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Mike Hammer #9
The Twisted Thing
This is some household. The kid is a genius, the father a scientist of international repute. Money is a problem. Not a shortage of money, but the too much. The sort of money that brings the envious and the scheming clustering like flies around nieces, nephews, cousins ... a family of mean minds and gross appetites.
The staff has its peculiarities, the chauffeur is an ex-con; the governess formerly a featured act in strip clubs from New York to Miami; and the secretary has a well-developed taste in other women.
Yes, it's some household - and not all that welcoming of PI Mike Hammer, not when the kid has been kidnapped and everyone's a suspect.
The staff has its peculiarities, the chauffeur is an ex-con; the governess formerly a featured act in strip clubs from New York to Miami; and the secretary has a well-developed taste in other women.
Yes, it's some household - and not all that welcoming of PI Mike Hammer, not when the kid has been kidnapped and everyone's a suspect.
247 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1966
3 people are currently reading
269 people want to read
About the author
Mickey Spillane
314 books445 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 46 reviews
May 27, 2024
i loves me some mike hammer. tour de force pulp imho.
and the ending is absurdly perfect.
and the ending is absurdly perfect.
March 4, 2023
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer #9
As other reviewers have pointed out, this one doesn't chronologically fit in the series. Velda doesn't feature at all, which is out of synch after the last two books (#7 The Girl Hunters & #8 The Snake) in which the story really was focussed around Velda. Pat Chambers is also only a brief mention, and without any of the intricacies of their relationship. Apparently it was written early and published out of sequence.
This one is also set out of New York, in a small town with its own corrupt cops - who we meet on page one, where they are interrogating (beating up) an ex-con kid called Billy, now going straight as a chauffeur for a wealthy scientist. The cops fancy Billy for a part in the kidnapping of the scientists boy, as Billy has a record - Billy used his one phone call to phone Mike Hammer. (Quite why the cops would let Hammer into the interrogation room I don't know!)
From this start, Hammer is off side with the cops, but frees Billy, and goes back with him to see Rudolph York, Billy's employer. He ends up being commissioned to find the kidnapped boy (a boy genius, no less, who is the result of the scientists confidential research into learning techniques). The boy is quickly recovered, and things enter your usual Mickey Spillane spiral from there, with York being murdered.
As we come to expect there is the usual brutality (dished out by, and received by Hammer), plenty of shooting, blackmail, car chases, local criminals and attractive women falling at Hammers feet. In this case everyone in the extended York family was a suspect, all wanting a sniff of the scientists money.
This one was a good story, lots of confusing things going on, multiple layers of mystery to be unravelled. As the story evolves and Hammer is drawn from one aspect to the next, some things fall into place, but others remain out of reach and the reader shares with Hammer the inability to pull the threads together (well I struggled...).
I can't resist mentioning the archaic view Spillane puts forward of lesbians though, I thought that very odd, and thought for a while that the twisted thing of the title was going to be the lesbian character, the way Spillane describing her before it becomes obvious she is lesbian as as mannish, wearing slacks, and (god forbid) without makeup; then after as not a real woman, more like half-man. Reflective of the times I guess.
3 stars
As other reviewers have pointed out, this one doesn't chronologically fit in the series. Velda doesn't feature at all, which is out of synch after the last two books (#7 The Girl Hunters & #8 The Snake) in which the story really was focussed around Velda. Pat Chambers is also only a brief mention, and without any of the intricacies of their relationship. Apparently it was written early and published out of sequence.
This one is also set out of New York, in a small town with its own corrupt cops - who we meet on page one, where they are interrogating (beating up) an ex-con kid called Billy, now going straight as a chauffeur for a wealthy scientist. The cops fancy Billy for a part in the kidnapping of the scientists boy, as Billy has a record - Billy used his one phone call to phone Mike Hammer. (Quite why the cops would let Hammer into the interrogation room I don't know!)
From this start, Hammer is off side with the cops, but frees Billy, and goes back with him to see Rudolph York, Billy's employer. He ends up being commissioned to find the kidnapped boy (a boy genius, no less, who is the result of the scientists confidential research into learning techniques). The boy is quickly recovered, and things enter your usual Mickey Spillane spiral from there, with York being murdered.
As we come to expect there is the usual brutality (dished out by, and received by Hammer), plenty of shooting, blackmail, car chases, local criminals and attractive women falling at Hammers feet. In this case everyone in the extended York family was a suspect, all wanting a sniff of the scientists money.
This one was a good story, lots of confusing things going on, multiple layers of mystery to be unravelled. As the story evolves and Hammer is drawn from one aspect to the next, some things fall into place, but others remain out of reach and the reader shares with Hammer the inability to pull the threads together (well I struggled...).
I can't resist mentioning the archaic view Spillane puts forward of lesbians though, I thought that very odd, and thought for a while that the twisted thing of the title was going to be the lesbian character, the way Spillane describing her before it becomes obvious she is lesbian as as mannish, wearing slacks, and (god forbid) without makeup; then after as not a real woman, more like half-man. Reflective of the times I guess.
