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76th out of 105 books
—
65 voters
The Big Kill (Mike Hammer #5)
The rain clawed at the windows of the bar. Hammer was angry and wanted to be left alone. But when he sees a desperate guy abandon his kid in a bar just to step outside and get blown away, Hammer's mood switches from bad to worse. By the time he reaches the dead body, he knows he will have to pound his way through a world of thugs and wiseguys to find out how a reformed ex-...more
Paperback, 168 pages
Published
December 1st 1951
by Signet
(first published 1951)
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Dames, man. Dames. A father is murdered and Mike Hammer, private eye, finds his baby left in a booth in a bar in the rain-soaked, crime-ridden East Village and wants answers and vengeance for this newly orphaned tyke. Mike Hammer, incidentally, is probably the coolest character name in American literature. The plot is convoluted and littered with odd characters and dames with curves they know how to use and lips that work on a man (invariably, Hammer) like a drug. Mike Hammer gives and receives...more
It’s very easy to argue that Spillane is an intensely conservative writer. Mike Hammer looks at modern life in a big city and feels nothing but rage for the brutality, dishonour and lack of values he sees around him. It’s his duty to clean it up by taking down the scum. But then Spillane is an incredibly misanthropic writer as well. There are rarely decent people whose values have to be upheld, just criminals and those guilty of stupidity and incompetence – which in Hammer’s world seem to be cri...more
Nothing seems to anger Mike Hammer more - commies and men in drag aside - than orphan makers. He really makes it a personal mission in this novel, undercovering a decades old blackmail ring that has ties to the underworld.
One of my favorite sequences from a Spillane novel comes from this one. Hammer is "taken for a ride" out into the boonies, where a couple of hoods work him over for information. Hammer doesn't answer a single question, laughs, spits blood in their faces. One of the thugs loses...more
One of my favorite sequences from a Spillane novel comes from this one. Hammer is "taken for a ride" out into the boonies, where a couple of hoods work him over for information. Hammer doesn't answer a single question, laughs, spits blood in their faces. One of the thugs loses...more
Aug 28, 2008
Daniel
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
montrose-book-guy,
2008
Full of tough-talking private cops and curvy dames who are nothing but trouble, "The Big Kill" is the first Mickey Spillane novel I've read, and I have no idea what its reputation is among the Mike Hammer books. Whatever its reputation, it's not a bad read, especially for fans of vintage, hard-boiled detective stories.
The constant moralizing from Hammer himself in "The Big Kill," however, gets old after a while. The scenes of women throwing themselves at Mike -- and always missing -- become quit...more
The constant moralizing from Hammer himself in "The Big Kill," however, gets old after a while. The scenes of women throwing themselves at Mike -- and always missing -- become quit...more
I thought this book was really good: it gave Mike Hammer actual feelings about something other than rage and disgust about the world. Doing a good thing, he learns, sometimes is in your best interest; other than that, he wouldn't bother unless it could be used to his advantage. As "hard boiled" as they come, and VERY 'atmospheric'...you feel like you could see the color of the woman's lipstick, say, or the scent of the aftershave or cigarettes....good read.
A crackerjack tale by one of the masters of noir, Mickey Spillane. The reader gets to follow detective Mike Hammer in a linear trip as he uncovers clues and works to the solution. The writing is crisp and direct. The plotting well thought out, The characters are pretty typical for the genre and dressed accordingly. Great book!
Thoroughly enjoyable. It's been a long time since I read Spillane. One of a dozen or so I read on a Mediterranean cruise.
The rain clawed at the windows of the bar. Hammer was angry and wanted to be left alone. But when he sees a desperate guy abandon his kid in a bar just to step outside and get blown away, Hammer's mood switches from bad to worse. By the time he reaches the dead body, he knows he will have to pound his way through a world of thugs and wiseguys to find out how a reformed ex-con got desperate enough to die like that. What Hammer doesn't know is how a beautiful woman will figure in--and how many bul...more
Classic Mike Hammer story, recommended.
Read Portuguese translation.
Old School pulp private eye, Spillane's biggest character, Mike Hammer, does just that, hammers another case into little fragments. Straightforward, coarse, easy to read, and throwaway 50's dick fiction.
May 10, 2013
Sophie
marked it as to-read
May 06, 2013
mabesie
marked it as to-read
May 05, 2013
Harl
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Apr 28, 2013
Kristin
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Apr 26, 2013
Nate
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Mar 29, 2013
Bosa Mora
marked it as to-read
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Mickey 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 peo...more
More about Mickey Spillane...
His writing style was characterized by short words, lightning transitions, gruff sex and violent endings. It was once tallied that he offed 58 peo...more
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“I don't like people. I don't like any kind of people. When you get them together in a big lump they all get nasty and dirty and full of trouble. So I don't like people including you. That's what a misanthropist is.”
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