One Lonely Night

by Mickey Spillane

Book Overview

Another bestselling Mike Hammer mystery, in which Hammer encounters a mob of international thugs on the prowl for military secrets, but before he deals with them he must first placate a spoiled... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451153499
• ISBN13: 9780451153494
• Release Date: August 1951
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Hammer and Spade Covered Our Coasts [46]

Mickey Spillane writes like Dashiell Hammett, his character Mike Hammer is like Hammett's Sam Spade, and the gloom and doom of their P.I.'s cases are similar. But, in some uncommon and difficult-to-explain way, the books of each are decidedly different. First, the issues of "One Lonely Night" involve more than greed - the impetus for murder and mayhem in Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon." This book involves stolen documents containing "information of destruction." Papers of mass destruction. Microfiche. And, this book involves speeches, news alerts and fears about the Commies. The political hero tells the, ". . . nation of the calamity that had befallen it." Americans were warned ". . . with a special bulletin that told of all ports being watched, the roundup of suspected aliens . . . The world was in an uproar when the stuff was safe as hell . . . " Written in 1951, it may seem dated, but recent events are making it retro. The fear mongers in this fictional account mirror those that administer our union today. Each has an agenda, each has a cause for its igniting a match to fear's kindling. But, in order to prevent ruining this novel - I tell you that the underlying reasons for the fear mongers of this book are hopefully different than those reasons of our political leaders. Oh, how I hope it is so. Hammer is cool. He gets in on with women, he smokes Lucky Strikes, he measures his drinking by the bottle - not the glass, and he kills a lot of people. And, each of those people deserve death. Torturous death. Slow, painful, excruciatingly slow and painful death. But, for the most part they are blown away by his 45. Like Hammett and others of this genre, the similes and hyperbole are wonderfully unique and blue collar. Occasionally, metaphors further color the writing which made Spillane rich and famous - probably two attributes he was not concerned to obtain, but felt no inhibition in accepting the former as it would increase his ability to womanize like his Hammer. This book is good fun.

One of the Greatest Detective Novel Ever Written

I know that my title may be an exaggeration, but Mickey Spillane's first and last chapters of this book, contain some of the best American prose, word for word, outside of Hemmingway. The narrative picks you up and carries you along in a stream of muscular, swift, clearing written words. Mike Hammer is having doubts about whether he is a mindless killer who deserves to live or a normal man with a quick temper. By the end of the novel Mike Hammer has the answer. BTW, the "MVD" that Spillane constantly refers to is the Soviet Secret Police, this organization has been called the "CHECKA", "NKVD", and "SMERSH". Or to put it more international terms, its the USSR equivilent of the GESTAPO.

Dark night of the soul.

Mickey Spillane's popularity in the 1950s was meteoric. This novel is a prime example of Spillane at his snarling best. The anti-Communist hysteria of post WWII America is the backdrop of this tale of lonely death and bloody vengeance. "One Lonely Night" is the archetype Mike Hammer story. All the classic elements are present, most particularly Velda, Hammer's delectable secretary. A young woman's dive off a New York bridge draws Hammer into mystery-adventure mayhem. A nest of Commie (the vernacular is everywhere) spies is hard at work on the streets of New York. Unrestrained by official red tape, and at loggerheads with the authorities, Hammer embarks on a typical one-man war against the Russian-based MVD (whatever that is). Spillane's prose is as rough as his fictional alter ego. What the writing lacks in literary style, it gains in attitude and action. Hammer's earthy first person narrative enhances the character. The underside of the big city comes alive. The body count is large. The sex is raw rather than erotic. The climactic scene in the warehouse, on the inevitable rainy night, is compelling. As Velda hangs naked by a rope from the ceiling, the guy with the scythe and the black cowl stalks at Hammer's side and the machine gun belches blue flame and thunder. The day of the guns prevails. Good reading for genre fans and those who enjoy Mickey Spillane's viewpoint. ;-)