No greater honor could have been paid to me by my friend, with the possible exception of the day he consented to be my son Nathan’s godfather.
Most of Dead Street is Mickey’s — eight of eleven chapters are his work, with minor additions and continuity corrections by me based upon his notes. Mickey famously said he didn’t rewrite, but this was not entirely accurate: he did modest line edits and rather major inserts, adding material where later plot developments required earlier clarification.
Often Mickey wrote the ending first, or at least a rough version of it; but that was not the case with Dead Street. He did, however, leave extensive notes ranging from plot concerns to characterization, and I was able to figure out where he was heading and what he was intending. The last few chapters I fashioned from those notes, and from conversations about Dead Street that Mickey and I had over the last several years.
I wish to thank Mickey’s wife Jane for her support and confidence, and for her willingness to dig and search for every scrap of Dead Street notes available (and these were extensive). I’d also like to thank my producing partner, Ken Levin; Mickey’s typist, Vickie Fredericks; Jane’s attorney David Gundling; and agent Dominick Abel. And, of course, thank you to Barbara Collins, my wife and frequent collaborator, who helped Jane and me conduct the “treasure hunt” among Mickey’s papers.
Charles Ardai of Hard Case Crime had been in touch with Mickey during the last year or so of the writer’s life, and Mickey was greatly impressed with what the Hard Case line was accomplishing. I know he would be pleased to have Dead Street published here in the company of such writers he admired as Ed McBain, Lawrence Block and Donald E. Westlake.
Finally, of course, I must thank Mickey for his friendship, his influence and his faith in me. And for ensuring that a certain part of me remains at all times Mickey Spillane’s biggest thirteen-year-old fan.
Max Allan Collins
October 2006
Muscatine, Iowa
About the Author
MICKEY SPILLANE, creator of private eye Mike Hammer, was the bestselling American mystery writer of the 20th century, and likely the most influential. He was also the most widely translated fiction author of the 20th century, although he insisted he was not an “author,” but a writer.
A bartender’s son, Mickey Spillane was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 9, 1918. An only child who swam and played football as a youth, Spillane got a taste for storytelling by scaring other kids around the campfire. After a truncated college career, Spillane — already selling stories to pulps and slicks under pseudonyms — became a writer in the burgeoning comic-book field (Captain America, Submariner), a career cut short by World War II. Spillane — who had learned to fly at air strips as a boy — became an instructor of fighter pilots.
After the war, Spillane converted an unsold comic book project — Mike Danger, Private Eye — into a hard-hitting, sexy novel. The $1,000 advance was just what the writer needed to buy materials for a house he wanted to build for himself and his young wife on a patch of land in Newburgh, New York.
The 1948 Signet reprint of his 1947 E.P. Dutton hardcover novel, I, the Jury, sold in the millions, as did the six tough mysteries that soon followed; all but one featured hard-as-nails P.I. Mike Hammer. The Hammer thriller Kiss Me, Deadly (1952) was the first private eye novel to make the New York Times bestseller list.
Much of Mike Hammer’s readership consisted of Spillane’s fellow World War II veterans, and the writer — in a vivid, even surrealistic first-person style — escalated the sex and violence already intrinsic to the genre, in an effort to give his battle-scarred audience hard-hitting, no-nonsense entertainment. For this blue-collar approach, Spillane was attacked by critics and adored by readers. His influence on the mass-market paperback was immediate and long lasting, his success imitated by countless authors and publishers. Gold Medal Books, pioneering publisher of paperback originals, was specifically designed to tap into the Spillane market.
Spillane’s career was sporadic; his conversion in 1952 to the conservative religious sect, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, is often cited as the reason he backed away, for a time, from writing the violent, sexy Hammer novels. Another factor may be the enormous criticism heaped upon Hammer and his creator. Spillane claimed only to write when he needed the money, and in periods of little or no publishing, Spillane occupied himself with other pursuits — flying, traveling with the circus, appearing in motion pictures, and for nearly twenty years spoofing himself and Hammer in a lucrative series of Miller Lite beer commercials.
The controversial Hammer has been the subject of a radio show, a comic strip, and two television series, starring Darren McGavin (in the late ’50s) and Stacy Keach (in the mid-’80s with a 1997 revival, both produced by Spillane’s friend and partner, Jay Bernstein). Numerous gritty movies have been made from Spillane novels, notably director Robert Aldrich’s seminal film noir, Kiss Me Deadly (1955), and The Girl Hunters (1963), starring Spillane himself as his famous hero.
The sometime actor also appeared in two independent films (Mommy, 1995, and Mommy’s Day, 1997) written and directed by his mystery writer friend, Max Allan Collins.
Mickey Spillane died in July 2006, joining the ranks of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Agatha Christie, arguably the only other mystery writers of the 20th century with comparable name recognition.
