I, the Jury (Mike Hammer #1) (1947)
by Mickey Spillane A hard-boiled private investigator vows to avenge the murder of a friend, a decorated war veteran, relentlessly pursuing the killer with the goal of ending the perpetrator in the same painful manner that his friend died. This is one of those books that may be more important historically than it is impressive literarily. Mike Hammer acts as investigator, judge, jury, and executioner, and author Mickey Spillane Spillane offers no suggestion that Hammer regrets bypassing the legal system. Mickey Spillane The book is hard-hitting, pulpy, direct, and highly readable, with short chapters, a rapid investigation, little introspection, and few digressions. It lacks the psychological complexity and literary style of Hammett or Chandler, but it is brisk, streamlined, and compelling. It is so hard-boiled that it sometimes feels like a parody of the genre rather than a seminal work in it. Still, it is interesting to think about Hammer’s violence...
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