I and an American friend were discussing about detective/crime stories and she mentioned that Mickey Spillane was one of the most popular writers of the genre. I then saw that he was popular because of a detective he had invented: Mike Hammer. I'd never heard of that name before. After reading a few reviews, it seemed that Mike Hammer had many fans, so I added this book, which contained 3 stories, to my list.Now I have finished the book. I must say that I enjoyed it very much. It's one of the books that is hard to put down, written in first person's point of view. Mike Hammer is a private investigator in New York. In his office, there are only him and his secretary Velda. He has a good friend in the police department named Pat, and they help each other to solve murder cases. In all 3 books, the cases taken by Mike Hammer are all personal. In I, the Jury, his best friend is murdered in cold blood; in My Gun is Quick, a girl whom he just gave charity to is hit by a car to death and although the police believe it was an accident, he believes it was murder; and in Vengeance is Mine! a soldier friend whom he just met after years was found dead in a hotel room they share together.
There is lot of violence in the book with a touch of humour here and there, and the sexy dames all soon fall in love with him, including Velda, although he is not handsome. "I looked in the mirror again and grimaced. It was a hell of a shame that I wasn't handsome." I imagine he is like some hero in American film noir, wearing trench-coat and fedora. Anyway, those dames, except Velda, become victims, too. The death rate in Mike Hammer's world is high.
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