King of the Weeds: Mike Hammer, Book 19

The Spillane/Collins novels are smooth as silk, even when they consist of complex or implausible elements. The elements constitute the `case' and it is Mike Hammer's job to sort through them and determine the actual nature of the case and the case's solution. Here the elements are complex indeed:Someone is trying to kill Mike. The man is a pro. This is not some numbskull holding a grudge. This is a guy carrying an assassin's .22 who is lethal with it.Someone is also killing NYPD cops. At times the killer(s) make the hits look like accidents, but the pattern is clear.An old Army bud of Mike and Pat's has sequestered 89B of mob money and Mike knows its location. (Yes, that's $89,000,000,000.) His knowledge is in high demand. A G-man has approached him as well as a mob lawyer. Both are offering a finder's fee.A serial killer in Sing Sing who runs the library and directs the flow of cigarettes there (`the king of the weeds') was convicted, years ago, of killing gay bums on the Bowery; now his decades-long friend/visitor/chess partner has copped to the killings and the Sing Sing occupant will go free. He is in the process of suing the city of NY for beaucoup damages for the false arrest and incarceration. Since the guy replacing him is dying of cancer his story may not be credible.To sort this all out Mike will need his physical skills (waning now that he's in his 60's, but not gone by any means), his wits and, of course, the help of the lovely Velda, who can exude heat as well as pack it.It's hard to rank the Spillane/Collins collaborations since they are all so good. This may well be the best. The fabric of the novel is utterly seamless. Collins has Spillane's voice and the novel, as novel, is beautifully constructed. There are many superb one-liners and a very satisfying resolution of the case. We're in the hands of two pros and they both know their trade.Bottom line: we remain in Max's debt for delivering Mickey's legacy. Highly recommended.

Once again Max Allan Collins and Mickey Spillane have collaborated to bring yet another Hammer novel to life and this time Collins proves me wrong (again!). Thinking KING OF THE WEEDS would never live up to the high standard of Complex 90 (one of my personal favorites) or LADY, GO DIE!, Collins has brought us a searing, edge of your seat mystery that lives up to the iconic I, THE JURY, and VENGENCE IS MINE, Hammer novels. Originally tapped to be the LAST Hammer in the series where Spillane wraps up everything in a neat package and sends Hammer on his way to a happy retirement, it turns out to be the penultimate, or next to last, after the events of 911 has Mickey pause and consider Hammer addressing the terrorist threat with THE GOLIATH BONE. WEEDS is the sequel to BLACK ALLEY and references the novel throughout as Hammer and Velda search for a serial cop-killer while being hounded by the government and the mob over the missing $89 billion from their previous case. A must read for any Hammer fan!

I might have said this about another of the "further adventures" of Mike Hammer, but this is very likely the best yet of the Spillane/Collins combinations. I am not sure (but would certainly like to know) how much of this was Spillane's work, but the transition from one author to another is seamless. This is very much the (slightly) more mellow but still tough Mike Hammer that Mickey had developed in "The Killing Man" and "Black Alley," the latter of which was a personal rumination on ageing and death in the guise of a herd-boiled private eye novel. This is a direct sequel to "Black Alley," with a cast of characters still angling for the big payday discovered at the end of the previous novel. It also makes for a pretty good stand-alone thriller. I have had great respect for (and minor quibbles with) the Max Allen Collins Mike Hammer novels. This novel tops them all (and there is some very tough competition, particularly with The Big Bang and Lady, Go Die, which are also at the top of my list.) I recommend this, even if you are unfamiliar with Mike Hammer - a near impossibility- or have not read Collins's other Hammers.

You can't go wrong with Mickey Spillane, even if this story was completed Max Allen Collins. These two great writers, wrote together for so long, Max never missed a beat with Spillane's sense of mystery and suspense. Before Harlan Coben, and James Paterson, there was nobody like Mickey Spillane.

I have rated this a 4. I have read Mickey Spillane's books for the last 40 years and it is close to how he has written in the past. A lot of the book is hidden in prose that not need to be there. Good plot with his last book as it carried onto this book.Good reading and easy to want to keep reading until the end.

👌

It's difficult to channel another writer and to emulate his/her style. Collins tries in this one but doesn't quite hit the mark. The plot is fine, but the dialogue isn't Hammeresque enough--it lacks verisimilitude. His Nathan Heller series works on every level.

Latest Mickey/Max effort is very enjoyable and is one of the best in the Hammer series, and that includes Spillanes old ones. Good realistic stuff, rather than having Hammer gun down dozens at a time like James Bond or Dirty Harry. Only thing missing is the broad that seduces Mike but turns out to be bad.

A good read

Excellent tale about an ageing Mike Hammer, not only a whodunnit but a whydunnit plus Mikes got the Mob on his tail, has he slowed up TOO much? Action from first page to last!

a new Mike Hammer book, well packed, impossible to tell where Mickey Spillane left off and Max Allan Collins took over. brilliant

Not one of the best but readable