Mike Hammer P I , makes Chandlers 'Phillip Marlowe' look like a cream puff, and thats saying something. He's ruthless and kills or maims anyone in his way when he is on a mission.
Hammer is a completely one dimensional character out to solve the murder of a man he never met but goes after the killers because they left a little boy orphaned.
Along the way in this "noir" he gets all the 'chicks', because that is in the rules for loner private investigators, deals with intrusive policemen and at the end solves the problem leaving a trail of corpses behind him.
Its wonderful stuff, very violent for its time (1951) and very well written.
The author Mickey Spillane was criticised continually regarding his "low brow' novels during his lifetime, but developed a knack with spectacular self depreciating rejoinders to silence the critics.
"My work may be garbage but it's good garbage."
Those big-shot writers could never dig the fact that there are more salted peanuts consumed than caviar... If the public likes you, you're good."
This criticism was and is unfair, he is a great writer and even though his main character is a cartoon, he can set a scene as well as Dashiell Hammett and this makes the scenes genuinely exciting.
Hammer has a completely black and white moral outlook on life and this keeps his life nice and simple.
If you can get hold of any Spillane's do, I believe you can import them or there will be a number about in second hand stores. He's great.
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