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Mike Hammer #21
Murder Never Knocks
A failed attempt on his life by a contract killer gets Mike Hammer riled up. But it also lands him an unlikely job: security detail for a Hollywood producer having a party to honor his beautiful fiancée, a rising Broadway star. But it’s no walk in the park, as Hammer finds violence following him and his beautiful P.I. partner Velda into the swankiest of crime scenes.
In the meantime, Hammer is trying to figure out who put the hitman on him. Is there a connection with the death of a newsstand operator who took a bullet meant for him? A shadowy figure looking for the kill of his life?
RUNNING TIME ➼ 6hrs. and 15mins.
©2016 Mickey Spillane, Max Allan Collins (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
In the meantime, Hammer is trying to figure out who put the hitman on him. Is there a connection with the death of a newsstand operator who took a bullet meant for him? A shadowy figure looking for the kill of his life?
RUNNING TIME ➼ 6hrs. and 15mins.
©2016 Mickey Spillane, Max Allan Collins (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
7 pages, Audible Audio
First published March 8, 2016
59 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
Mickey Spillane
316 books447 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 42 reviews
January 12, 2022
When Spillane first published his Mike Hammer novels, they sent a shockwave across the country with their explosive violence, Hammer's frank attitude towards sex, and his relentless no-quit attitude. Big, tough, ugly, Hammer stood tall against killers, mobsters, and Communists.
Spillane put out thirteen of these gems in his lifetime and thus far Collins has combed through Spillane's notes and outlines and bequeathed us another eight classics, which are a tribute to Spillane's work and feature the explosive violence of the original Hammer novels and the long lustful love affair Hammer had with his equally dangerous secretary Velda. At the end of the book, we get a handy chart putting all the original and post-Spillane novels in chronological order.
Murder Never Knocks does have the feel of a sixties-era Hammer novel between the hints of the hippie-dippie era of Greenwich Village with its painters and writers and the last breaths of the once all powerful families.
What really made this novel work for me were the lines about eyes trying to blink death away, the chest a tired beach ball slowly deflating, his face splashed with blood and bits of skull, and splitting a guy's skull "with blood and brains leaking out like he'd done a Humpty Dumpty off a nearby wall."
The Hammer character, described here as a wild-eyed and bloody- faced guy in a tailored business suit, was never known for being sunshine and roses and here he waxes on cynically about it being a pretty stinking world.
But dark clouds are his bread and butter and there's nothing more menacing than Hammer strapping on his shoulder harness with his .45 loaded with high velocity bullet points. Just being tipped by one of those bullets, he explains, could turn a horse around. Hammer may be a target here, but he's still the grim avenger out to mete out a certain brutal kind of Justice.
The hell with being politically correct and going by the technical points, Hammer is loaded for bear like no one else in private eye stories before or since has ever been. In Hammer novels, men are men and women are voluptuous eye candy that Hammer can't get enough of.
In short, this may be a new Hammer novel, but it's filled with all that good stuff that we all loved about the original Hammer novels. For those of us who read all the originals backwards and forwards, it's really great to get new stories in the mold and spirit of the originals. There are some slower stretches in this book as the story gets rolling, but once the story really gets rolling it's hard to put it down. it's filled with lots of action and gunfire and ferocious activity and more than one sexy dame that Hammer cannot keep his hands off. Some of the descriptions in this book are really great.
Spillane put out thirteen of these gems in his lifetime and thus far Collins has combed through Spillane's notes and outlines and bequeathed us another eight classics, which are a tribute to Spillane's work and feature the explosive violence of the original Hammer novels and the long lustful love affair Hammer had with his equally dangerous secretary Velda. At the end of the book, we get a handy chart putting all the original and post-Spillane novels in chronological order.
Murder Never Knocks does have the feel of a sixties-era Hammer novel between the hints of the hippie-dippie era of Greenwich Village with its painters and writers and the last breaths of the once all powerful families.
What really made this novel work for me were the lines about eyes trying to blink death away, the chest a tired beach ball slowly deflating, his face splashed with blood and bits of skull, and splitting a guy's skull "with blood and brains leaking out like he'd done a Humpty Dumpty off a nearby wall."
The Hammer character, described here as a wild-eyed and bloody- faced guy in a tailored business suit, was never known for being sunshine and roses and here he waxes on cynically about it being a pretty stinking world.
But dark clouds are his bread and butter and there's nothing more menacing than Hammer strapping on his shoulder harness with his .45 loaded with high velocity bullet points. Just being tipped by one of those bullets, he explains, could turn a horse around. Hammer may be a target here, but he's still the grim avenger out to mete out a certain brutal kind of Justice.
