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Mike Hammer #11
Survival Zero
The murder of Lippy Sullivan earned very little news space. Lippy was a loser and a pickpocket whose only claim to fame was his acquaintance with Mike Hammer. But was that reason enough for someone to torture and kill him? By the time Hammer figures out that the wrong man was killed, it's almost too late. Containers of a viral bacteria are already hidden around the country. Hammer tracks down clues, but instead of leading him to the canisters, they lead to another corpse...
222 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
19 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
Mickey Spillane
316 books448 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 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 23, 2023
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer #11. I have had to skip #10, as it is one of the few I have been unable to pick up, but I will double back to it. Published in 1970, there is a detectable change in the series where there is a small amount of swearing introduced, a few more risque comments and heroin use by one of the characters another was a pot-selling hippie. There is no shortage of violence in this one, but that is nothing new to this series!
There is a dual storyline in this novel. Hammer has a friend who is murdered 'for no reason', but it gets minimal police interest and only a few lines of press - there is another bigger story breaking. Hammer decides to snoop around a bit, and it looks like his buddy was a pick-pocket, but he isn't convinced. The bigger story is a government coverup of a viral bacteria attack which killed a man in the subway, and the story is being locked down by the fed and the cops. As one can imagine, the strands of the stories meet towards the end!
In the mix are a couple of hot broads, as well as Velda acting as a streetwalker to get intel; politicians; crims and hoods. There is Pat Chambers to keep Mike in the know, and wrongly insinuate that Mike is knocking people off (Pat always picks which ones wrongly), and a television investigative reporter who is also a friend of Mikes. Plenty of old friends and acquaintances, does Mike Hammer have - many acquaintances are not so friendly too.
Perhaps a little weaker than the earlier books in the series, but this was Spillane's last for nearly 20 years!
3 stars
There is a dual storyline in this novel. Hammer has a friend who is murdered 'for no reason', but it gets minimal police interest and only a few lines of press - there is another bigger story breaking. Hammer decides to snoop around a bit, and it looks like his buddy was a pick-pocket, but he isn't convinced. The bigger story is a government coverup of a viral bacteria attack which killed a man in the subway, and the story is being locked down by the fed and the cops. As one can imagine, the strands of the stories meet towards the end!
In the mix are a couple of hot broads, as well as Velda acting as a streetwalker to get intel; politicians; crims and hoods. There is Pat Chambers to keep Mike in the know, and wrongly insinuate that Mike is knocking people off (Pat always picks which ones wrongly), and a television investigative reporter who is also a friend of Mikes. Plenty of old friends and acquaintances, does Mike Hammer have - many acquaintances are not so friendly too.
Perhaps a little weaker than the earlier books in the series, but this was Spillane's last for nearly 20 years!
3 stars
March 14, 2020
"Doing anything illegal, Mike?" -- Captain Pat Chambers, New York City Police
"Certainly." -- Mike Hammer, private investigator
"That's good. Just do it to the right people." -- Chambers
"I try." -- Hammer
Another year, and now another lackluster paperback featuring the best-selling P.I. character of the 1950's. I've read a bunch of the early ones over the last decade but I've never really warmed to the infamous series. (Maybe I should tackle Kiss Me, Deadly, which has the highest rating on GR of the bunch.) Unfortunately, nothing really changed after finishing Survival . . . Zero!, which is notable for being (temporarily) the final book featuring Hammer for an extended period, as author Spillane took a twenty-year hiatus from penning the gumshoe's violent adventures. This story - involving both a murdered acquaintance and the threat of a chemical-biological disaster - was again pretty listless. There were some humorously hardboiled lines (such as "Nowadays the streetwalkers carried more clap than a thundercloud." on page 102) but they were few and far between, as were the action scenes.
