Classic Corner Review: I, The Jury – Mickey Spillane

Mass Market Paperback: 214 Pages
Publisher: Signet (December 1, 1948)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451165926
ISBN-13: 978-0451165923
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Characters:

Mike Hammer – Tough Talking New York Private Eye.
Dr. Charlotte Manning – New York Psychiatrist.

Synopsis:

When his buddy Jack Williams is suspiciously and violently murdered, Mike Hammer vows to stop at nothing until the killer receives Justice.

Review

This was my first experience with Mickey Spillane’s writing, and I found myself drawn in. Mike Hammer can be violent, operate outside the law, but with respect to the police, and can be hard edged, but you also get to see a softer side to him. He’s a man who can also love.

The plot was rather complicated, and if the reader doesn’t pay a lot of attention, could get lost. It seems at time that there are too many involved in the crime and it was too complicated. But the setting pulls you into the dark world in which Mike Hammer operates. The books are much darker and grittier than the simpler plotted books of Christie and Queen. They don’t seem as much a who dun it, in the classic sense, as crime fiction.

For people who like the gritty, film noir type detective, I think you’d love these Mike Hammer Stories. If you are looking for a simple, clean mystery though, this isn’t it. For the type of book it is, which I enjoy alongside the classic mystery, I’d recommend it. There’s a reason Mickey Spillane is considered one of the masters.

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