Don’t Let the Mystery End Here. Try These Other Great Books From
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Hard Case Crime brings you gripping, award-winning crime fiction by best-selling authors and the hottest new writers in the field. Find out what you’ve been missing:
The CONFESSION
by DOMENIC STANSBERRY
WINNER OF THE EDGAR® AWARD!
She was young, beautiful... and dead!
Jake Danser has it all: a beautiful wife, a house in the California hills, and a high-profile job as a forensic psychologist. But he’s also got a mistress. And when she’s found strangled to death with his necktie, the police show up at his door. Now it’s up to Jake to prove he didn’t do it. But how can he, when all the evidence says he did?
As Jake’s life crumbles around him, he races to find proof of his innocence. And with every step, the noose is tightening...
PRAISE FOR THE BOOKS OF DOMENIC STANSBERRY:
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—San Francisco Chronicle
“A murky, moody slice of noir.”
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“A compelling and incredibly dark modern noir shocker.”
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More breathtaking suspense from MAX ALLAN COLLINS
TWO for the MONEY
by MAX ALLAN COLLINS
WOULD NOLAN BURY THE HATCHET WITH THE MOB... OR WOULD THEY BURY HIM FIRST?
They don’t come any tougher than Nolan — but even a hardened professional thief can’t fight off the whole Chicago mafia. So after 16 years on the run, Nolan’s ready to let an old friend broker a truce. The terms: Pull off one last heist and hand over the proceeds.
But when things go wrong, Nolan finds himself facing the deadliest double cross of his career. Fortunately, Nolan has a knack for survival — and an unmatched hunger for revenge...
RAVES FOR MAX ALLAN COLLINS:
“Collins is a consummate storyteller.”
—Booklist
“A terrific writer!”
—Mickey Spillane
“A compelling talent.”
—Library Journal
“Collins is in a class by himself.”
—S.J. Rozan
Available now at your favorite bookstore. For more information, visit
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More breathtaking suspense from MAX ALLAN COLLINS
THE LAST QUARRY
by MAX ALLAN COLLINS
QUARRY’S BACK–FOR HIS TOUGHEST JOB EVER
The ruthless professional killer known as Quarry long ago disappeared into a well-earned retirement. But now a media magnate has lured the restless hitman into tackling one last lucrative assignment. The target is an unlikely one: Why, Quarry wonders, would anyone want a beautiful young librarian dead?
And why in hell does he care?
On the 30th anniversary of the enigmatic assassin’s first appearance, bestselling author Max Allan Collins brings him back for a dark and deadly mission where the last quarry may turn out to be Quarry himself.
THE CRITICS LOVE THE LAST QUARRY:
“Violent and volatile and packed with sensuality...
classic pulp fiction.”
—USA Today
“Collins’ witty, hard-boiled prose would make Raymond Chandler proud.”
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Nominated for the Edgar® Award and the Shamus Award!
Little Girl Lost
by RICHARD ALEAS
Miranda Sugarman was supposed to be in the Midwest, working as an eye doctor. So how did she wind up dead on the roof of New York’s seediest strip club?
Ten years earlier, Miranda had been P.I. John Blake’s girlfriend. Now he must uncover her secret life as a strip tease queen. But the deeper he digs, the deadlier the danger... until a shattering face-off in an East Village tenement changes his life forever.
LITTLE GIRL LOST is the stunning debut novel from Edgar Award-winning author RICHARD ALEAS. And the excitement continues in John Blake’s shocking second case, SONGS OF INNOCENCE, also available from Hard Case Crime.
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—Baltimore Sun
“A wonderful novel, brilliantly plotted, beautifully written.”
—Richard S. Prather
“Little Girl Lost is classic pulp.”
—January Magazine
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361
by DONALD E. WESTLAKE
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The men in the tan-and-cream Chrysler destroyed Ray Kelly’s life. Now it’s Ray’s turn.
Home Is the Sailor
by DAY KEENE
PULP LEGEND
Swede Nelson just wanted to meet a nice girl and settle down. So how did he find himself on the run, wanted for murder?
Kiss Her Goodbye
by ALLAN GUTHRIE
CWA DEBUT DAGGER NOMINEE
When his daughter is found dead, underworld enforcer Joe Hope will stop at nothing to find the man responsible.
Available now at your favorite bookstore. For more information, visit
www.HardCaseCrime.com
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Print edition ISBN 978-0-85768-309-0
E-book ISBN 978-0-85768-644-2
Cover design by Cooley Design Lab
Design direction by Max Phillips
www.maxphillips.net
The name “Hard Case Crime” and the Hard Case Crime logo are trademarks of Winterfall LLC. Hard Case Crime books are selected and edited by Charles Ardai.
Visit us on the web at www.HardCaseCrime.com
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