"Certainly." -- Mike Hammer, private investigator
"That's good. Just do it to the right people." -- Chambers
"I try." -- Hammer
Another year, and now another lackluster paperback featuring the best-selling P.I. character of the 1950's. I've read a bunch of the early ones over the last decade but I've never really warmed to the infamous series. (Maybe I should tackle Kiss Me, Deadly, which has the highest rating on GR of the bunch.) Unfortunately, nothing really changed after finishing Survival . . . Zero!, which is notable for being (temporarily) the final book featuring Hammer for an extended period, as author Spillane took a twenty-year hiatus from penning the gumshoe's violent adventures. This story - involving both a murdered acquaintance and the threat of a chemical-biological disaster - was again pretty listless. There were some humorously hardboiled lines (such as "Nowadays the streetwalkers carried more clap than a thundercloud." on page 102) but they were few and far between, as were the action scenes.
October 8, 2021
Originally published in 1970, “Survival Zero” is the eleventh Mike Hammer novel in the series and the fifth book of the 1960’s-era Mike Hammer which began with “The Girl Hunters” in 1962. After this novel, Spillane took another long break in his Hammer series, not publishing another novel in the series until 1989’s “The Killing Man.”
Like every single one of the Mike Hammer novels he wrote, “Survival Zero” is filled with top-notch writing, breathtaking descriptions, and a solid plot. The Mike Hammer series, which began in 1947 features the world’s most hardboiled detective, the tough, take-no-prisoners guy who doesn’t want justice to take a backseat to political niceness or legal technicalities. At one point in the book, he advises folks in the bad neighborhood to stay under the lights, “and carry a roll of quarters in your fist. The damn liberals haven’t outlawed money as a deadly weapon yet.” In a world where many heroes had become morally compromised and gray rather than black and white, Hammer has always stood for justice and rightness and this novel is no exception to that rule. As far as police go, Hammer explains that they are “in a tough, rough, underpaid racket with their lives on the line every minute of the day. They get slammed by the public, sappy court decisions and crusading politicians, but somehow they get the job done.”
In typical Spillane fashion, this novel starts with a violent description of a scene Hammer comes upon: “They had left him for dead in the middle of a pool of blood in his own bedroom, his belly slit open like gaping barn doors, the hilt of the knife wedged against his sternum. But the only trouble was that he had stayed alive somehow, his life pumping out, managing to knock the telephone off the little table and dial me.” Most authors would take half a book getting to this point.
But, here, Spillane gives it to the reader straight. Within the first six words, you have a corpse (or a near-corpse) and a description of the condition of that near-corpse guaranteed to wake the reader up out of whatever daydream the reader is about to fade into. Quite often, Hammer doesn’t really have a paying client and, in this case, Lippy Sullivan isn’t in any position to offer any fee. Lippy is a two-time loser with nothing to his name or no one who really gives a damn about him. Hammer knew him from way back in school, but he was called and its up to him to mete out justice even when no one else cares.
The descriptions in this book of the people inhabiting Hammer’s world are first-class all the way, taking the reader into a hardboiled, nasty world. The superintendent of the apartment is a “fat-faced guy with the beery breath” squinting up at Hammer. Velda, Hammer’s secretary and fiancé, is “curled up like a sleek cat at the end of the sofa, all lovely long legs that the miniskirt couldn’t begin to hide and a neckline it didn’t try to.” She had “that silky pageboy of autumn hair framing a face that was much too pretty for anybody’s good.”
In the background of this search for Lippy’s killer is another story lurking, one of a Soviet spy ring and biological terror that seems far more modern than the publication date of this book. Although obviously there is a link between the two stories, the focus of the book is the search for Lippy’s killer and where that search takes Hammer. On the way, Hammer encounters hippies, hookers, street beggars with various con games, and a movie star “prettier than any centerfold picture in a girlie magazine” and with a “crazy navel with the eyelashes painted around it like an oversexed Cyclops.”
This book is terrific all the way through from beginning to end. Highly recommended.