3 stars
February 21, 2023
Chronologically, “The Twisted Thing” simply doesn’t follow the logical course of Hammer’s development or his relationship with Velda that has grown in “The Snake.” It is an earlier novel, having been written as perhaps the second book in the series. As such, “The Twisted Thing” is more of an old-fashioned detective novel with Hammer being hired by a wealthy individual out on a small Long Island town to solve his son’s kidnapping. The book is filled with corrupt small town cops, gambling, ex-strippers, steamy photographs, blackmail, shootings, car chases, and the whole extended family gathered for a whodoneit type of accusation after a murder. Hammer is there in the middle of all of it, attempting to bring some order to this steaming helping of messy stuff. The book is filled with typical Spillane action and intrigue.
The book opens in typical Spillane fancy talk: “The little guy’s face was a bloody mess. Between the puffballs of blue-black flesh that used to be eyelids, the dull gleam of shock-deadened pupils watched Dilwick uncomprehendingly. His lips were swollen things of lacerated skin, with slow trickles of blood making crooked paths from the corners of his mouth through the stubble of a beard to his chin, dripping onto a stained shirt.” Wow. What amazingly descriptive prose. There are few writers even today who could take the time and effort to so carefully describe a beating in the back of a police station.
The characters in this book include a boy genius, a crooked smalltown cop, a man-woman, an ex-stripper hired to watch over the boy genius, and the rich man’s family which included Alice Nichols, the nymphomaniac, who had “deep brown eyes that kissed mine so hard I nearly lost my balance. She swept them up and down the full length of me. It couldn’t have been any better if she did it with a paintbrush.” He explains that: “She told me things with a smile that most girls since Eve have been trying to put into words without being obvious or seeming too eager and I gave her my answer the same way.”
Maybe Pat Chambers and Velda are almost completely AWOL from this book and all the action takes place outside the big city. It is still a great read and a worthy part of the Mike Hammer saga.
The book opens in typical Spillane fancy talk: “The little guy’s face was a bloody mess. Between the puffballs of blue-black flesh that used to be eyelids, the dull gleam of shock-deadened pupils watched Dilwick uncomprehendingly. His lips were swollen things of lacerated skin, with slow trickles of blood making crooked paths from the corners of his mouth through the stubble of a beard to his chin, dripping onto a stained shirt.” Wow. What amazingly descriptive prose. There are few writers even today who could take the time and effort to so carefully describe a beating in the back of a police station.
The characters in this book include a boy genius, a crooked smalltown cop, a man-woman, an ex-stripper hired to watch over the boy genius, and the rich man’s family which included Alice Nichols, the nymphomaniac, who had “deep brown eyes that kissed mine so hard I nearly lost my balance. She swept them up and down the full length of me. It couldn’t have been any better if she did it with a paintbrush.” He explains that: “She told me things with a smile that most girls since Eve have been trying to put into words without being obvious or seeming too eager and I gave her my answer the same way.”
Maybe Pat Chambers and Velda are almost completely AWOL from this book and all the action takes place outside the big city. It is still a great read and a worthy part of the Mike Hammer saga.
December 12, 2017
I have read a few Mickey Spillane works, and what hits one most, quite frightening, is the violence in the books. It is often more than gratuitous, brutal. Tremendous ruthless battles and fights, blood spilling out from guts and nerves and from pretty much everywhere. It is no different here, the brutality of the fights involving Mike Hammer. If he is not a sadist, then one wonders what a sadist is!
Yet this novel, the story is quite good and i daresay convincing. The psychology behind the trend of events, the flow, the "twisted" youngster himself is quite spot on. Do we at the end feel pity for the boy genius? I like the way he has fallen for the lady in question here, though she is much older and would regard him as a child. But psychologically and emotionally he is no kid. He is very intelligent cerebral and calculating. Which all adds to the pathos of this hard-hitting story, I suppose
February 24, 2015
So after finishing ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’, I thought I’d try a more modern tale of revenge – and where better to go for that than a Mike Hammer novel. Except, when I opened ‘The Twisted Thing’ (the eighth book in the series), far from Hammer vowing in the opening chapter that he was going to find the murderer and then gut him, Spillane seems to have strayed almost into Agatha Christie territory.
A hot-housed boy genius is kidnapped, and after Hammer investigates and finds him, the boy’s father is murdered. Within the large country house in which they both live are all kinds of relatives and hangers-on, each one desperate for money and harbouring murderous motives. Okay, this is actually a lot more brutal and salacious than Dame Agatha (unless there is some Hercule Poirot I don’t know of which contains illicitly obtained lesbian photographs) and Spillane does get swiftly bored of being confined to just the one country house, but this an interesting variation to the Hammer formula. We’re not on the mean streets of New York dealing with the scum, we’re watching Hammer as a fish out of water as he tries to deal with the countryside and eccentric rich folk. Actually Ross MacDonald’s Archer books would be another comparison, and I wonder if Spillane was gazing enviously at one of his contemporaries.
Of course it’s still over the top, violent, incredibly right-wing (with sexual politics that are frankly a joke), but this is a damned entertaining read nevertheless. Long time readers might be able to spot who the murderer actually is, but even then Spillane makes a refreshing attempt to vary the formula. And the whole thing is a rare, but incredibly fun example of an established genre writer trying something new, whilst clinging on to the things which made his previous books work.
