Kill Me If You Can by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins

The year 2022 marks the 75th anniversary of the original publication of the very first Mike Hammer novel, I, the Jury, by Mickey Spillane way back in 1947. While a dozen more would follow, all penned by Spillane himself, he also left behind numerous unfinished manuscripts, summaries, radio scripts, ideas, etc. During his final week of life in 2006, Spillane asked his friend Max Allan Collins to continue the series and make good use of that material. MAC has been doing just that ever since and succeeding in fine style. This book is the thirteenth with both Spillane and Collins listed as authors, effectively doubling the original Spillane-only output and bringing the total to 26 Mike Hammer novels. Also of note, is the infamous 10-year gap in Spillane’s output, from 1952 to 1962. This novel, Kill Me If You Can falls chronologically between Kiss Me, Deadly and The Girl Hunters which bookend that decade-long gap.

The novel opens with Mike Hammer having been working a case for several weeks involving a high-end robbery crew. A month ago, they’d hit the “Civac reception” and gotten away with a lot of jewelry and other valuables. But we soon find out they had taken something much more valuable than jewels, something that boils Hammer’s blood and leads him on a desperate whirlwind of a chase.

Velda is missing.

Velda, Hammer’s secretary and PI partner, and much more than that if the ring he recently gave her is any indication. Has she been kidnapped? Murdered? To gain some more intel, Hammer turns to his old friend and mobster, Packy Paragon who is trying hard to go legit. The man has opened a nightclub which features his famous and beautiful wife Victoria as the star singing attraction. Hammer is not in a good place when this novel begins, his days filled with drinking and his nights failing to sleep. His cop buddy Pat Chambers, the chief of homicide has about had enough of him.

Max Allan Collins, once again does an excellent job of channeling Mickey Spillane and producing an excellent Mike Hammer novel. All the elements that you hope for are here including familiar and new characters, the hard-boiled driving plot, and the richly described atmosphere of the City. Always willing to use his gun to kill killers, Hammer never hesitates to hand out justice, even when temporarily without a permit or even a PI license. Not all plot points are resolved but many readers will already be familiar with what will happen because they are detailed in the follow-on novel, The Girl Hunters, published in 1962.

This is not a tremendously long novel but rather one that is tightly plotted and one that moves along at a nice clip. Happily, five additional short stories are also included in this volume including two Hammer tales. These are all good too and written in a style much like you might find in editions of Manhunt magazine or the like.

I’m not sure how much is left in the Spillane un-published material vault but I’m sure looking forward to anything MAC can coax out, collaborate on, write, polish and let loose on the world.

First on the Moon by Jeff Sutton

Written in 1958, more than a decade before the first actual Moon landing, this novel takes us on an adventure that is part scientific speculation and part Cold War thriller. American Adam Crag is tapped to lead the first manned mission to the moon, racing against the Soviet Union to be the first. The reward, per UN doctrine, is the right to claim the entire lunar surface for the country that can be the first to get there and still be surviving when the final UN vote takes place. But as if the mission itself wasn’t enough risk for these astronauts, intelligence suggests the Soviets plan to destroy the American rocket ship before it can ever launch.

But those Americans can be tricky, and they have prepared for just such a contingency. Their primary rocket ship is merely a decoy, and so when it is, in fact, destroyed, their real ship is able to blast off into space and proceed with the mission. But hold on, the Soviets aren’t done yet. Word comes down that one of the American astronauts is secretly, a saboteur!

This novel was author Jeff Sutton’s first. As a former marine (including WW2 service on Guadalcanal) and now a research engineer for Convair-San Diego, Jeff Sutton was used to journalistic and technical writing. He specialized in high-altitude survival and this background novel served him well in all the myriad technical aspects of this spaceflight novel. Of course, much of the plot was speculative I nature, particularly what it would be like on the surface of the moon. The Cold War plot of pitting the two superpowers against each other in actual space combat and moon-surface gunplay seems a bit hokey looking back from our time, but it provided a pretty good action-adventure alternative to what could have been simply an overcome-the-technical-glitches plot.

I pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this novel. The technical parts were pretty spot-on but sometimes the characters acted in an unconvincing manner. For example, the American staff back on Earth desperately tried to determine which of the astronauts was the likely saboteur via background checks and interviews with their childhood teachers and so forth. We get to see some of that, but most occurs in the background. But when they finally think they have their man, they choose not to tell Commander Crag in case they have it wrong. They tell him they don’t want to poison his opinion of any of his crew. What? Why go to the trouble of figuring it out and then not tell him so he can take precautions. Poor Commander Crag must not only have to deal with fixing the rocket ship for a return flight, severe oxygen deficiency problems, incoming nuclear warheads launched from earth by the Soviets, crew morale problems, gun fights with a Soviet Moon landing crew, and more…he also has to battle the stupid bureaucrats back home. Yeah…probably more realistic now that I think about it.