Like every single one of the Mike Hammer novels he wrote, “Survival Zero” is filled with top-notch writing, breathtaking descriptions, and a solid plot. The Mike Hammer series, which began in 1947 features the world’s most hardboiled detective, the tough, take-no-prisoners guy who doesn’t want justice to take a backseat to political niceness or legal technicalities. At one point in the book, he advises folks in the bad neighborhood to stay under the lights, “and carry a roll of quarters in your fist. The damn liberals haven’t outlawed money as a deadly weapon yet.” In a world where many heroes had become morally compromised and gray rather than black and white, Hammer has always stood for justice and rightness and this novel is no exception to that rule. As far as police go, Hammer explains that they are “in a tough, rough, underpaid racket with their lives on the line every minute of the day. They get slammed by the public, sappy court decisions and crusading politicians, but somehow they get the job done.”
In typical Spillane fashion, this novel starts with a violent description of a scene Hammer comes upon: “They had left him for dead in the middle of a pool of blood in his own bedroom, his belly slit open like gaping barn doors, the hilt of the knife wedged against his sternum. But the only trouble was that he had stayed alive somehow, his life pumping out, managing to knock the telephone off the little table and dial me.” Most authors would take half a book getting to this point.
But, here, Spillane gives it to the reader straight. Within the first six words, you have a corpse (or a near-corpse) and a description of the condition of that near-corpse guaranteed to wake the reader up out of whatever daydream the reader is about to fade into. Quite often, Hammer doesn’t really have a paying client and, in this case, Lippy Sullivan isn’t in any position to offer any fee. Lippy is a two-time loser with nothing to his name or no one who really gives a damn about him. Hammer knew him from way back in school, but he was called and its up to him to mete out justice even when no one else cares.
The descriptions in this book of the people inhabiting Hammer’s world are first-class all the way, taking the reader into a hardboiled, nasty world. The superintendent of the apartment is a “fat-faced guy with the beery breath” squinting up at Hammer. Velda, Hammer’s secretary and fiancé, is “curled up like a sleek cat at the end of the sofa, all lovely long legs that the miniskirt couldn’t begin to hide and a neckline it didn’t try to.” She had “that silky pageboy of autumn hair framing a face that was much too pretty for anybody’s good.”
In the background of this search for Lippy’s killer is another story lurking, one of a Soviet spy ring and biological terror that seems far more modern than the publication date of this book. Although obviously there is a link between the two stories, the focus of the book is the search for Lippy’s killer and where that search takes Hammer. On the way, Hammer encounters hippies, hookers, street beggars with various con games, and a movie star “prettier than any centerfold picture in a girlie magazine” and with a “crazy navel with the eyelashes painted around it like an oversexed Cyclops.”
This book is terrific all the way through from beginning to end. Highly recommended.
October 10, 2021
This is part of a series. Each book within the series can be read as a stand alone. In this one, Mike's friend reaches out to him right before he is murdered. Meanwhile, New York City is under threat from a terrorist attack.
This is back to back books for me in this series and I did think the previous book was a little stronger than this one. My favorite aspect about Mickey Spillane novels are the descriptive detail by the author. I will reiterate that Spillane might be the best in the business with his descriptive detail. This book displays his mastery of description. He doesn't overdue it but it just jumps out from the pages. This book has two different story lines and the reader knows that they will eventually intersect. I really liked Mike's connection to his friend. This was well developed with the investigation and the characters involved in this plot. The terrorist threat seemed like it was on the periphery and I did not care for the actual development. That being said, it does portray the atmosphere of the time setting. Spillane always transports me back in time which this book does.
This isn't my favorite Mike Hammer book. The two separate stories didn't do it for me. There are points in this book that I loved including the descriptions. I liked it enough that I do want to watch now some Mike Hammer episodes from the television show.
This is back to back books for me in this series and I did think the previous book was a little stronger than this one. My favorite aspect about Mickey Spillane novels are the descriptive detail by the author. I will reiterate that Spillane might be the best in the business with his descriptive detail. This book displays his mastery of description. He doesn't overdue it but it just jumps out from the pages. This book has two different story lines and the reader knows that they will eventually intersect. I really liked Mike's connection to his friend. This was well developed with the investigation and the characters involved in this plot. The terrorist threat seemed like it was on the periphery and I did not care for the actual development. That being said, it does portray the atmosphere of the time setting. Spillane always transports me back in time which this book does.