Just one question, where the hell is Velda?
A hot-housed boy genius is kidnapped, and after Hammer investigates and finds him, the boy’s father is murdered. Within the large country house in which they both live are all kinds of relatives and hangers-on, each one desperate for money and harbouring murderous motives. Okay, this is actually a lot more brutal and salacious than Dame Agatha (unless there is some Hercule Poirot I don’t know of which contains illicitly obtained lesbian photographs) and Spillane does get swiftly bored of being confined to just the one country house, but this an interesting variation to the Hammer formula. We’re not on the mean streets of New York dealing with the scum, we’re watching Hammer as a fish out of water as he tries to deal with the countryside and eccentric rich folk. Actually Ross MacDonald’s Archer books would be another comparison, and I wonder if Spillane was gazing enviously at one of his contemporaries.
Of course it’s still over the top, violent, incredibly right-wing (with sexual politics that are frankly a joke), but this is a damned entertaining read nevertheless. Long time readers might be able to spot who the murderer actually is, but even then Spillane makes a refreshing attempt to vary the formula. And the whole thing is a rare, but incredibly fun example of an established genre writer trying something new, whilst clinging on to the things which made his previous books work.
Just one question, where the hell is Velda?
March 4, 2019
Reading series in order of publication occasionally has pitfalls, and this is one of them. Published in 1966, this was originally written as the second Mike Hammer in 1948. The bones of the character are still there, but several things are...off because of seven other books between then and then. Velda is absent, MHs supercharged car is back, and the entire story takes place outside of the New York that is as much a part of an MH story as cigarettes and death. Despite all this, quality overcomes continuity, the story roars along, and it ends as fine a stand-alone as any other in the series.
August 16, 2023
Though this was book 9 in the series it seems out of place. Didn't fit in the time line at all. Kinda like it was just tossed in. The story was fun. If you liked the others you should like this as well.
May 31, 2018
Actual rating is 3.5 stars.
This is a stand alone alone novel that is part of a series. Even though this entry is in the middle of the series, I believe it was meant to be earlier as Mike Hammer's character development seemed to step back a little. Also, there was no Velda. In this one, Mike gets involved in a kidnapping case that turns into a murder mystery.
I enjoyed this one as it had all the elements of a good old fashioned murder mystery. Mike gets into a situation that turns out to be more than he bargained for. When reading a Hammer book, one expects an unapologetic character that is trying to do the right thing and this book delivers on that front. These books are not politically correct for today's world but are a delight to read. Mickey Spillane is in a class by himself with his writing and description. The description of when Hammer meets a new character is just beautiful and vivid. The mystery had me guessing throughout as it delved into psychology and I loved the reveal.
These books are not the greatest literature but they accomplish their job and entertain me. I love going back in time to this era of writing with these books and I thought this was one of the better ones in the series.
This is a stand alone alone novel that is part of a series. Even though this entry is in the middle of the series, I believe it was meant to be earlier as Mike Hammer's character development seemed to step back a little. Also, there was no Velda. In this one, Mike gets involved in a kidnapping case that turns into a murder mystery.
I enjoyed this one as it had all the elements of a good old fashioned murder mystery. Mike gets into a situation that turns out to be more than he bargained for. When reading a Hammer book, one expects an unapologetic character that is trying to do the right thing and this book delivers on that front. These books are not politically correct for today's world but are a delight to read. Mickey Spillane is in a class by himself with his writing and description. The description of when Hammer meets a new character is just beautiful and vivid. The mystery had me guessing throughout as it delved into psychology and I loved the reveal.
These books are not the greatest literature but they accomplish their job and entertain me. I love going back in time to this era of writing with these books and I thought this was one of the better ones in the series.
October 13, 2012
Not Spillane or Hammer at their best, verges on mediocre at times.
Read on the coach from Paris to London.
A Mike Hammer whodunnit that is a little too obvious in regards to who the villains are and quite misogynistic verging on the incredibly offensive at times towards lesbian women (not real women, more like half men!) that is only saved by Mike Hammer being a fun character with a background of great cases.
Whether this one suffered from being read so soon after finishing The Interlopers is debatable but at about the half way point i just wanted it to be over so i could pass the remaining journey bored by not having a book rather than by having to read this.
Read on the coach from Paris to London.
A Mike Hammer whodunnit that is a little too obvious in regards to who the villains are and quite misogynistic verging on the incredibly offensive at times towards lesbian women (not real women, more like half men!) that is only saved by Mike Hammer being a fun character with a background of great cases.
Whether this one suffered from being read so soon after finishing The Interlopers is debatable but at about the half way point i just wanted it to be over so i could pass the remaining journey bored by not having a book rather than by having to read this.
August 12, 2023
This book seems out of order as there's no sign nor mention of Velda. A call from a friend brings Hammer to a podunk town on Long Island.
While there he is drawn into a kidnap case which quickly turns into more. Closer to a straight mystery than the majority of Hammer books
While there he is drawn into a kidnap case which quickly turns into more. Closer to a straight mystery than the majority of Hammer books
September 23, 2020
Satisfactory puzzle - well-paced - the right clues at the right time - believable plot with no holes (well, except that our hero has a James-Bond-like knack for not getting killed)- the surprise ending as good as Christie's best.
