The Killing Man

First edition (publ. E.P. Dutton)

The Killing Man (1989) is Mickey Spillane's twelfth novel featuring private investigator Mike Hammer.

Plot summary

The Killing Man is a typical Mike Hammer murder mystery, only in this story, the tables are turned and bad things are happening to Mike Hammer himself. Mike walks into his office to discover his beloved secretary, Velda, unconscious, the brutal murder of ex-mobster Anthony DiCica at Mike's desk, and a note from the killer signed Penta. Mike is in the middle and taking hits from the DA's office, the FBI, the CIA, and the mob, while being assumed to have been the intended victim when DiCica was murdered. Hammer then leaps into action, finding the perpetrator. This crime is bigger, however, involving not only himself, but an ambitious, lovely District attorney and several federal agencies.

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Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
Novels
  • I, the Jury (1947)
  • My Gun Is Quick (1950)
  • Vengeance Is Mine (1950)
  • One Lonely Night (1951)
  • The Big Kill (1951)
  • Kiss Me, Deadly (1952)
  • The Girl Hunters (1962)
  • The Snake (1964)
  • The Twisted Thing (1966)
  • The Body Lovers (1967)
  • Survival... Zero! (1970)
  • The Killing Man (1989)
  • Black Alley (1996)
  • The Goliath Bone (2008)
  • The Big Bang (2010)
  • Kiss Her Goodbye (2011)
  • Lady, Go Die! (2012)
  • Complex 90 (2013)
  • King of the Weeds (2014)
  • Kill Me, Darling (2015)
  • Murder Never Knocks (2016)
  • The Will To Kill (2017)
  • Killing Town (2018)
  • Murder, My Love (2019)
  • Masquerade for Murder (2020)
  • Kill Me If You Can (2022)
  • Dig Two Graves (2023)
  • Baby, It's Murder (2024)
Films
  • I, the Jury (1953)
  • Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
  • My Gun Is Quick (1957)
  • The Girl Hunters (1963)
  • Margin for Murder (TV, 1981)
  • I, the Jury (1982)
  • Murder Me, Murder You (TV, 1983)
  • More Than Murder (TV, 1984)
  • The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (TV, 1986)
  • Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All (TV, 1989)
  • Come Die with Me (TV, 1994)
  • Mike Hammer: Song Bird (V, 2003)
Television
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