The hell with being politically correct and going by the technical points, Hammer is loaded for bear like no one else in private eye stories before or since has ever been. In Hammer novels, men are men and women are voluptuous eye candy that Hammer can't get enough of.
In short, this may be a new Hammer novel, but it's filled with all that good stuff that we all loved about the original Hammer novels. For those of us who read all the originals backwards and forwards, it's really great to get new stories in the mold and spirit of the originals. There are some slower stretches in this book as the story gets rolling, but once the story really gets rolling it's hard to put it down. it's filled with lots of action and gunfire and ferocious activity and more than one sexy dame that Hammer cannot keep his hands off. Some of the descriptions in this book are really great.
January 18, 2023
This mystery-thriller gets off to a quick start with two guns firing and a man dead. Fortunately for most readers that dead man isn’t Mike Hammer, the iconic mid-20th century creation of Mickey Spillane. But who wants Hammer dead?
"“Sorry. All my assignments for the year so far have been completed to the clients’ satisfaction and none of it was anything that wasn’t a simple civil case. And there’s nothing shaking at all right now.” “For a guy who had a hitman caller,” Pat said, “you don’t seem very worried.” “Why should I be? I’ve been shot at before.” “You haven’t been dead before. Anyway, not so you’d notice.” His eyes were steady on mine. “A contract for a guy like you would come high. You’ve been keeping a low profile in recent years, granted, but you still have a hell of a rep.”"
But that attempt leads to more: "I’m treating this as a homicide scene. Our big shot assassin will have screwed up somewhere, and we’ll nail him.” I got to my feet. Shortly I would not be wanted here. “I’m not so sure he screwed up anywhere, old buddy,” I told him. “This one is a pro among pros—a bat-shit crazy one, maybe, but a pro.” And as for nailing him, that was Hammer’s job."
Author Max Allan Collins keeps tough-guy Hammer refusing to defer to the police:
"I got up and leaned two hands on his desk. “Buddy, if there’s a contract out on me, me is who they’ll come looking for. Not you.” “Granted, but—” “I told you. Jump in. The water’s fine—maybe a little cold this time of year. Anyway, it promises to be interesting. Do I have to tell you how I feel about this kind of thing?” “No. I know how you think.” Pat looked at me a long moment, then added, “And I know something else.” “Yeah?” “That you can be just as bad as the bad guys yourself sometimes.” “Sometimes somebody has to,” I said softly. “Sometimes you have to be worse.”"
And everyone, including Velma, knows what is coming: "I blew a stream of smoke toward the ceiling, then said, “A lot of guys would pay to have me dead sooner than cigs can make me that way, kiddo. Some I helped send up might be out by now and getting the loot together to pay for the job. A relative of somebody I knocked off could feel it’s his duty to take care of me before he kicked his own pail over. Maybe it’s a longtime grudge deal. Hell, I don’t know and I don’t give much of a damn. I’m no kid any more, and if there’s any survival pattern needed here, I picked up on it a long time ago. This is a pretty stinking goddamn world when you consider our end of the business, but if somebody wants to pay to bump me, then he’d better have one piss-pot of money to put on the line.”"
There is a great deal in the brutal and sexist Hammer that is off-putting even in his own context. Collins doesn’t deviate from the Spillane formula. So, if you aren’t willing to go into “Hammer’s world,” it might be easier to pass on this series.
"“Sorry. All my assignments for the year so far have been completed to the clients’ satisfaction and none of it was anything that wasn’t a simple civil case. And there’s nothing shaking at all right now.” “For a guy who had a hitman caller,” Pat said, “you don’t seem very worried.” “Why should I be? I’ve been shot at before.” “You haven’t been dead before. Anyway, not so you’d notice.” His eyes were steady on mine. “A contract for a guy like you would come high. You’ve been keeping a low profile in recent years, granted, but you still have a hell of a rep.”"
But that attempt leads to more: "I’m treating this as a homicide scene. Our big shot assassin will have screwed up somewhere, and we’ll nail him.” I got to my feet. Shortly I would not be wanted here. “I’m not so sure he screwed up anywhere, old buddy,” I told him. “This one is a pro among pros—a bat-shit crazy one, maybe, but a pro.” And as for nailing him, that was Hammer’s job."