August 27, 2019
COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK 52 (of 250)
In an introduction, Max Allan Collins tells us this novel was originally titled "For Whom the Gods Would Destroy" but the publishers, Dutton, rejected it and "Spillane returned to the comic book field where, among other things, he wrote love comics." And "Twisted Thing" was to follow the Spillane/Hammer 1947 novel, "I, The Jury". It's true that may have been a good choice on Dutton's part, as Spillane presented "My Gun is Quick" in 1950 and turned the author into the 'first pop-lit superstar' (from Collins' intro) in the world. This is very good Spillane. But there is even better Spillane/Hammer novels, and they are coming up in my countdown!
HOOK - 4 stars: >>>"The little guy's face was a bloody mess."<<< is the opening line.
And the next 2 paragraphs are sensationally violent. But one has to remember: Spillane was writing, literally, comic books for adults. But the opening has an extra bite: the word 'little', as later in the book a 14 y/o boy becomes a victim: we're already primed to root for the little guy. Smart stuff, Spillane.
PACE - 5: You know those amusement rides that supposedly take you from '0' mph to about '100' mph in a second or so? "Twisted Thing" is like that, only faster. I read this in one sitting. (Besides, what a great roller coaster name: Twisted Thing.)
PLOT - 3: Ruston York, a 14 y/o genius, is kidnapped: his father is Rudolph York and is a very rich, famous scientist. Hammer is hired to find Ruston. Standard fare, really. There are big surprises along the way, but one thing bothered me: Rudolph claims responsibility for training his son to be brilliant but there is never a mention of any techniques employed, other than they are often painful to Ruston. Perhaps Ruston learned fast because he HAD to, to overcome the 'training', but the science is missing here. Plus there is an overused trope near the end that seemed pointless. I start with a 3 star rating for each element, so I had to take a star away. But as Collins says in the intro, this Spillane/Hammer "detective work is right out of Christie, a search for missing documents more typical of Hercule Poirot than Mike Hammer." I love Dame Christie's work and yes, Collins is right, so I'll add that star back.
CAST - 4: Hammer is typically Hammer, a comic book superhero, unstoppable. Yes, it's unbelievable at times he can keep walking. But there is such a nice element here when Hammer bonds with Ruston: it's positively sweet when (early in the story) Hammer finds and unties a naked Ruston (that could NOT happen in any novel today for p.c. reasons) and Hammer says, "Go ahead and cry, kid." And a second later Hammer is beaten to a pulp and Ruston is gone again. The contrast between Rudolph/Ruston and Hammer/Ruston is fascinating.
ATMOSPHERE - 4: This story could happen anywhere, and I reserve 5-star ratings for this element if the story can only take place in ONE situation. (Cornell Woolrich's brilliant "Rear Window" is a great example: it had to be set in a big city with high-rise apartments facing each other and during the summer with windows and curtains open or it just couldn't have worked.) Even though I could feel every blow (and Spillane never runs out of synonyms for 'hit' or 'pain') and could clearly see the magnificent mansion of the rich family, when Hammer finally finds the 'laboratory' I wanted more. But I'll go with 4 stars, Spillane does stuff like this: "My feet were bleeding at the end of the first hundred yards and the blue-tailed flies were making my back a bas-relief of red lumps. Some Good Samaritans had left a dirty burlap bag that reeked of fish and glinted with dried scales...I ripped it in half and wrapped the pieces over my instep and around my ankles," and Spillane does this over and over: new ways to feel and survive pain.
SUMMARY - 4.0. There is a reason Spillane's sensationally violent stories became bestsellers: Spillane can write with the best of them. Collin's says in his intro that Spillane's fame "truly pissed off Ernest Hemingway, who asked to have Spillane's picture removed from a barroom wall in Florida and got his own taken down for the trouble." I've read 9 Spillane/Hammer novels and 3 novellas. And I'll read the rest of this author's work. And Hemingway's. And, yes, the Queen of Crime, Dame Agatha Christie, all 80+ works.
BOOK 52 (of 250)
In an introduction, Max Allan Collins tells us this novel was originally titled "For Whom the Gods Would Destroy" but the publishers, Dutton, rejected it and "Spillane returned to the comic book field where, among other things, he wrote love comics." And "Twisted Thing" was to follow the Spillane/Hammer 1947 novel, "I, The Jury". It's true that may have been a good choice on Dutton's part, as Spillane presented "My Gun is Quick" in 1950 and turned the author into the 'first pop-lit superstar' (from Collins' intro) in the world. This is very good Spillane. But there is even better Spillane/Hammer novels, and they are coming up in my countdown!
HOOK - 4 stars: >>>"The little guy's face was a bloody mess."<<< is the opening line.
And the next 2 paragraphs are sensationally violent. But one has to remember: Spillane was writing, literally, comic books for adults. But the opening has an extra bite: the word 'little', as later in the book a 14 y/o boy becomes a victim: we're already primed to root for the little guy. Smart stuff, Spillane.
PACE - 5: You know those amusement rides that supposedly take you from '0' mph to about '100' mph in a second or so? "Twisted Thing" is like that, only faster. I read this in one sitting. (Besides, what a great roller coaster name: Twisted Thing.)