This isn't my favorite Mike Hammer book. The two separate stories didn't do it for me. There are points in this book that I loved including the descriptions. I liked it enough that I do want to watch now some Mike Hammer episodes from the television show.
May 17, 2019
Better than the disappointing preceding volume, but decidedly sub-par compared to the powerhouse early run. Watching TV is suddenly a Mike Hammer thing (cheap exposition)? Now he has Gadgets (cheap plot-hole cover-up)? Nods to time are made by introducing a hippie character but people are depicted as passing out for several hours after smoking marijuana (points for the attempt at least)? And the plot is....not a Hammer tale - to big, to broad, and to far fetched. The liberated language and ...looser hangs ups on the sexual description were also a plus, but overall still a disappointment.
February 24, 2015
As Mickey Spillane sat down to write this Mike hammer mystery in (I guess) 1969/1970, he undoubtedly had a range of targets to turn his right wing ire on. Out on the streets of New York were dopers, pushers, hippies and the rest of the permissive society (although when it comes to dames, it’s fair to say, Hammer quite likes the permissive society). Our protagonist himself remains a product of the 1940s/1950s, a square jawed guy in a suit – so it’s a lot of culture clash fun watching him snarl at this new world.
But the year 1970 is not just apparent in the supporting cast of ‘Survival Zero’. Clearly at some point in the previous decade the adventures of James Bond, Matt Helm and The Men From Uncle had pierced Spillane’s skull. So we have the standard Mike Hammer tale of a dead body found which everyone ignores, leading to Mike charging through the city trying to solve it – but in the background we hear increasingly about canisters filled with deadly bio-weapons which Soviet agents have left around New York. Of course the two strands are going to entwine together and it’s all a lot of fun along the way, even if it is utterly preposterous.
Sadly though, Mike Hammer gets nowhere near ordering a martini shaken nor stirred.
But the year 1970 is not just apparent in the supporting cast of ‘Survival Zero’. Clearly at some point in the previous decade the adventures of James Bond, Matt Helm and The Men From Uncle had pierced Spillane’s skull. So we have the standard Mike Hammer tale of a dead body found which everyone ignores, leading to Mike charging through the city trying to solve it – but in the background we hear increasingly about canisters filled with deadly bio-weapons which Soviet agents have left around New York. Of course the two strands are going to entwine together and it’s all a lot of fun along the way, even if it is utterly preposterous.
Sadly though, Mike Hammer gets nowhere near ordering a martini shaken nor stirred.
August 13, 2023
Another excellent story of "THE" hardboiled detective.
One funny measure though of the times when it was written-Spillane has 2 guys unconscious for 3-4 hours from smoking weed
One funny measure though of the times when it was written-Spillane has 2 guys unconscious for 3-4 hours from smoking weed
May 14, 2022
»»» A aquisição:
Um livro usado que foi uma boa prenda da minha irmã.
»»» A aventura:
O detetive Mike Hammer recebe uma chamada de um antigo conhecido, Lippy Sullivan, um desgraçado que sobrevive com pequenos delitos inofensivos, que num imenso esforço lhe diz que não estava a enganar um tipo, que não sabia o que estava a acontecer.
Indo ao seu encontro Hammer constata que já só resta o cadáver de Lippy e que tem marcas de tortura.
Hammer promete a si mesmo fazer justiça pelo antigo colega de infância, começando por tentar decifrar as suas enigmáticas últimas palavras.
Lançado na investigação, ele vai de interrogatório em interrogatório, de cadáver em cadáver, até perceber que o pobre coitado nem na morte teve sorte, acabando morto no lugar de outro à conta de um pequeno furto e de uma série de equívocos.
Hammer vai ter que usar toda a sua perspicácia e tenacidade para fazer as ligações que explicam estes equívocos e a morte violenta de Lippy, que começam a vir à luz quando a sua investigação se cruza com membros da alta sociedade e com uma misteriosa morte numa estação de metro que põe todas as forças de segurança, do exército e da proteção civil em alerta – está em contagem decrescente o lançamento de um vírus mortífero que matará milhões e o tempo escasseia para Hammer o impedir e para fazer justiça por Lippy.
