After reading this book, I imagine that the critics/readers at the time must have realized that his first book was no fluke, no one hit wonder, unlike many musical artists of the 80’s. This book starts off with Mike sitting in a dive having a drink with a nice but washed out redhead. A greaseball by the name of Feeney Last walks in and tries to smack the redhead around but quickly learns that no one is tougher or meaner than Mike Hammer. After smacking Feeney around and giving the redhead some money to clean up her act and get a real job, he leaves. The next day he learns of her death, and although it is considered an accident by the NYPD, he knows better and goes about proving it was a murder and finding her killer, much to Pat’s disapproval. He begins by finding Feeney who works as a chauffeur and bodyguard for a wealthy old philanthropist named

Arthur Berin-Grotin (where did he come up with that one?) After a talk with Berin-Grotin, Mike is hired to find the killer of Nancy (the dead woman) and bring him to justice. (It seems interesting that Mike always assumes the killer is a man, even though in several books the killer turns out to be a woman. You didn’t read this, by the way.) As Mike learns more about the people involved, it becomes apparent that certain photographs that were taken by Nancy are important to the killer and that they are probably the key to finding him, as well as a ring that belonged to Nancy but keeps disappearing. During his investigation he runs up against the usual rats and lowlife, is jumped several times, knocked unconscious, and finds himself as usual, right in the middle of everything. Once again, Spillane has written a very good book.