PLOT - 3: Ruston York, a 14 y/o genius, is kidnapped: his father is Rudolph York and is a very rich, famous scientist. Hammer is hired to find Ruston. Standard fare, really. There are big surprises along the way, but one thing bothered me: Rudolph claims responsibility for training his son to be brilliant but there is never a mention of any techniques employed, other than they are often painful to Ruston. Perhaps Ruston learned fast because he HAD to, to overcome the 'training', but the science is missing here. Plus there is an overused trope near the end that seemed pointless. I start with a 3 star rating for each element, so I had to take a star away. But as Collins says in the intro, this Spillane/Hammer "detective work is right out of Christie, a search for missing documents more typical of Hercule Poirot than Mike Hammer." I love Dame Christie's work and yes, Collins is right, so I'll add that star back.
CAST - 4: Hammer is typically Hammer, a comic book superhero, unstoppable. Yes, it's unbelievable at times he can keep walking. But there is such a nice element here when Hammer bonds with Ruston: it's positively sweet when (early in the story) Hammer finds and unties a naked Ruston (that could NOT happen in any novel today for p.c. reasons) and Hammer says, "Go ahead and cry, kid." And a second later Hammer is beaten to a pulp and Ruston is gone again. The contrast between Rudolph/Ruston and Hammer/Ruston is fascinating.
ATMOSPHERE - 4: This story could happen anywhere, and I reserve 5-star ratings for this element if the story can only take place in ONE situation. (Cornell Woolrich's brilliant "Rear Window" is a great example: it had to be set in a big city with high-rise apartments facing each other and during the summer with windows and curtains open or it just couldn't have worked.) Even though I could feel every blow (and Spillane never runs out of synonyms for 'hit' or 'pain') and could clearly see the magnificent mansion of the rich family, when Hammer finally finds the 'laboratory' I wanted more. But I'll go with 4 stars, Spillane does stuff like this: "My feet were bleeding at the end of the first hundred yards and the blue-tailed flies were making my back a bas-relief of red lumps. Some Good Samaritans had left a dirty burlap bag that reeked of fish and glinted with dried scales...I ripped it in half and wrapped the pieces over my instep and around my ankles," and Spillane does this over and over: new ways to feel and survive pain.
SUMMARY - 4.0. There is a reason Spillane's sensationally violent stories became bestsellers: Spillane can write with the best of them. Collin's says in his intro that Spillane's fame "truly pissed off Ernest Hemingway, who asked to have Spillane's picture removed from a barroom wall in Florida and got his own taken down for the trouble." I've read 9 Spillane/Hammer novels and 3 novellas. And I'll read the rest of this author's work. And Hemingway's. And, yes, the Queen of Crime, Dame Agatha Christie, all 80+ works.
May 16, 2017
#9 in the Mike Hammer series. This book as For Whom the Gods Would Destroy was turned down for publication in 1948. It would have been #2 in the series. After the success of I, The Jury (1947), the publishers changed their minds but author Spillane now refused and produced My Gun is Quick (1950) which was more in the style of I, The Jury. For Whom the Gods Would Destroy sat on the shelf until 1966 when it was produced as The Twisted Thing. The two decade hiatus had some strange results - the language was more 1940s than 1960s, and after two books culminating in the rescue of his lost love Velda, she doesn't appear in the novel.
Mike Hammer series - Hammer is pulled in to a case of kidnapping. The victim is a fourteen year old genius, Ruston York, only son of millionaire Rudolph York. Hammer's old pal, Billy Parks, is fingered by the local cops as the culprit behind the snatch. Parks spends his only nickel in jail and calls in Hammer for help. Hammer arrives in time to watch Billy Parks dance with a couple of crooked cops, complete with rubber hoses. Hammer busts the chief cop, Dilwick, in the chops. He then goes out to the York Manor where he convinces York to hire him to find the kidnapped boy genius. Hammer's surprised to discover that Ruston's governess is an old friend of his, Roxy Coulter. Roxy gives Hammer the low-down on York and York's assistant, Myra Grange. Seems Miss Grange took a sudden powder on the night Ruston was kidnapped. Soon, Grange disappears and someone has decided to part Rudolph York's hair with a cleaver, leaving his corpse in Grange's digs for Hammer to find.There is a lake full of red herrings and lots of action to keep the plot moving.
Mike Hammer series - Hammer is pulled in to a case of kidnapping. The victim is a fourteen year old genius, Ruston York, only son of millionaire Rudolph York. Hammer's old pal, Billy Parks, is fingered by the local cops as the culprit behind the snatch. Parks spends his only nickel in jail and calls in Hammer for help. Hammer arrives in time to watch Billy Parks dance with a couple of crooked cops, complete with rubber hoses. Hammer busts the chief cop, Dilwick, in the chops. He then goes out to the York Manor where he convinces York to hire him to find the kidnapped boy genius. Hammer's surprised to discover that Ruston's governess is an old friend of his, Roxy Coulter. Roxy gives Hammer the low-down on York and York's assistant, Myra Grange. Seems Miss Grange took a sudden powder on the night Ruston was kidnapped. Soon, Grange disappears and someone has decided to part Rudolph York's hair with a cleaver, leaving his corpse in Grange's digs for Hammer to find.There is a lake full of red herrings and lots of action to keep the plot moving.