So as long as you can take off your 21st century hat and insert yourself into 1958, this is a pretty good science fiction yarn. Jeff Sutton would go on to write 22 more novels in science fiction, war, political novels, and juvenile fiction. Most of them involved themes involving the space program.

The Beast of Nightfall Lodge by S.A. Sidor

The follow-up to Fury From the Tomb begins in 1920, almost 35 years after the events of that first book. A mature Rom Hardy and Evangeline Waterson of the Institute for Singular Antiquities are reminiscing about prior adventures when Evangeline decides she wants to hear Rom’s version of one particular adventure having to do with a Beast at Nightfall Lodge back in 1890 in the mountains surrounding Raton New Mexico. The rest of the book describes that adventure in full detail.

This is a solid sequel to the first book, continuing the over-the-top plot and style. The main story involves a wealthy big-game hunter who seeks the ultimate kill. No not a human being…that’s been done to death. Instead, he hunts “the Beast”, a supernatural wendigo-type monster. To aid him in the hunt, he invites a number of guests to join in, including a huge hulking mountain man with a trained grizzly bear, a wild west gunslinger, a snake-oil salesman/inventor, a mute Native American, and a man claiming to be Billy the Kid (although the Kid had been killed by Pat Garrett several years previously -- sure looks like him though...). And of course, all four of Rom Hardy’s team from book one are invited as well. The prize for who can capture the Beast? The true and authentic golden calf idol from when Moses went up Mt Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. Wouldn’t that be a fine addition to the Institute for Singular Antiquities!

What follows is a rollicking adventure mixed with gruesome horror, humor and supernatural injections of lycanthropy, séances, and resurrecting the dead. Once again, there is a lot of plot packed in to this one novel but somehow the author manages to make it a coherent story. It blends the best of Indiana Jones, the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, the weird-west genre, and classic Universal monster movies.

This is modern pulp adventure done right. It’s fun reading all the way through and I certainly hope there are more to come in this series.

Riding the Snake by Stephen J. Cannell

“Riding the snake”, at least in this novel, refers to the efforts of Chinese immigrants to seek better lives by engaging in the lengthy process to illegally enter and live in the United States.  Unfortunately, the process is managed by the notorious criminal Triad organization and as such, is fraught with peril for those who make the risky and desperate attempt to make the ride.  

Wheeler Cassidy, a wealthy playboy type with no ambition but pursuing lower golf scores, looser women, and ever more alcohol, has his life permanently altered when his near perfect do-no-wrong politically connected brother dies from a heart attack. Or was he murdered? Wheeler is joined by Tanisha Williams, a black street-smart LAPD detective from the Asian crimes Task Force in an effort to determine just what is behind the death and it isn’t long before the pair are on the trail of international criminals, the Chinese underworld, and having to fight against expectations and their own people along the way.  For them, “riding the snake” has a different meaning but still fraught with just as much peril.

Stephen Cannell, is of course, well known as one of the most successful Hollywood television script writers and producers over the past fifty years. That could have been a red flag for me because television and novels are two different mediums and success in one certainly doesn’t always translate to success in the other.  But I’ve read Mr. Cannell before and he usually produces fun-to-read novels.  There are similarities to his TV shows; his novels are always well-paced, meaning there is a time for action, a time for romance, and a time for reflection.  It’s a bit formulaic but it’s a formula designed for satisfying entertainment and, once again, it works well here.  The characters were interesting and the plot was a good one. I felt invested in the outcome. I definitely learned more about Chinese life in general, Hong Kong, and about the last couple of decades of Chinese history than I knew before going into this book. In the end, it was another satisfying read from Mr. Cannell.

The Masked Master Mind by George F. Worts

Gilbert Dollow, a young man in his early 20’s is not content with his lot as a lifeguard on the beach of the small town of Maple Hollow. He envies the life of old Constable Dench who seems to command the respect of the townspeople, young and old. But there was only one constable in this small town and so Gilbert must look elsewhere, all the way to Steel City. If he can get there, become a member of their police force, his future would be fulfilled.

One problem: Gilbert isn't the smartest cookie in the tin. Gullible, yes. Likeable even. But just a little short in the smarts department. But luck…now that was something else. Luck tended to shine her light on him all day long. He knew if he wanted to gain a position on the Steel City police force, he would need to earn his way. Thankfully, his astounding luck led him to find and capture a well-known counterfeiter, even though he had thought he was snagging a bigamist whose wanted poster he had recently seen. He was on his way at last.

