Spillane.
His stories typified standard pulp: unstoppable masculine protagonists that all the ladies love. Fights where any guns present are kicked out of hands or dropped, and someone usually dies in a clinch (a knife slips, a gun misfires). Ladies exist to provide set up lines for the hero to respond to in a way that's usually just intended to convince us that he's cool, calm and capable. There's nothing wrong with it, and if it's your first introduction to that style of pulp noir fiction, great. I'm just kinda tired of it.
The BDSM elements and anti-Castro historical setting are the only decorative elements that are (kinda) unique to the narrative but it wasn't enough to get me interested in Spillane's antihero and whether or not he'd be able to recover some funds for anti-Castro rebels, fend off assassins and consummate his marriage with his wife in the CIA.
Max Allan Collins, whose work I enjoy, finished up this unfinished Spillane book and I hope it paid some bills for him. Every once in a while I thought I could pick up hints of his style, but it just left me wanting to read one of his Quarry books instead. That's just me.
His stories typified standard pulp: unstoppable masculine protagonists that all the ladies love. Fights where any guns present are kicked out of hands or dropped, and someone usually dies in a clinch (a knife slips, a gun misfires). Ladies exist to provide set up lines for the hero to respond to in a way that's usually just intended to convince us that he's cool, calm and capable. There's nothing wrong with it, and if it's your first introduction to that style of pulp noir fiction, great. I'm just kinda tired of it.
The BDSM elements and anti-Castro historical setting are the only decorative elements that are (kinda) unique to the narrative but it wasn't enough to get me interested in Spillane's antihero and whether or not he'd be able to recover some funds for anti-Castro rebels, fend off assassins and consummate his marriage with his wife in the CIA.
Max Allan Collins, whose work I enjoy, finished up this unfinished Spillane book and I hope it paid some bills for him. Every once in a while I thought I could pick up hints of his style, but it just left me wanting to read one of his Quarry books instead. That's just me.
October 4, 2011
Full review at AxelHowerton.com
"Collins plays it well and plays it safe, never wandering far from the accepted pattern of Spillane’s lifetime of work. The hero is square-jawed, handsome and irresistible to the ladies. The dames are leggy, stacked and full to the brim with desire – jungle cats ready to pounce. The criminals are mysterious and elusive and the sidekicks and bit players are witty and convenient. The plot is standard 60’s Bond-lite, and the prose is exactly what you expect; but that’s the point, right?"
"Collins plays it well and plays it safe, never wandering far from the accepted pattern of Spillane’s lifetime of work. The hero is square-jawed, handsome and irresistible to the ladies. The dames are leggy, stacked and full to the brim with desire – jungle cats ready to pounce. The criminals are mysterious and elusive and the sidekicks and bit players are witty and convenient. The plot is standard 60’s Bond-lite, and the prose is exactly what you expect; but that’s the point, right?"
August 31, 2025
This is a nice B-series novel that doesn't punch above its weight and is wrapped up in a precise and genre-abiding ending. The story of Morgan the raider, who's pursued for his (presumed) involvement in a 40 mill heist, but ends up trying to find a Cuban double spy who robbed Cuban freedom fighters in Miami. Double and triple agents abound, erotism is all over the place, as announced by the title, "Consummata" or "consumed" as in "consumed the matrimony", a double or triple meaning within the novel, but which is absurdly assigned to a (possibly mythical) S&M madame.
Names and nicks are not their best. It insists in calling one of the characters "Gaita", supposed to be "kitty" in Spanish, but missing an T, "gatita" (not a nickname anyone would use in Spanish-speaking countries, BTW). Many Spanish spelling errors, but the worst one is "tiendo" for "tienda" or shop. That by itself loses it a star, I can't stand such a kind of things and even a pulp fiction novel should have someone copy-edit that kind of stuff.
I think it was Dashiell Hammet who said in "The fine art of murder" that there's little difference between high and pulp literary "noir" novels: the tools are the same, the plot twists arrive at the same time, and the characters are mere excuses for advancing action. That's the case here; but the point is that no matter what, they work, as it does here.
BTW, part of a StoryBundle I bought from which I have read more novels than from any other I have acquired. Excellent poolside or airport lounge/plane reading, anyway.
Names and nicks are not their best. It insists in calling one of the characters "Gaita", supposed to be "kitty" in Spanish, but missing an T, "gatita" (not a nickname anyone would use in Spanish-speaking countries, BTW). Many Spanish spelling errors, but the worst one is "tiendo" for "tienda" or shop. That by itself loses it a star, I can't stand such a kind of things and even a pulp fiction novel should have someone copy-edit that kind of stuff.