August 7, 2018
"The Twisted Thing" by Mickey Spillane is more complex than average pulp noir. The raw violence, graphic fight scenes, and not so subtle sex scenes are all very visual and vivid. Spillane is a master of the beautiful word picture: "He sat there grinning at me like a blooming idiot with the top of his head holding a meat cleaver."
But there is more to this novel. There is commentary on education and on the potential of the human mind. Spillane makes statements on human nature and relationships. All that, as crime after crime piles up.
Narrator Mike Hammer describes the book: "Kidnapping, murder, a disappearance. A house full of black sheep. One nice kid, an ex-stripper for a nurse and a chauffer with a record." He later calls it ". . . a beautiful mess . . ." So it is . . . the possibilities are endless, and in my opinion, the least likely outcome results from the carefully unfolding plot. The suspense is carried to the last page, the last sentence.
Where else can you get lines like: "A pair of deep brown eyes kissed mine so hard I nearly lost my balance. She swept them up and down the full length of me. It couldn't have been any better if she did it with a wet paintbrush," or ". . . I clipped him again on the nose, and again, until there was nothing but a soggy, pulpy mass of flesh to hit." When you read such description, you know you are in the presence of greatness.
But there is more to this novel. There is commentary on education and on the potential of the human mind. Spillane makes statements on human nature and relationships. All that, as crime after crime piles up.
Narrator Mike Hammer describes the book: "Kidnapping, murder, a disappearance. A house full of black sheep. One nice kid, an ex-stripper for a nurse and a chauffer with a record." He later calls it ". . . a beautiful mess . . ." So it is . . . the possibilities are endless, and in my opinion, the least likely outcome results from the carefully unfolding plot. The suspense is carried to the last page, the last sentence.
Where else can you get lines like: "A pair of deep brown eyes kissed mine so hard I nearly lost my balance. She swept them up and down the full length of me. It couldn't have been any better if she did it with a wet paintbrush," or ". . . I clipped him again on the nose, and again, until there was nothing but a soggy, pulpy mass of flesh to hit." When you read such description, you know you are in the presence of greatness.
May 2, 2021
I read a number of Mike Hammer novels and this was by far the best. Notable for its twist ending.
June 18, 2023
This is a cross between a mystery and a suspense thriller. It has some vast improbabilities in it, other things that can't be true. For example, geniuses can't be manufactured through training the way Spillane thinks they can. It's a more natural phenomenon; one is or one isn't pretty much born a genius, and few truly are (statistical bell curve). Nevertheless, this was an entertaining read despite the faulty premise and other improbabilities, a fun way to pass some time. Recommended.
As for other reviewers' complaint that this novel fails to build on what has transpired in Mike Hammer's life in the series so far, there is an easy explanation. It is supplied by the Wikipedia entry regarding the novel:
The Twisted Thing (1966) is Mickey Spillane's ninth novel featuring private investigator Mike Hammer. Spillane claimed it was based on a true story and he submitted it as the second Mike Hammer novel but it was rejected by his publisher's editor.
So readers rather than downgrade the book's rating should just be happy that Spillane found a publisher for it at all so that fans could finally read the Mike Hammer adventure. Just because this particular novel in the series was published out of order, something not in Spillane's control, is no reason to downgrade the rating on the novel.
So, this novel was "based on a true story?" Really? I suppose it's remotely possible if one takes liberties with the genius designation. Even still, this is a case of truth being too strange to work well as a fictional device for a plot. There are other instances of truth being too strange for fiction. Prospective writers are cautioned to avoid this in their plots. Spillane's early publisher probably rejected it because he didn't believe Spillane's premise for this novel to be any more plausible than I do. It's Spillane's misuse of the word "genius", no doubt, that's the culprit. That would have been an easy fix with a few small internal adjustments and word choices. What a shame! The novel could have been published in order and on time. Still, Spillane's impossible premise only messes up the final few pages. Otherwise, it was a fun enough novel to read to that point. Lots of action, dirty cops, Hammer violence, vengeance, and spicy dames. Typical Spillane.
As for other reviewers' complaint that this novel fails to build on what has transpired in Mike Hammer's life in the series so far, there is an easy explanation. It is supplied by the Wikipedia entry regarding the novel:
The Twisted Thing (1966) is Mickey Spillane's ninth novel featuring private investigator Mike Hammer. Spillane claimed it was based on a true story and he submitted it as the second Mike Hammer novel but it was rejected by his publisher's editor.
So readers rather than downgrade the book's rating should just be happy that Spillane found a publisher for it at all so that fans could finally read the Mike Hammer adventure. Just because this particular novel in the series was published out of order, something not in Spillane's control, is no reason to downgrade the rating on the novel.