Annie May Prine has her eye on capturing Gilbert’s heart although he seems immune to her charms. When Gilbert rides the success of his recent capture of the notorious counterfeiter all the way to Steel City, Annie May chases after him, knowing he’d be like a lost puppy in the big city without her. Indeed, Gilbert’s naiveté leads him to all sorts of trouble and being made fun of and the big city police force wants nothing to do with him. That is, until his incredible luck plays out again and he manages to capture a whole ring of criminals. When he accidentally repeats this with yet more bad guys, this time having fallen into some black paint that disguises his features, the Police Commissioner realizes he can use this young man. Thus, the “Man in the Black Mask” AKA the “Masked Master Mind” comes into being.

Despite the ongoing success-by-luck that Gilbert enjoys, he comes to believe he is being taken advantage of, just another form of being made fun of. He decides his dream was not meant to be and instead would prefer to settle down with Annie May back in little Maple Hollow, if only he could remember what she looks like. He searches for her across the big city while she searches for him. Surely, they will find one another, won’t they? These moments give the story an extra layer of sweet desperation and gives readers a greater stake in the outcome.

This pulp novel was first published serially across five issues of Argosy All-Story Weekly magazine in 1926. It’s a delightful story filled with humor and fun pulpy action with an underdog protagonist who you can’t help but root for. The author, George F. Worts, was a favorite of Argosy readers, with an easy-going style and a flair for humorous situations. He also wrote detective fiction under the pen name, Loring Brent, featuring the character, Gillian Hazeltine, among many other pulp series.

A non-traditional masked vigilante story to be sure, but one that I highly recommend.

Too Many Cooks (Nero Wolfe #5) by Rex Stout

The fifth novel in the Nero Wolfe series finds Wolfe and his secretary/chauffer Archie Goodwin on a rare trip away from the brownstone on West 35th Street in New York City. Beyond his detective work, Wolfe is also something of a foodie. Given his girth and exuberance for eating, this is not surprising. Here, his culinary know-how earns him an invitation to a gathering of fifteen of the world’s most famous chefs. And of course, there will be a murder. This time, it’s one of the attendees, an irascible man who is literally stabbed in the back, likely by one of his peers. 

A side note: The story is set in 1938, a time of less-than-palatable racism. It can be an uncomfortable reading experience from today’s perspective, but readers must recognize the times for what they were. I’ve heard more than once that these novels, in general, are racist but I think it’s important to differentiate an accurate depiction of the era from purposeful prejudicial writing. In fact, the author, Rex Stout works to demonstrate how wrong these prejudices truly are, as evidenced by this comment from Nero Wolfe:

    “The ideal human agreement is one in which distinctions of race and color and religion are totally disregarded; anyone helping to preserve those distinctions is postponing that ideal…"

I’ve been wanting to read more of this series ever since I read book number one, Fer-de-Lance. I thought that one was OK but felt it was probably not the best of what the series had to offer. I searched through various top-10 lists and found that this one, Too Many Cooks was listed on every single one. I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has made me a fan of Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin, and of course Rex Stout. The mystery elements were excellent, as expected, and those who enjoy brilliant detectives should like it too. Happily, there is a nice amount of humor sprinkled throughout, as well.

And so, another lengthy series has been added to my ever-growing TBR list… Sigh.

The Green Hornet Chronicles, edited by Joe Gentile and Win Scott Eckert

Contrary to a lot of readers of this book, I was not a Green Hornet fan growing up.  The 60s TV series was before my time and even though I’ve been on a sort of retro kick for the past several years, the character never really entered my orbit.  But a few months ago I listened to a few of the old Green Hornet radio show broadcasts of the late 1930s and really started to get into it.

This book collects a number of stories written by contemporary authors that pay homage to the Green Hornet mythos.  Edited by Joe Gentile and Win Scott Eckert, these stories are based on the TV show version, with most of the tales taking place in that decade.  Authors include such luminaries as James Reasoner, Win Scott Eckert, Will Murray, and Greg Cox as well as a whole host of others that tackle the character from different angles. There are 18 stories packed in this one volume. Also included is an essay by Harlan Ellison himself explaining the start of a Green Hornet story that he abandoned, and the reasons why.  And finally, we get a nice intro by Van Williams, (the TV actor who played him) and an interview with Dean Jeffries, the man who designed the Black Beauty, (Green Hornet’s car) for the show.

I now feel like I know Britt Reid (editor of the Daily Sentinel and Green Hornet), Kato (masked chauffeur/bodyguard/enforcer, who was also Reid's valet), Britt Reid's secretary Lenore "Casey" Case, reporter Mike Axford, and others.  I tend to get sucked into these sorts of characters and like to experience them in all forms of media, so I’ve already purchased the original two serials from the early 1940s and plan to start watching the TV series at some point too.  Oh, and I also will soon be diving into The Green Hornet: Still at Large, (edited by these same two gentlemen) as well. Sigh…just not enough time in the day.