I think it was Dashiell Hammet who said in "The fine art of murder" that there's little difference between high and pulp literary "noir" novels: the tools are the same, the plot twists arrive at the same time, and the characters are mere excuses for advancing action. That's the case here; but the point is that no matter what, they work, as it does here.
BTW, part of a StoryBundle I bought from which I have read more novels than from any other I have acquired. Excellent poolside or airport lounge/plane reading, anyway.
September 6, 2022
“The Consummata” – Trivia backstory: Mickey Spillane published the first of his “Morgan the Raider,” about a guy able to get things and get things done, previously and it became a hit as a book and a flop as a movie just as he was working on this one. Not wanting to repeat the mistake he hid the manuscript in a drawer until the final years of his life when he teamed up with Max Allan Collins. He handed it to Collins saying, “Maybe you can do something with this.” The rest is history… or this book, whichever you want to consider it. As mentioned earlier Morgan gets supplies and he pulls jobs – currently he’s on the run from the Feds for a $40 million bank heist. They think he knows where it’s at; he has no idea but isn’t going to convince them. On the run he’s saved by a group of Latino business owners who hire him to find the “mole” that took off with their money. Traveling through the back alleys and the bordellos his new job gets nearly gets him killed as he has to team up with a madame who once tried to have him killed and other underworld types as he works to find an elusive guy who’s into S&M as well as the infamous “Consummata,” an equally elusive madame who may or may not exist. First and foremost, like the Mike Hammer novels Spillane makes this FUN – which Hard Case Crimes usually are. Morgan the Raider is a character smarmier and more likable than Mike Hammer, true, but the style is the same – action-packed. Dirty. Gritty. Intense. Smart alecky. Recommended.
March 14, 2021
Morgan is still on the run from the police, who think he stole $40 million (in the previous novel), when he comes into contact with some Cuban refugees whom he promises to help recover the seventy-five thousand stolen by Jaimie Halaquez. What follows in his pursuit is murder, politics, the police, prostitution, and nuclear secrets, all of which climax at the Consummata's private party, where those who are into bondage are invited for a once in a lifetime experience, if they survive.
Considering I hadn't read the first novel, published in 1967, it was easy to get into this book.
Spillane and Max Allan Collins have created a great read. The dialogue is perfect, with Morgan and the supporting cast spitting out hard as rocks truths while they try to avoid death. The pace is very quick, with Morgan constantly on the move, avoiding capture and discovering clues.
There is one death in the climax that didn't really surprise me, as the character who was responsible for stealing the money from the Cubans had been whittled down to this lone individual being guilty.
That said, there is another death after the climax that was a surprise, and the reason for his death was a shocker.
I can only hope that Collins returns to Morgan to continue his journey to justice.
Considering I hadn't read the first novel, published in 1967, it was easy to get into this book.
Spillane and Max Allan Collins have created a great read. The dialogue is perfect, with Morgan and the supporting cast spitting out hard as rocks truths while they try to avoid death. The pace is very quick, with Morgan constantly on the move, avoiding capture and discovering clues.
There is one death in the climax that didn't really surprise me, as the character who was responsible for stealing the money from the Cubans had been whittled down to this lone individual being guilty.
That said, there is another death after the climax that was a surprise, and the reason for his death was a shocker.
I can only hope that Collins returns to Morgan to continue his journey to justice.
April 13, 2021
Who can complain with Mickey Spillane? Chandler may have made the detective/noir genre an American staple, Spillane entrenched it. Most cliche ridden television scripts and comic books trying to pay homage to the genre a pale shadow to the master who spent a lifetime perfecting it. Then why only 3 stars?
Let's start with the posthumus nature of the release and the fact it was also unfinished. While Max Alan Collins is a master of the craft in his own right (he did invent Quarry), he is valiantly attempting to write to match Spillane in the finishing of this novel. Also, there is the subject of the alternative sex practices. They are both good at writing straight ahead sex scenes that are just above vanilla, when it comes to the kinkier arts they are both out of their depth and create scenes that are just as full of cliches as the aforementioned television scripts.
The story itself is compelling and is full of possibility making the book a pleasure to read if a little on the unsatisfying side. If you are looking for I, the Jury or any of the Quarry novels, you won't find what you are looking here. Then not everything is a classic. The book is a nice distraction for an afternoon or so.
Let's start with the posthumus nature of the release and the fact it was also unfinished. While Max Alan Collins is a master of the craft in his own right (he did invent Quarry), he is valiantly attempting to write to match Spillane in the finishing of this novel. Also, there is the subject of the alternative sex practices. They are both good at writing straight ahead sex scenes that are just above vanilla, when it comes to the kinkier arts they are both out of their depth and create scenes that are just as full of cliches as the aforementioned television scripts.