»»» Sentimento final:
Uma pequena boa surpresa.
Não estava muito interessada no início, muitos inquéritos e pouco avanço no desvendar do crime, mas a escrita é boa e por isso fui seguindo o nosso detetive, um daqueles à antiga, perseverante, firme, corajoso e com os tiques típicos dos anos 70 (quando este livro foi escrito), nos relacionamentos com as mulheres (tenho que admitir que quase desatava a rir quando os homens neste livro repetidamente se referiam a alguma mulher como “pêssego”) e no sacar da arma quando é preciso.
Quando aparece o cadáver contaminado com o vírus a trama ganha novo fôlego e no final é este foco que faz deste livro uma boa leitura.
Considerando que ler este livro agora, com investidas da Rússia e com o aparecimento e o alastrar global do vírus Covid-19, a coisa ainda ficou mais curiosa, com o que está neste livro quase a roçar uma premonição de 1970 sobre o que se passaria agora no mundo, meio século mais tarde.
Fiquei com algum interesse em encontrar outros livros com o detetive Mike Hammer.
»»» Nota final (Capa e outras considerações):
--- [Capa] – Excelente capa, de todas as capas que vi no Goodreads é a mais indicativa do que nos espera no livro e é sem dúvida uma das melhores.
--- [Coincidências] – //Não ler o que segue se não se quiser estragar um pouco do mistério// Para se perceber quão próximo é da realidade atual o que o autor escreveu como ficção em 1970 segue um parágrafo da parte final do livro: “O outro regime nunca pensou que a colónia de bactérias fosse tão virulenta. Calculava que seria facilmente contida neste hemisfério e morreria no fim de certo espaço e tempo. Fizeram experiências em cobaias involuntárias e calcularam que uma pessoa em cada dez seria imune. Além disso, a vacina que tinham arranjado protegeria aqueles que desejavam proteger.”
Um livro usado que foi uma boa prenda da minha irmã.
»»» A aventura:
O detetive Mike Hammer recebe uma chamada de um antigo conhecido, Lippy Sullivan, um desgraçado que sobrevive com pequenos delitos inofensivos, que num imenso esforço lhe diz que não estava a enganar um tipo, que não sabia o que estava a acontecer.
Indo ao seu encontro Hammer constata que já só resta o cadáver de Lippy e que tem marcas de tortura.
Hammer promete a si mesmo fazer justiça pelo antigo colega de infância, começando por tentar decifrar as suas enigmáticas últimas palavras.
Lançado na investigação, ele vai de interrogatório em interrogatório, de cadáver em cadáver, até perceber que o pobre coitado nem na morte teve sorte, acabando morto no lugar de outro à conta de um pequeno furto e de uma série de equívocos.
Hammer vai ter que usar toda a sua perspicácia e tenacidade para fazer as ligações que explicam estes equívocos e a morte violenta de Lippy, que começam a vir à luz quando a sua investigação se cruza com membros da alta sociedade e com uma misteriosa morte numa estação de metro que põe todas as forças de segurança, do exército e da proteção civil em alerta – está em contagem decrescente o lançamento de um vírus mortífero que matará milhões e o tempo escasseia para Hammer o impedir e para fazer justiça por Lippy.
»»» Sentimento final:
Uma pequena boa surpresa.
Não estava muito interessada no início, muitos inquéritos e pouco avanço no desvendar do crime, mas a escrita é boa e por isso fui seguindo o nosso detetive, um daqueles à antiga, perseverante, firme, corajoso e com os tiques típicos dos anos 70 (quando este livro foi escrito), nos relacionamentos com as mulheres (tenho que admitir que quase desatava a rir quando os homens neste livro repetidamente se referiam a alguma mulher como “pêssego”) e no sacar da arma quando é preciso.
Quando aparece o cadáver contaminado com o vírus a trama ganha novo fôlego e no final é este foco que faz deste livro uma boa leitura.
Considerando que ler este livro agora, com investidas da Rússia e com o aparecimento e o alastrar global do vírus Covid-19, a coisa ainda ficou mais curiosa, com o que está neste livro quase a roçar uma premonição de 1970 sobre o que se passaria agora no mundo, meio século mais tarde.