Author Max Allan Collins keeps tough-guy Hammer refusing to defer to the police:
"I got up and leaned two hands on his desk. “Buddy, if there’s a contract out on me, me is who they’ll come looking for. Not you.” “Granted, but—” “I told you. Jump in. The water’s fine—maybe a little cold this time of year. Anyway, it promises to be interesting. Do I have to tell you how I feel about this kind of thing?” “No. I know how you think.” Pat looked at me a long moment, then added, “And I know something else.” “Yeah?” “That you can be just as bad as the bad guys yourself sometimes.” “Sometimes somebody has to,” I said softly. “Sometimes you have to be worse.”"
And everyone, including Velma, knows what is coming: "I blew a stream of smoke toward the ceiling, then said, “A lot of guys would pay to have me dead sooner than cigs can make me that way, kiddo. Some I helped send up might be out by now and getting the loot together to pay for the job. A relative of somebody I knocked off could feel it’s his duty to take care of me before he kicked his own pail over. Maybe it’s a longtime grudge deal. Hell, I don’t know and I don’t give much of a damn. I’m no kid any more, and if there’s any survival pattern needed here, I picked up on it a long time ago. This is a pretty stinking goddamn world when you consider our end of the business, but if somebody wants to pay to bump me, then he’d better have one piss-pot of money to put on the line.”"
There is a great deal in the brutal and sexist Hammer that is off-putting even in his own context. Collins doesn’t deviate from the Spillane formula. So, if you aren’t willing to go into “Hammer’s world,” it might be easier to pass on this series.
June 24, 2017
Listened to this from Hoopla. Pretty good plot. Hammer was Hammer. Only reason I'm giving it 3* is the reader Stacy Keach. Had hard time distinguishing the characters voices. I would recommend you read the book in print. Would be 4*.
June 26, 2022
Surprisingly enjoyable - gripping crime, some great description and moments of levity.
October 3, 2021
I really like the new Hammer books; Max Allan Collins adds a little polish to the formula whilst still maintaining that contemporary Spillane style. Murder Never Knocks has Hammer in his element; multiple attempts on his life, vengeance on a platter, and chase for a killer in a complex labyrinth of murderous sub plots.
September 29, 2019
I haven't been thrilled by Collins finishing any of Spillane's Mike Hammer stories until this one. It was quite good, even for a Mike Hammer. Still as tough as ever & the world is his man cave, but not too much angsty longing for Velda. He only cheats on her once, too. Must be a record. Definitely not fem-lit, but fun.
September 28, 2017
Max Allan Collins never fails to capture perfectly the Mickey Spillane Mike Hammer voice. never once did the characterization throw me out of the story like so many who tried to follow in their favorite authors footsteps. A great addition to the Mike Hammer series. I especially love how Mike Hammer has aged and the starting the show that cracked edges but still strong enough to throw a punch. highly recommended.
April 6, 2020
#21 in the Mike Hammer series (#8 completed by Max Allan Collins after 13 solo entries by Mickey Spillane). This 2016 series entry is set about 1967 and is an atmospheric homage to the hard boiled entries of that period. Partner Velda appears, as does Homicide Captain Pat Chambers and society columnist Hy Gardner. NYC is a character, as well, although unfathomably, 5th Avenue has disappeared leaving Park Avenue across the street from Central Park. Series fans won't be disappointed.
A gun-wielding hit man confronts PI Mike Hammer in his Manhattan office. Fortunately, the gunman makes the typical bad guy mistake of talking long enough to give his quarry a chance. Subsequent assailants are no more successful in their attempts to take out Mike, who's baffled by the motive for the contract on his life. With money a concern, Mike puts that puzzle aside when he accepts a job to safeguard jewels at a bridal shower.
A gun-wielding hit man confronts PI Mike Hammer in his Manhattan office. Fortunately, the gunman makes the typical bad guy mistake of talking long enough to give his quarry a chance. Subsequent assailants are no more successful in their attempts to take out Mike, who's baffled by the motive for the contract on his life. With money a concern, Mike puts that puzzle aside when he accepts a job to safeguard jewels at a bridal shower.
March 17, 2017
According to the co-author, who inherited several Mickey Spillane unfinished manuscripts, and has slowly been finishing them, he turned his attention to this one which he says was the most complete of all, including the author’s final chapter as he had written it. Simply, the novel describes various attempts on Mike Hammer’s life, and the reason for these attempts culminates in a final challenge by a successful assassin.
The plot begins with an unlikely security job for Hammer and Velda, his girlfriend/secretary: Babysitting a bridal shower at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York for a beautiful Broadway star during which one of the attempts on his life occurs, with Velda gunning the intruder down. Then a friend, a newsstand operator, is shot while Mike is standing next to him. Was it another attempt on his life or was there some other reason?
