Saturday, September 20, 2008

08.23 One Lonely Night by Mickey Spillane


One Lonely Night (1951) by Mickey Spillane
Paperback, Signet 888


I am taking a stab at a number of books recommended at the blog Vintage Hardboiled Reads. This is a Mike Hammer book that I have had laying around awhile and never read. I'm glad I did.

The book starts with Mike Hammer coming off of a rough court case. The judge lashes out at him for being an inhuman killer and questions what kind of a man he really is. That night as he is walking across a bridge smoking a cigarette a woman comes running out of the mist. And that starts a case that brings Hammer back to life and he accepts the killer inside.

There is some crazy coincidences that get Hammer involved in a sinister Communist ring bent on the destruction of America. Hammer goes undercover:

"Gadlow spoke. The aides spoke. Then the General spoke. He pulled his tux jacket down when he rose and glared at the audience. I had to sit there and listen to it. It was propaganda right off the latest Moscow cable and it turned me inside out. I wanted to feel the butt of an M-1 against my shoulder pointing at those bastards up there on the rostrum and feel the pleasant impact as it spit slugs into their guts"


A really fun but light read.

1 comment:

OlmanFeelyus said...

I read some Hammer when I was a lot younger and I didn't really get his over the top anti-red aggression, but I think I could get into it today. That quote was hilarious