I, The Jury [Hardcover]

Mickey Spillane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 1996

Here's Mickey Spillane and Mike Hammer in their roughest and readiest--a double-strength shot of sex, violence, and action that is vintage Spillane all the way. It's a tough-guy mystery to please even the most bloodthirsty of fans!

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 218 pages
• Publisher: Otto Penzler; Facsimile edition (July 8, 1996)
• ASIN: B000023VWW
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,954,153 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The toughest hombre in town!, June 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: I, the Jury (Curley Large Print Books) (Hardcover)

This was Spillane's first book - and what a book! Mike Hammer's war buddy is taunted and murdered and Mike vows to bring the killer to justice. He smashes his way to a conclusion you won't soon forget. After you read this one, try the next 6 - All Hammer stories with the exception of "The Long Wait." At one time all of Spillane's first 7 books were listed in the all time top 10 best sellers. There's a reason for that - read them and find out.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Man with the Well-Oiled .45, June 13, 2000

By 

Dan Garcia (San Antonio, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I, The Jury (Hardcover)

If you are looking for hardboiled detective fiction, Mickey Spillane's I, THE JURY is the place to start. Spillane's Mike Hammer is as brutal and uncompromising as they come. There's nothing weak about this book, and the conclusion is so suprising, so shocking, that it will leave you with a powerful, but guilty, sense of vindication.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Verdict: Spillane Wins by Knockout, May 9, 2003

By 

Hauke Rudolph - See all my reviews

This review is from: I, the Jury, with Armand Assante Movie Cover (Mass Market Paperback)

Make no bones about it: this is definitely one of the best detective novels ever written, but not only that. It is also a piece of art, beautifully told, with characters that are hard to forget, and scenes that must have made Norman Rockwell shudder with disgust. It is also, more by accident than purposely it seems, a description of the underbelly of American society after World War II, when U.S. power was at its peak and the American way of life seemed to leave nothing to be desired.
Trying to find out who killed his best friend, Mike Hammer ruthlessly punches, kicks, and shoots himself through the mesh of thugs, pimps, racketeers, and femme fatales, that pave his way before he can finally nail down the murderer. His methods are brutal and totally inconsistent with even the most lenient interpretations of the law. Along the way, he meets a host of the most beautiful and attractive bombshells ever to grace the pages of a novel, not without getting a little closer to at least some of the most beguiling ones of these kittens. Despite his apparent disregard for rules, norms, and morals, deep down Hammer is a very decent and honorable man. Loyalty means everything to him; he treats doormen and elevator attendants with respect; and he even refuses to sleep with his soon-to-be wife before they officially seal their commitment. He even doesn't think anything of having a drink at the bar of a friend, who, incidentially, happens to be a black man.
As far as violence goes, Hammer sure doesn't shy away from it. Neither does he seem to dislike it all that much. However, he never resorts to it without a purpose. It's a means to an end, namely, to make the murderer of his friend pay and to finally bring about justice. The latter would not be served if not for Hammer taking the law in his own hands. "No jury would ever convict you on that, would they? ... We won't have to worry about a smart lawyer cracking our chains of circumstance and making them look foolish to a jury ... No, I am the jury now, and the judge, and I have a promise to keep".
The extent to which Spillane was despised by the 40s literary critics in particular and the then dominant voices of public opinion in general is not hard to imagine. I don't believe he would fare much better today; a statement like "you no longer had the social instinct of a woman - that of being dependent upon a man" would not go too well in today's politically overcorrect society. Well, I don't give a damn - to me Mike Hammer is an honest, straightforward, and down-to-earth character, just as I, The Jury is an unpretentious and sincere effort by its writer to make a buck. This, I guess, he did, and, incidentially, he created a great work of American fiction. You'r a good man, and I believe we all should have a whiskey or two to your health. Here's to you, Mickey.
(I have come across the "Unofficial Mickey Spillane Mike Hammer Site" - it's the best web page on this topic and about the best site on the whole world wide web).