Beginning in 1947 with I, the Jury, and continuing with his next six novels, Mickey Spillane quickly amassed a readership in the tens of millions, becoming the bestselling novelist in the history of American publishing. Surrounded by controversy for the overt violence and suggestive sexual content of his iconic Mike Hammer private eye novels, Spillane was loathed by critics but beloved by his readers.
There is, however, more to Spillane's life than the books. He also starred as Hammer in a movie, was a circus performer, worked with the FBI in capturing a notorious criminal, and starred in Miller Light beer commercials that were so popular they ran for a quarter of a century.
Max Allan Collins became Spillane's friend and collaborator, continuing the Mike Hammer series for years after the author's death, building upon unfinished manuscripts the writer left behind. Now, with coauthor James Traylor, Collins has produced the first comprehensive and authoritative profile of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master. It is a must-listen for any fan of the author-or of the generations of crime writers that were influenced by his work.
A Mike Hammer Novel
Mike Hammer hits his seventy-fifth anniversary hard, after the disappearance of Velda, in this brand new case between Kiss Me, Deadly and The Girl Hunters, based on an unproduced screenplay from Mickey Spillane’s archives.
Mike Hammer is on the case, this time hunting the murderer of his old friend and bootlegger-turned-legit-businessman Packy Paragon. Already torn up by the disappearance of Velda, his beloved secretary, Mike Hammer carves a brutal path for vengeance. Drinking heavily, his relationships fraying, his behavior self-destructive, Hammer has to track down Paragon’s black book, with the names of every corrupt official in town. With deception everywhere, and a whole host of reasons to want the ledger, Hammer has to pull himself together and solve the case before all hell breaks loose.
Celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary of Mike Hammer, and including five brand new short stories, hear the lost story of Velda’s disappearance after Kiss Me, Deadly. A thrilling ride for fans new and old.
Featuring five short stories—two featuring Mike Hammer—each introduced as to their histories and places in the Hammer-verse.
Return of a femme fatale.
Beautiful, homicidal Julie has one lethal solution for every problem. And now Nolan and his sometime sidekick Jon have gotten on Julie's “problem” list. If a pair of out-of-town hitmen can't do the job, Julie will do it herself.
The hitman hero of the acclaimed series Quarry on Cinemax returns for his final act. By Quarry’s creator, the award-winning author of Road to Perdition!QUARRY'S VIOLENT PAST COMES LOOKING FOR HIM The professional hitman known as Quarry—star of the Cinemax TV miniseries of the same name—has put killing behind him. But after a beautiful writer of true-crime bestsellers drops by to announce he's the subject of her next book, killers descend to give him some of his own deadly medicine, forcing Quarry to journey into his bloody past to find the answers—and settle old scores. Quarry's Blood brings the hitman’s decades-long saga right up to the present day as MWA Grand Master Max Allan Collins explores the startling final act of Quarry’s professional career.
Heist-man Nolan is enjoying his retirement from crime, running his own restaurant, when the president of a bank he robbed two years ago shows up with a blackmail demand. All Nolan has to do is rob the bank again—and play patsy to a sexy girlfriend’s murder scheme.
Fancy Anders goes undercover at an aircraft plant to solve the murder of Rosie the Riveter in the first of three thrilling mysteries by Road to Perdition creator Max Allan Collins.
Fall 1942. When her Hollywood private detective daddy is called back to uniform, Fancy Anders is issued orders of her own-answer the phone, make referrals, and keep the place dusted. But the twenty-four-year-old Barnard grad-whose hobbies include shooting, flying, and jujitsu-isn't having any.
At Amalgamated Aircraft, a young female worker chosen to pose for patriotic photos and posters has met with a suspicious "accidental death." Fancy takes the victim's place on the swing shift, fitting in well with co-workers very much not from high society circles. With the occasional reluctant help of LAPD homicide cop Rick Hinder, Fancy takes a hammer to the head of a saboteur, sniffs out an enemy within, and sets out to prevent an assassination attempt on President Roosevelt, scheduled to tour the plant and greet the women who work long, hard hours for the war effort.
Portraying the times vividly with his usual historical accuracy, Mystery Writers of America grandmaster Max Allan Collins creates a compelling new series protagonist both indelibly of her time, and far ahead of it.
The enhanced audiobook production features ambient sound effects and period music.
The world’s greatest living spy…
…May have just found a group of men he can’t kill.