So, this novel was "based on a true story?" Really? I suppose it's remotely possible if one takes liberties with the genius designation. Even still, this is a case of truth being too strange to work well as a fictional device for a plot. There are other instances of truth being too strange for fiction. Prospective writers are cautioned to avoid this in their plots. Spillane's early publisher probably rejected it because he didn't believe Spillane's premise for this novel to be any more plausible than I do. It's Spillane's misuse of the word "genius", no doubt, that's the culprit. That would have been an easy fix with a few small internal adjustments and word choices. What a shame! The novel could have been published in order and on time. Still, Spillane's impossible premise only messes up the final few pages. Otherwise, it was a fun enough novel to read to that point. Lots of action, dirty cops, Hammer violence, vengeance, and spicy dames. Typical Spillane.
January 17, 2019
Μόνο και μόνο το γεγονός ότι γράφτηκε το 1966 και είχε τόσα plot twists,αξίζουν τα αστέρια όλου του κόσμου!Παρόλα αυτά η ελληνική έκδοση ήταν κάκιστη και έλειπαν μεγάλα τμήματα της ιστορίας.4🌟
January 19, 2023
This was supposed to be the second Mike Hammer book but was shelved by the publisher who wanted more hard hitting noir like the first book. It's a shame because I think this one is much better than some of the earlier Mike Hammer books and might have taken the author in a completely different direction. Of course, no telling if he would have become as hugely popular as he did. It is more straight ahead mystery than it is the revenge driven noir of the first five Hammer books. Highly recommended
June 25, 2020
This ninth Mike Hammer novel from the pen of Mickey Spillane seems to hark back to the noir mystery thrillers of the 40s and 50s. There's a reason for that. This was in fact the second Mike Hammer book Spillane wrote (after I, the Jury - published in 1947). It had initially been rejected by Spillane's publisher who was looking for something tougher, more violent, sexy and vengeance-driven after the success of the first book. So, Spillane obliged with My Gun is Quick and shelved The Twisted Thing for 18 years. It's easy to see why the book was initially passed as it tends to blend into the more traditional field that surrounded it at the time. That said the book is not without its moments of violence and sex. The main difference is Hammer is less driven by vengeance and his two-fisted ways of obtaining his leads and works more as a detective in the Chandler or MacDonald mode. Indeed a softer side to his character is shown in his attachment to the kidnapped boy. As such, the book is refreshing with its complex kidnap/murder plot built around a large dysfunctional family and has distinct echoes of some of the classics of the genre. Excepting one or two fanciful advancements of the plot, Spillane keeps the reader engaged throughout and his writing is often impressive as Spillane sticks with the tried and tested first-person narrative until its twist ending. The setting is mostly a small town in New York state, so the change of environment also serves to freshen up the formula. One of the best of the later published Mike Hammer novels, this is worth seeking out.
February 2, 2018
3.8/5
My first Mike Hammer story was not a disappointment. Having known about the I, The Jury film for a while (and eventually getting around to watching it before finishing this book), I'd been interested in Spillane for a long little while. My interest in hardboiled pulp fiction extended far beyond that.
The Twisted Thing is unpredictable, violent, and even a bit trashy--and I loved every page of it, every word. Spillane has a talent for this sort of thing, and at this point in his career, why shouldn't he be?
The mystery surrounding the kidnapping of a genius boy and later the murder of the boy's father gets so tangled up that I was thankful for the final pages when Hammer would clear it all up in the face of the killer. What a ride it was, and despite how implausible certain plot points seem, the whole thing was undeniably clever.
Looking forward to reading more of Spillane in the future. He's my kind of writer.
My first Mike Hammer story was not a disappointment. Having known about the I, The Jury film for a while (and eventually getting around to watching it before finishing this book), I'd been interested in Spillane for a long little while. My interest in hardboiled pulp fiction extended far beyond that.
The Twisted Thing is unpredictable, violent, and even a bit trashy--and I loved every page of it, every word. Spillane has a talent for this sort of thing, and at this point in his career, why shouldn't he be?
The mystery surrounding the kidnapping of a genius boy and later the murder of the boy's father gets so tangled up that I was thankful for the final pages when Hammer would clear it all up in the face of the killer. What a ride it was, and despite how implausible certain plot points seem, the whole thing was undeniably clever.
Looking forward to reading more of Spillane in the future. He's my kind of writer.
September 3, 2018
Although published in 1966, this was actually the second Hammer novel that Mickey Spillane pitched to his publisher, but they rejected it. By the time it was finally published, Spillane could have spilled coffee on a pile of paper and gotten it published, so it finally saw the light of day.
This is a pretty solid Spillane book, less excellent than some but still a pretty good two-fisted hard boiled story. You get the same mix of pulp tough guy and curiously thoughtful and analytical writing as the rest of the series, and the mystery is satisfying in the sense that it really doesn't go the way you expect it to. Some of the cultural assumptions will likely shock modern sensibilities (I can't wait to read other reviews of this book -- the more modern and young the reader, the more horrified they are at older books).
There's a big twist at the end that is supposed to be shocking but I saw it coming for most of the book. Still, its a pretty good read and a quick one.
This is a pretty solid Spillane book, less excellent than some but still a pretty good two-fisted hard boiled story. You get the same mix of pulp tough guy and curiously thoughtful and analytical writing as the rest of the series, and the mystery is satisfying in the sense that it really doesn't go the way you expect it to. Some of the cultural assumptions will likely shock modern sensibilities (I can't wait to read other reviews of this book -- the more modern and young the reader, the more horrified they are at older books).