The story itself is compelling and is full of possibility making the book a pleasure to read if a little on the unsatisfying side. If you are looking for I, the Jury or any of the Quarry novels, you won't find what you are looking here. Then not everything is a classic. The book is a nice distraction for an afternoon or so.
July 29, 2017
The second book to feature 'Morgan the Raider', the first being 'The Delta Factor'. This was more or less completed but Mickey lost interest in the character/series and never made any attempt to publish it. Max Allan Collins completed the editing and got it to Hard Case Crime.
This book is set entirely in Miami and has a lot of Latin characters and a Hemingway feel to it. Personally I like the gritty New York based novels better, but as Mickey lived in South Carolina I expect some of the atmosphere is based on real life experiences. The overall story arc continues from the first book in that Morgan is still looking for the forty million he was framed for stealing.
Not bad but I can see why Mickey lost interest in the project. It just doesn't have the same impact as most of his other novels.
This book is set entirely in Miami and has a lot of Latin characters and a Hemingway feel to it. Personally I like the gritty New York based novels better, but as Mickey lived in South Carolina I expect some of the atmosphere is based on real life experiences. The overall story arc continues from the first book in that Morgan is still looking for the forty million he was framed for stealing.
Not bad but I can see why Mickey lost interest in the project. It just doesn't have the same impact as most of his other novels.
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June 16, 2025@therealhardcasecrime 103 finished and it’s #theconsummata by #mickeyspillane and #maxallancollins originally published in 2011. A hard man with a heart of gold hunting down a thief. Beautiful women taking their clothes off and throwing themselves at him. His marriage vow keeping him ‘mostly’ faithful. Wonderfully hard boiled dialogue. A sequel to a book I haven’t read, but there is enough reminiscing from the first person narration that I didn’t feel lost. The running around with prostitutes trying to locate clues to the antagonist’s whereabouts was verging on farce and just as I thought it was about to get repetitive we end up in a CIA black-op and a conspiracy. The identity of the titular consummata was a fun little twist. With plenty of surprises in the final chapter. Plus another excellent and leggy #robertmcginnis cover!
June 26, 2017
Mickey Spillane was one of the great hardboiled writers of the fifties and sixties. He is most well-known for writing numerous Mike Hammer books, the quintessential tough-nosed detective. Spillane began writing the Consummata in the sixties, but never completed it. After his death, Max Allan Collins, with instructions from Spillane, finished and published a number of Spillane's works. Whatever Collins did to finish these books, they are so deftly written that, without a microscope, one cannot tell where Spillane stops and Collins filled in. The Consummata is well written and the story flies by. The action starts with page one and, in typical Spillane style, never stops. It involves an escapee from federal custody, a ton of missing money, Cuban exiles, and the Consummata, a mysterious woman setting up shop in Miami. Before Morgan can lay a trap, bombs go off and people are assassinated left and right. With the federal marshals on his tail, Morgan is determined to get his man. He just wonders why all this fuss is being made over what really isn't a lot of money.
A great action-packed story that is just plain fun to read. Highly recommended.
A great action-packed story that is just plain fun to read. Highly recommended.
May 3, 2019
The book is supposedly set in the 1960's, however one of the guns used in the book was a Glock. The Glock did not come into existence until the very late 70's, or early 80's. The are the types of facts any writer should get right.
January 11, 2022
I remember reading Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer books when I was in high school. I found this book-apparently a non Mike Hammer book, written in the late 60's only recently published after his death. Spillane was the Lee Child of today and always wrote a good mystery, action book.
March 28, 2023
An amazing look at the underbelly of the 1960s. I was not able to determine where Spillane left off and Connins began, but it was a hell of a page-turner. It's all in the details. The entire story rang true, and took me into these strange believable characters and the world they lived in.
June 21, 2025
Steadily reading my way through the terrific Hard Case Crime humble bundle. This novel, started by Mickey Spillane and finished by Max Allan Collins, is about a thief/spy type who, while on the run from the police, volunteers to find the stolen money of a group of Cuban exiles.
February 4, 2018
An excellent addition to the Hard Case collection. This is kinky and exciting caper with more than a little intrigue. Spillane and Collins make a great team.
February 19, 2018
It took a little while to get going, but once it did it was great. I would really like Max Allan Collins do more books starring Morgan the Raider, he is a really fun character.
May 29, 2019
Predictable
July 20, 2019
6.5/10
247 pages
247 pages
September 21, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyed that. Great stuff!
December 2, 2019
Loved it. Classic Noir with a murder mystery. Morgan is a great character and sadly with Spillane deceased I won't see where his story goes.
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