Mickey Spillane novels gained popularity decades ago, and Max Allan Collins was a great friend of his and a collaborator. As with previous novels, whether authored by Spillane or co-authored by him with Collins, Murder Never Knocks is fast-paced, full of violence, with some sex, written as only Spillane [or Spillane and Collins] could. It’s amazing the number of bullets that fly through these novels, Hammer never missing, the bad guys usually off target. Lots of fun, and recommended.
The plot begins with an unlikely security job for Hammer and Velda, his girlfriend/secretary: Babysitting a bridal shower at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York for a beautiful Broadway star during which one of the attempts on his life occurs, with Velda gunning the intruder down. Then a friend, a newsstand operator, is shot while Mike is standing next to him. Was it another attempt on his life or was there some other reason?
Mickey Spillane novels gained popularity decades ago, and Max Allan Collins was a great friend of his and a collaborator. As with previous novels, whether authored by Spillane or co-authored by him with Collins, Murder Never Knocks is fast-paced, full of violence, with some sex, written as only Spillane [or Spillane and Collins] could. It’s amazing the number of bullets that fly through these novels, Hammer never missing, the bad guys usually off target. Lots of fun, and recommended.
January 3, 2022
This was one of the last books Iowa author Ed Gorman read and reviewed, and being a fan of his, I had to read it.
Right from the get-go, the book is packed with action as Mike and Velda are almost annihilated by an amateur assassin.
The book keeps us on our toes because it keeps Mike and Velda on theirs.
Now, keep in mind, this isn't the best of the Spillane / Collins combos, but it is definitely worth reading .
Right from the get-go, the book is packed with action as Mike and Velda are almost annihilated by an amateur assassin.
The book keeps us on our toes because it keeps Mike and Velda on theirs.
Now, keep in mind, this isn't the best of the Spillane / Collins combos, but it is definitely worth reading .
September 11, 2016
Max Allan Collins collaborates with Mickey Spillane's notes and unfinished manuscript to come up with a superb new Mike Hammer mystery.
The dialog and actions may, at times, seem out-dated. But they are true to the character and the stories.
And the result is and outstanding continuation of the Mike Hammer series.
The dialog and actions may, at times, seem out-dated. But they are true to the character and the stories.
And the result is and outstanding continuation of the Mike Hammer series.
February 16, 2018
Someone has a contract out on Mike Hammer, the question is who and why? That's the basic story line of this book and some of it plays out as expected. However, there are a couple of twists so not everything turned out as I expected.
Another Spillane book completed by Max Allen Collins and I enjoyed this one more than some of the others. In Collins's notes at the end he points out that Spillane often wrote the ending of his books before completing the rest of the story. This is one of those and the ending is pure Spillane, a twist on the last page.
As with several of the previous books, I listened to the audio book narrated by Stacy Keach. He doesn't do much in the way of voices, but does an excellent job of bringing out the noir tone of the book.
Another Spillane book completed by Max Allen Collins and I enjoyed this one more than some of the others. In Collins's notes at the end he points out that Spillane often wrote the ending of his books before completing the rest of the story. This is one of those and the ending is pure Spillane, a twist on the last page.
As with several of the previous books, I listened to the audio book narrated by Stacy Keach. He doesn't do much in the way of voices, but does an excellent job of bringing out the noir tone of the book.
April 21, 2017
Another good Mike Hammer mystery by Spillane and Collins.
Somebody is trying to kill Mike Hammer, even though he really isn't doing anything. Innocent bystanders are killed. Mike tries to figure out what is going on, but with no motive, it's very difficult.
Pretty good, but not quite up to the best in the series.
Somebody is trying to kill Mike Hammer, even though he really isn't doing anything. Innocent bystanders are killed. Mike tries to figure out what is going on, but with no motive, it's very difficult.
Pretty good, but not quite up to the best in the series.
March 13, 2025
One of the later Mike Hammer stories that was finished by Max Allen Collins after Mickey's passing. Contains PI action, shoot-outs, and steamy hot dames to satisfy Mike Hammer fans. You won't be disappointed.
June 4, 2023
I did read all twelve of the original Mike Hammer novels, but have never dipped into these later ones. Even though I enjoy Max Allan Collins’s fiction too.
It feels a lot more modern than an original Hammer, even the later ones. And Hammer is maybe more of a softie here (his respect for women has certainly increased), but it’s still some good tough guy fun.