The world thinks John Sand’s retired. No longer heading into the MI6 offices, he’s an energy company executive. He’s got a nice corner office, lavish dinners to attend, and no bullets flying at his head…yet.
The truth is much deadlier.
Sand’s hunting stolen uranium, and he knows if he doesn’t find it soon, he’ll be hunting something very different…a nuclear bomb.
Deep in South America, the remnants of Nazi Germany hide. Their only goal is to accomplish what their insane leader failed to do: ensure Germany rises victorious out of the next World War.
Now that they’ve got enriched uranium, their psychopathic dreams are merely days away.
In a race against time, Sand must find the uranium and destroy these deranged lunatics once and for all.
Is Sand past his prime?
Or can the world’s greatest spy stop the evilest men to ever live?
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Just when Nolan's looking for a way out of his dead-end job, trouble comes knocking, and he's back in business. Someone harboring an old grudge has just picked off Joey DiPreta, a crooked businessman with ties to the mob, and the guy's family is out to get whoever's responsible. So is Nolan's family-in Chicago-and they offer him big bucks and a piece of a swank hotel if he'll protect their interests.
Only this time Nolan's gotten into more than he bargained for. The hit man turns out to be a Vietnam vet convinced he's launched a holy war against vice and corruption-and the son of one of Nolan's friends. The melodramatic bastard's got hard evidence of graft in high places, and he's set himself up as some kind of avenging angel. His master plan calls for more hits, and there's no telling when he'll stop.
Meanwhile, Nolan's pal Jon is courting disaster in a motel room, and a couple of innocents are kidnapped as a ploy to lure the hit man into the open. Somehow Nolan's got to untangle the whole mess-and see that no one gets hurt. But with both sides out for blood, there's no room for heroes, and he'll have to be damned careful-and lucky-not to get nailed in the crossfire.
AN INTERNATIONAL PULP THRILLER PACKED WITH ACTION-ADVENTURE.
John Sand, the former MI6 agent upon whom a certain fictional spy was based, is keeping a secret from his new bride Stacey – he has been tracking the supposedly dead Jake Lonestarr, her Texas oil tycoon father's traitorous business partner.
When Stacey disappears, is Lonestarr responsible or Las Vegas godfather Anthony Morello – a man with a big grudge – or is it the shadowy figures behind the slaughter at the new international spy agency trying to recruit John Sand?
The search for the beautiful Mrs. Sand – who has her own deadly charms – crosses continents, as Sand navigates a death trap in Berlin, an attack in a neon graveyard, and an earthquake in Mexico, with an army of assassins everywhere he turns...leading to a most dangerous game in the jungles of Curacoa.
“John Sand wows in this exciting spy adventure!”
Making a score and settling one at the same time is a rare opportunity, enough to bring Nolan out of criminal retirement ... but he didn't count on the hillbillies or the skyjacker ...
Nolan is a pro, a veteran of mob vendettas and decades of high-tension heists. All he wants in his advancing middle age is his slice of the American pie-a way to make capitalism pay without having to drag guns into it. But a bullet-scarred life does not come without its bad karma, and Nolan-and his young cohort Jon, whose own dream is to confine the violence to the comics he draws-often find themselves facing old enemies and new temptations.
John Sand may be married, but he’s not dead.
In the early 1960s, John Sand just retired as a British secret agent.
On his honeymoon with his new wife, Stacey Boldt – the heiress to a Texas oil fortune – they are interrupted by an unfriendly blast from the past.
Now an executive with Boldt Oil in Houston, Sand finds himself, and his bride, pulled back into the world of espionage when JFK himself recruits him for a dangerous job in Cuba.
Sand – and Mrs. Sand – will be caught up in everything from a Rat Pack party in Vegas hosted by a mobster to a Caribbean island where a deadly assassin has targeted El Presidente.
Come Spy With Me is the first in The John Sand Series, invoking the best of the original spy thrillers.
The mob couldn't kill him, the cops couldn't catch him, and even time wouldn't slow him down. Playing dirty isn't Nolan's style ... until he's taken to the cleaners.
Nolan was still alive; his wounds healed and his money was safe-all $800,000 of it. It was Nolan's birthday and he was sitting happy.
Until Planner was killed. Planner was an eccentric antique dealer; Planner had the $800,000 in his safe. But now he was dead and the money was gone.
Caught up in the sizzling crossfire of double-dealing, danger, and death, Nolan was up against the "Family" again. There was only one way out ... Blood Money!