There's a big twist at the end that is supposed to be shocking but I saw it coming for most of the book. Still, its a pretty good read and a quick one.
May 5, 2019
This is a text book example of the hard boiled genre written by one of the masters of that form, Mickey Spillane. This is Hammer at his rough and tumble best. The only notable missing elements are the absences of long time girlfriend Velda and Mike’s cop pal Pat Chambers.
July 1, 2021
Spillane's novels are bloody and brutal, and it can be hard to like Mike Hammer - he definitely is himself mean - but he paints a colourful world full of violence and evil. In this one we get a teenage genius and a lesbian described as half man.
September 5, 2018
Название книги на русском - "Тварь".
February 22, 2020
So much awesomeness.
February 14, 2021
Loved the ending and fast pace. Hammer “nailed” it.
August 15, 2022
A kidnapping expands into a twisting tale. Entertaining.
October 1, 2022
This was my favorite one so far. Mike Hammer has grown up quite a bit in this one. It had a really good ending as well. Wasn’t the typical whodunit of its day.
June 9, 2024
Achievement unlocked: Hammer in the manor
Solve the kidnapping of Ruston York
Achievement unlocked: Say, some gangster is dissing your fly girl
Save Roxy from a mysterious intruder.
Achievement unlocked: Give 'em one of these
Get a headshot with a snubnosed .38.
Chronological Mike Hammer: 4/27
My attempt to finish the 26 preceding stories before the release of the 27th and final in March 2025 continues. Success is unlikely, but I'll soldier on.
Another reviewer said that this book is essentially a golden-age British mystery with Mike Hammer dropped in the middle, and I think that's the essence of it. You've got it all: a sprawling manor, a sinister family at cross-purposes, and even a stab at early 20th-century eugenics. Hammer is very different from Hercule Peroit, however - a snarling beast who smashes his way toward a conclusion. No witty repartee and no Hastings, either (Velda is mysteriously absent from the entire narrative).
And speaking of snarling animals, I do appreciate how Hammer acts as though mortal peril is just that: absent a gun, he'll gouge, fish-hook, kick, and bite. There are also some nice moments of something there's probably a term for, but I'll call tough-guy lyricism:
"Ours was a play offstage; no one saw it, no one cared."
Solve the kidnapping of Ruston York
Achievement unlocked: Say, some gangster is dissing your fly girl
Save Roxy from a mysterious intruder.
Achievement unlocked: Give 'em one of these
Get a headshot with a snubnosed .38.
Chronological Mike Hammer: 4/27
My attempt to finish the 26 preceding stories before the release of the 27th and final in March 2025 continues. Success is unlikely, but I'll soldier on.
Another reviewer said that this book is essentially a golden-age British mystery with Mike Hammer dropped in the middle, and I think that's the essence of it. You've got it all: a sprawling manor, a sinister family at cross-purposes, and even a stab at early 20th-century eugenics. Hammer is very different from Hercule Peroit, however - a snarling beast who smashes his way toward a conclusion. No witty repartee and no Hastings, either (Velda is mysteriously absent from the entire narrative).
And speaking of snarling animals, I do appreciate how Hammer acts as though mortal peril is just that: absent a gun, he'll gouge, fish-hook, kick, and bite. There are also some nice moments of something there's probably a term for, but I'll call tough-guy lyricism:
"Ours was a play offstage; no one saw it, no one cared."
August 28, 2025
Mike Hammer, daha önceden tanıdığı Billy adında bir çocuğun sorgusuna katılır ve burada polis şefi Dilwick'i fena halde benzeterek odadan çıkar. Sonrasında serbest kalan Billy işsiz kaldığı için eski patronu bilim adamı York'un yanına gider ve onu işe almasını ister. Çocuğu Ruston kaybolduğu için Billy'yi suçlayan York çocuğu bulmasını ister. Çocuğu bulur ve eve getirir. 10000 dolarlık ödülünü de alan Mike sonrasında York'un balta ile öldürüldüğünü öğrenir. Evde eski adı Roxy olan bir kız Ruston'ın hemşiresi olarak çalışmaktadır. Polis şefi Price ile hareket eden Mike, Dilwick'in düşmanlığı ile karşılaşır. Bu arada Ruston 14 yaşında olmasına rağmen bir dahidir ve pek çok konuda yeteneklidir. Kendisini kaçıranlardan birinin Mallory dediğini duymuştur. Mallory 14 sene önce çocuğunu York'un hastanede çaldığını iddia eden biridir ve Nelson adı ile bilinir. York'un sekreteri bayan Marple ve kütüphaneci Bayan Cook da kayıptır. Dilwick Nelson ile işbirliği yapmıştır ve Mike onu öldürür. Peki York'u kim öldürmüş ve Roxy'yi omzundan kim vurmuştur? Mike bu gizemi çözebilecek midir? Katil sonu geldiğini anlayınca ne yapacaktır? Evdeki Alice, Ghent, Malcolm ve diğerleri foto şantaj dışında bir şeye bulaşmış mıdır? Keyifle soluksuz okunan bir roman.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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