The plot owes a debt to THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.
It feels a lot more modern than an original Hammer, even the later ones. And Hammer is maybe more of a softie here (his respect for women has certainly increased), but it’s still some good tough guy fun.
The plot owes a debt to THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.
April 26, 2024
My first foray into the “hard boiled detective’’ genre, and I loved it! This is one of a series of books featuring the detective Mike Hammer. I knew of Mike Hammer through a vague remembrance of the ‘80s TV series and a sleazy looking Stacy Keach as Hammer, which was enough to keep me away. But I saw this book at a library book sale and decided to try something new.
Turns out the book is a fun trip into ‘40s style crime drama (though it technically takes place in the ‘60s) with a quick-witted bulldog of a detective and his lovely secretary/partner/girlfriend, the voluptuous Velda. I loved the snappy dialogue and the author absolutely nailed the era. The plot hinged around a contract killer who’s out to get Mike, while he provides security detail at a party and investigates an attempt on the life of his friend. It all came together nicely in the end.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see Velda as more than just the girl on the side – she even saves Mike at one point. I’m not sure if Velda’s less “arm candy” role is because this book was written by Collins from a partial manuscript and notes left by Spillane (therefore Collins could modernize it a little)... I guess I’ll have to read a purely Spillane one to find out!
Turns out the book is a fun trip into ‘40s style crime drama (though it technically takes place in the ‘60s) with a quick-witted bulldog of a detective and his lovely secretary/partner/girlfriend, the voluptuous Velda. I loved the snappy dialogue and the author absolutely nailed the era. The plot hinged around a contract killer who’s out to get Mike, while he provides security detail at a party and investigates an attempt on the life of his friend. It all came together nicely in the end.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see Velda as more than just the girl on the side – she even saves Mike at one point. I’m not sure if Velda’s less “arm candy” role is because this book was written by Collins from a partial manuscript and notes left by Spillane (therefore Collins could modernize it a little)... I guess I’ll have to read a purely Spillane one to find out!
March 12, 2017
When an unknown assassin targets his greatest quarry—Mike Hammer--, the city of Manhattan becomes a deadly battleground. The list of people who want Hammer dead is a mile long, and with each step the killer comes closer to taking out those closest to the private eye. Meanwhile, Hammer, along with Velda, takes a job acting as security for the wedding celebration of a B-Movie producer, with disastrous results. Was it a legitimate gig, or an attempt to draw Hammer out into the open for easy pickings? Who is the shooter, and why is he out to get Hammer in the first place? Is there money involved, or something else…?
As with KING OF THE WEEDS, this novel pits Mike Hammer mainly against a single adversary who could be an even match for him in some way, shape or form. But where the antagonist in WEEDS met Hammer’s deductive reasoning and skill and drew the detective into a kind of chess match, the killer in MURDER NEVER KNOCKS seems able to match Hammer’s capacity for sheer brutality. It’s a game of cat-and-mouse, and along the way, Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins take us on all sorts of twists and turns leading to an inevitable showdown that doesn’t turn out as expected, but retains that trademark Hammer feel, a credit to the authors.
Two other things about the novel leaped out while reading. Collins set the storyline in the late 1960s, and effectively, referencing pop culture ranging from Marvel Comics characters like Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four (which were brand new at the time) to American Bandstand. Both Hammer and Pat Chambers are starting to show their age, commenting on the hippie youth and society with a mixture of concern and pity. Secondly, Collins also includes, at last, a chronology for the entire Mike Hammer saga, showing where each case since I, THE JURY fits in. The majority of the novels and short stories are episodic, while others are tied together by certain long-running plot points, and it’s gratifying for the long-time reader to see how everything is ordered not just in terms of publication date, but in terms of series continuity.
MURDER NEVER KNOCKS is an edge-of-your-seat, one-on-one romp with a surprising climax in the Mike Hammer tradition, another find among Mickey Spillane’s unpublished work, finished by his surviving partner. Keep digging, Mr. Collins!
As with KING OF THE WEEDS, this novel pits Mike Hammer mainly against a single adversary who could be an even match for him in some way, shape or form. But where the antagonist in WEEDS met Hammer’s deductive reasoning and skill and drew the detective into a kind of chess match, the killer in MURDER NEVER KNOCKS seems able to match Hammer’s capacity for sheer brutality. It’s a game of cat-and-mouse, and along the way, Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins take us on all sorts of twists and turns leading to an inevitable showdown that doesn’t turn out as expected, but retains that trademark Hammer feel, a credit to the authors.
