The Big Kill (The Mike Hammer Collection) [Leather Bound]

Mickey Spillane (Author)

Product Details

• Leather Bound
• Publisher: Easton Press; First Edition edition (2005)
• ASIN: B001SGWW10
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Mickey Spillane (1918-2006) sold hundreds of millions of books. He introduced iconic detective Mike Hammer to readers in 1947 with I, THE JURY, and was named a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master in 1995.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a rather poor, confused effort by Spillane.., November 19, 2005

By 

lazza (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Kill (Curley Large Print Books) (Paperback)

'The Big Kill' by Mickey Spillane simply drowns itself in a hopelessly complex plot after starting off so promising (.. a young father seemingly runs off to get himself shot by thugs, leaving his orphaned child into the care of Mike Hammer, private investigator and overall studpuppy). Beyond this Spillane's profuse use of tough guy talk is so over the top it's almost laughable.

In many ways 'The Big Kill' is a poor imitation of what a 1950s crime novel should be. If it wasn't for the popularity of its author the book would not have made it past the first printing, assuming it would have been published at all.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More of the same from Spillane, July 25, 2002

By 

Michael Dea (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Kill (Paperback)

Private Dick Mike Hammer is on the case of the murder of a safe cracker who left behind an orphan. Hammer shows his softer side by adopting the boy and is rewarded for this altruism in the end. In his search for the killer Hammer enlists the aid of a beautiful blonde, a beautiful brunette, kills several people, butts heads with the DA, beats up others and is in turn beaten up.
Hammer is a detective, who is very ruthless, stubborn, always sleeps well after sending someone to the mourgue, and unlike Phillip Marlowe, gets to sleep with all the girls..

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Crime Read, January 17, 2011

By 

Paul Rooney "Paul Rooney" (Opotiki,New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Kill (Paperback)

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.