Fiquei com algum interesse em encontrar outros livros com o detetive Mike Hammer.
»»» Nota final (Capa e outras considerações):
--- [Capa] – Excelente capa, de todas as capas que vi no Goodreads é a mais indicativa do que nos espera no livro e é sem dúvida uma das melhores.
--- [Coincidências] – //Não ler o que segue se não se quiser estragar um pouco do mistério// Para se perceber quão próximo é da realidade atual o que o autor escreveu como ficção em 1970 segue um parágrafo da parte final do livro: “O outro regime nunca pensou que a colónia de bactérias fosse tão virulenta. Calculava que seria facilmente contida neste hemisfério e morreria no fim de certo espaço e tempo. Fizeram experiências em cobaias involuntárias e calcularam que uma pessoa em cada dez seria imune. Além disso, a vacina que tinham arranjado protegeria aqueles que desejavam proteger.”
February 4, 2014
Spillane could sure spill a fast-moving, well written, intriguing mystery. This one is just terrific. Today's mysteries are so poorly constructed I know who did it and how within the first quarter of the book. There seemed to be solutions to the puzzles in this story, but with so much going on, it was not easy to figure out. Ya kinda can guess who might be behind this and that. It's the whys and reasoning that had me baffled until the end. That makes this an excellent mystery in my book!
A few weeks ago I was deciding which book in the stacks to read next and saw I had two series action books written at the same time - around 1969 - and wondered how much they might be alike and how much of the culture - counter, being the media frenzy - was covered.
The first, a Nick Carter roust-a-bout hardly referred to the time period at all from it's West Coast perspective. Spillane's East Coast perspective was very different. The mess of the '60s is a part of the story and is well spun into the novel. Spillane's Mike Hammer has plenty to say about society intentionally jumping off a cliff. Historical viewpoints that only add to reasons to read this book.
I'd guess many of today's narrow minded people might find this book to be ham fisted and being of a time past. Too bad for their lost of reading and considering other perspectives. There are too many people today who seem to forget our society had good reason for the bulk of it's existence to look down on lazy slobs who hate life and don't want to reason so much they must inoculate themselves than be a part of it.
What's really interesting about people who think Spillane's story is of the past are the movie studios spitting out non-stop explosive, gun blazing blockbuster movies and the big selling, gun blazing, gory video games that some of those same people must be putting money into. Those media monsters are far more ham fisted than this novel is.
Bottom line: I recommend this novel.
A few weeks ago I was deciding which book in the stacks to read next and saw I had two series action books written at the same time - around 1969 - and wondered how much they might be alike and how much of the culture - counter, being the media frenzy - was covered.
The first, a Nick Carter roust-a-bout hardly referred to the time period at all from it's West Coast perspective. Spillane's East Coast perspective was very different. The mess of the '60s is a part of the story and is well spun into the novel. Spillane's Mike Hammer has plenty to say about society intentionally jumping off a cliff. Historical viewpoints that only add to reasons to read this book.
I'd guess many of today's narrow minded people might find this book to be ham fisted and being of a time past. Too bad for their lost of reading and considering other perspectives. There are too many people today who seem to forget our society had good reason for the bulk of it's existence to look down on lazy slobs who hate life and don't want to reason so much they must inoculate themselves than be a part of it.
What's really interesting about people who think Spillane's story is of the past are the movie studios spitting out non-stop explosive, gun blazing blockbuster movies and the big selling, gun blazing, gory video games that some of those same people must be putting money into. Those media monsters are far more ham fisted than this novel is.
Bottom line: I recommend this novel.
February 5, 2017
#11 in the Mike Hammer series. The fifth Hammer novel in phase 2 of author Spillane's writing career, he wouldn't write another Hammer novel until almost twenty years later. The series character was a hard-boiled NYC PI who was a polarizing character, I fell on the love him side.
