With an introduction by Max Allan Collins: The first collection of stories starring legendary Mike Hammer, the toughest private investigator in history
It starts with a few near-accidents: A car almost swipes Mike Hammer when he’s crossing the street. A junkie robs the notoriously hardboiled detective at knifepoint. A fight on a subway platform comes close to pushing him in front of a train. While any one of these could be a coincidence, together they make a conspiracy—one that Hammer will have to end in order to survive. And when it comes to finishing something—or someone—nobody does it better than Hammer.
One of the twentieth century’s bestselling American mystery authors, Mickey Spillane changed noir fiction forever when he loosed Mike Hammer on the world. Now these eight short stories, collected and finished by Max Allan Collins, show that Spillane is still capable of redefining the genre.
The stories in A Long Time Dead have received numerous accolades, including an Edgar Award nomination, two International Association of Media and Tie-in Writers “Scribe” Awards, and a Private Eye Writers of America Shamus Award.
About the Author
Mickey Spillane (1918-2006) was an American crime writer. Many of his novels featured the detective Mike Hammer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Spillane sold his first story to a pulp magazine by the time he graduated from high school. He served as a fighter pilot in the army air corps in World War II, and published his first novel,I, the Jury, in 1947. With over two hundred twenty-five million copies of his books sold internationally, Spillane ranks as one of the world's most popular mystery writers.
Max Allan Collins is an award-winning writer of mysteries, comics, thrillers, screenplays, and historical fiction. His graphic novel Road to Perdition was the basis for the 2002 Academy Award-winning film by the same name. Collins co founded the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers and studied at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He collaborated with Mickey Spillane on several projects and is completing a number of the Mike Hammer novels that Spillane left unfinished.
Collins lives in Iowa with his wife, author Barbara Collins.
Industry Reviews
"Collins channels Spillane's thinking and writing, a combination that results in smart plots, smart-alecky asides and conclusions that stun and satisfy. . . . Those with a taste for hard-boiled crime fiction will rejoice in this addictive collection. And for the love of Mike, if you have yet to discover Spillane, A Long Time Dead serves as a rewarding entry point." - Jay Strafford, Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Is there any serious argument that Mike Hammer is the most famous fictional detective creation since the Second World War?" - Donald E. Westlake, author of the Dortmunder Novels
"The toughest guy in all of mystery fiction." - The Washington Post
"Spillane is a master in compelling you to always turn the next page." -The New York Times
