The Big Bang (Mike Hammer Series #16) »

MICKEY SPILLANE (1918–2006) sold hundreds of millions of books. He introduced iconic detective Mike Hammer to readers in 1947 with I, the Jury, and was named a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master in 1995.

MAX ALLAN COLLINS is the author of many works, including the best-selling graphic novel Road to Perdition and the Shamus-winning Nathan Heller novels.

On the streets of midtown Manhattan, Mike Hammer saves a kid from mugging, only to find himself targeted by the kingpins of the narcotics trade. In a New York of flashy discotheques, swanky bachelor pads, and the darkest alleys, Hammer deals with idealistic docs and desperate dopers, sexy hippie chicks and heartless hit men, meeting the changing times with his timeless brand of violent vengeance. Originally begun and outlined by Spillane in the mid-sixties and expertly completed by his longtime collaborator Max Allan Collins, The Big Bang is vintage Mike Hammer on acid . . . literally.

Publishers Weekly

Drawing on an unpublished partial Spillane manuscript dating from the '60s, Collins resurrects Spillane's randy, two-fisted New York City PI, Mike Hammer, in a mystery likely to appeal only to Hammer fans. When Hammer intervenes to save a bike messenger from a mugging, two of the assailants wind up dead and a third in critical condition at Bellevue. After following up with the victim, the detective suspects the motive for the attack is more complicated than the police believe. The trail leads him to a recent player in the city's narcotics trade nicknamed the Snowbird. Along the way, Hammer becomes a target, possibly of a local mob boss, and falls into bed with one of the many attractive women he meets. Whatever his share in this stock crime tale, Shamus-winner Collins displays none of the gifts for character, setting, and narrative that distinguish his Nate Heller series (Chicago Confidential, etc.). (May)