Mike Hammer tale of a dead body found of someone considered a nonentity, leading to Mike Hammer combing the city trying to solve it – but in the background we hear increasingly about canisters filled with deadly bio-weapons which Soviet agents have left around New York. Of course the two strands are going to entwine together, and Mike Hammer finds himself involved with a very nasty underground network conspiring to destroy the USA.
Mike Hammer tale of a dead body found of someone considered a nonentity, leading to Mike Hammer combing the city trying to solve it – but in the background we hear increasingly about canisters filled with deadly bio-weapons which Soviet agents have left around New York. Of course the two strands are going to entwine together, and Mike Hammer finds himself involved with a very nasty underground network conspiring to destroy the USA.
May 29, 2015
Another foray into the hard-boiled world of Mike Hammer. This Spillane offering is not quite up to par with some of the other Hammer books. Hammer is his usual gun blastin, hard lovin, kick ass kind of guy, but the rest of the characters are watered down. The plot does not age as well as most of Spillane's work but it was very timely for the 1970's. All in all an entertaining read just not up to par with his previous works.
December 28, 2019
Not one of the stronger entries in the series. It starts off well. Hammer is called by an old friend who he is able to talk to briefly before he dies. Hammer then wants revenge for the death of his friend. But, the rest of the story veers away from Hammer like pursuits.
August 28, 2025
Mike'ın arkadaşı olan Lippy ölü bulunur. Yıllardır görüşmediği Lippy onu arayıp yardım istemiştir. Pat'e gider ve onu ölü bulduğunu söyler. Bu arada biyolojik silah saldırısı yapılacaktır ve Pat bütün kuvvetlerini oraya yığmıştır. Mike yardımı olursa ona da bakacağını söyler. Ama Lippy konusunda tektir. Onun bir yankesici olduğunu öğrenir. Çaldığı cüzdanları bulur ve sırayla sahiplerine iade eder. Diana adında bir kız, Ballinger adında bir çete lideri vardır. Ballinger'ı zorlar ama bir şey çıkmaz. Bu arada Renee adlı kız ve patronu William Dorn ile tanışır. Ruslar bu biyolojik savaş konusunda ABD ile işbirliği halindedir. Velda iz kovalarken kaybolur. Renee Mike'a yanaşır ama hava alır. Velda'yı kurtarır ama zaman kısıtlıdır. Dorn ve Renee Lippy'yi cüzdandaki isim ve aşı listesi yüzünden öldürmüştür. Peki Mike nasıl intikam alacaktır? Keyifle okunan bir roman.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2023
Un buon hard boiled con un Mike Hammer ancora bello vispo e reattivo. In questo romanzo, l'investigatore inizia a indagare sulla morte di un suo conoscente e finisce nel centro di un complotto internazionale. Sempre molto curate le atmosfere plumbee della metropoli newyorkese e personaggi per lo più ben disegnati. Qualche momento di stanca verso la metà del volume, ma nel complesso il libro si fa leggere con piacere.
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October 29, 2021The eleventh Mike Hammer novel. Starts with a phone call Mike Hammer receives from a chap with who he was once acquainted and who is about to cash in his chips. There are of course a few twists and turns. Enjoyable if you like this type of thing. Spillane is no Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler but it is effective enough. Beware there are a few nasty scenes in this one.
May 30, 2025
Mike Hammer doesn't work so well chasing (and being chased by) government officials. The main story, attempting to solve a murder of an old friend, was just fine. The B-story involving biological weapons and such just didn't do it for me.
July 16, 2025
One of the better Mickey Spillane’s to date, including a more complex, multi-layered plot. But regardless, there’s always the straight-no-chaser bulldozer that is Mike Hammer. Always a fun ride.
November 11, 2024
This is my first Mickey Spillane and I enjoyed the hard-boiled writing style but the espionage/save the world plot plot was a bit much. Having more than than one dame strip naked and beg Mike Hammer to screw was also a bit much. Mike is a man's man and a lady's man, his flaws seem to be that he's too dominant to men and too irresistible to women and too principled (judge, jury, executioner style). I'll try another Spillane but this one was . . . a bit much.
November 22, 2015
A Mike Hammer novel
January 5, 2021
Stale Miller-lite beer,
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