Two other things about the novel leaped out while reading. Collins set the storyline in the late 1960s, and effectively, referencing pop culture ranging from Marvel Comics characters like Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four (which were brand new at the time) to American Bandstand. Both Hammer and Pat Chambers are starting to show their age, commenting on the hippie youth and society with a mixture of concern and pity. Secondly, Collins also includes, at last, a chronology for the entire Mike Hammer saga, showing where each case since I, THE JURY fits in. The majority of the novels and short stories are episodic, while others are tied together by certain long-running plot points, and it’s gratifying for the long-time reader to see how everything is ordered not just in terms of publication date, but in terms of series continuity.
MURDER NEVER KNOCKS is an edge-of-your-seat, one-on-one romp with a surprising climax in the Mike Hammer tradition, another find among Mickey Spillane’s unpublished work, finished by his surviving partner. Keep digging, Mr. Collins!
February 13, 2024
16. MURDER NEVER KNOCKS (2016) 2/13 by Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins (Audible, Stacey Keach) … MAC was bequeathed the Mike Hammer PI series, and the pulp star continues the legend of the hard-drinking, heavy-hitting, womanizing, shoot first gunshot. This story is sexy and violent and has lots of exciting twists and turns…but our mystery killer just calls Hammer one day and challenges the PI to a duel. It’s like the movie, Seven, when Spacey shows up out of nowhere and hollers “Hey! I’m the villain!” That and Hammer’s shite treatment of Velda, his fiancee and business partner, left a sour taste in my mouth. GRADE: B
February 5, 2023
Wicked opening leads into a solid story with a predictable and satisfying ending. Mike Hammer fans will be delighted. Nothing here you blow you away here but lots of surprising twists. The biggest of which is that everyone but Mike gets to do most of the killing! Don’t worry Mike gets in the action too. My first physical Mike Hammer book as opposed to Audio. I love reading books way more than audio books but I have to admit I really missed Stacey Keech’s voice. I still heard it in my head sometimes but it wasn’t the same.
September 16, 2018
Another damn near perfect Hammer novel. He is getting up there in age, and a few times in the book he felt like an aged relic set in the wrong time, but the story was solid, all the characters are strong, and the story flows well up to the very end.
If you enjoy Hammer novels you will surely enjoy Max Allan Collins continuation of the series..
If you enjoy Hammer novels you will surely enjoy Max Allan Collins continuation of the series..
April 2, 2020
It does what it says on the tin!
What's a different world that 1950s was. The sexism is almost brutal the violence almost acceptable! Why if one character is going to kill another why not get on with it instead of having a long conversation first?
What's a different world that 1950s was. The sexism is almost brutal the violence almost acceptable! Why if one character is going to kill another why not get on with it instead of having a long conversation first?
September 16, 2020
Just couldn’t get into this one...
Though I thought the narration by Stacy Keach was spot-on, the story itself never held my interested. I jumped two-plus hours just to find out the ending. Perhaps it was just me; I just didn’t care.
Though I thought the narration by Stacy Keach was spot-on, the story itself never held my interested. I jumped two-plus hours just to find out the ending. Perhaps it was just me; I just didn’t care.
July 28, 2022
True to its genre!
I would question some of the period references brought by Max Allan Collins, the co-writer who picked up the unfinished Spillane novel idea. It was hard to place it exactly in time but parts of it felt anachronistic.
I would question some of the period references brought by Max Allan Collins, the co-writer who picked up the unfinished Spillane novel idea. It was hard to place it exactly in time but parts of it felt anachronistic.
December 15, 2017
I don't know which author wrote what; all I know is that this one of the best mystery/detective novels that I've read, with some of the sharpest, most sparkling dialogue ever. Just great!
December 22, 2018
A guilty pleasure. Well structured book but Mike Hammer is still the guy he was in the 50s when all a woman needed to rid her of a bad case of Communism was a good lay.
February 14, 2019
This one took a little while to get going but once it did, you were off to the races. This was Classic Mike Hammer. Max Allan Collins really did a great job with this one.
July 5, 2019
I encountered several mistakes, consistancy-wise, that I thought Max Allan Collins should have caught. Otherwise, it was Mike!
January 31, 2020
This Hammer book, written by MAC, is written in Spillane’s style.
June 13, 2020
Good hard boiled gumshoe
April 25, 2022
Fun book. 60's dames and old school detective vibe. A bit " lecherous " with the young ones but Collins does a good job keeping the Spillane aura of the book.
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