I, the Jury (Mike Hammer Series)

Rating:
Summary: The Original "Dirty Harry"
Review: "I, the Jury" is not really a mystery. It is a "vendetta Eastern" in the same pattern as the Clint Eastwood vendetta Westerns ("A Fistful of Dollars," "A Few Dollars More," "Hang 'em High," etc.) In the opening pages of the book, Mike Hammer stands over the body of his slain comrade and swears terrible vengeance on the killer. Then he embarks upon a series of crimes which should have garnered him several life sentences. When the last house is burgled, the last head broken, and the last killing perpetrated, I was left wondering the same thing I wondered at the conclusion of the Dirty Harry movie "Magnum Force." How's the "hero" gonna explain all this to the police?

Rating:
Summary: a thoroughly enjoyable yet over-the-top mystery yarn...
Review: "I, the Jury" is the first of several Mike Hammer (private investigator) mystery novels, and it happens to be my first Mickey Spillane novel. Based on all the hype I thought it would similar to Raymond Chandler novel, with his Philip Marlowe character. I discovered this to be largely untrue, which isn't entirely a bad thing.

In "I, the Jury" we have a lovable cad of a private investigator looking for the killer of his best friend. But he seeks justice in a very crude way - revenge (ie, he's out for blood). Of course during the way he meets with some sexy "broads" (to use the vernacular of the times) who, of course, fall madly in love with him. So far this doesn't sound far off from a Raymond Chandler novel. However with Mickey Spillane the dialogue is less clever (yet easier to read), the prose is only fair, and the story could have been told better. In "I, the Jury" the rather terrific ending is very quickly brought to the surface is an an abrupt way. So Raymond Chandler seems to be the much better writer, capturing the essence of 1940s Los Angeles and the folks who inhabit skid row. Mickey Spillane's book is set in New York but it could have been Anywhere, USA, and I didn't exactly feel hurdled back in time. But I enjoyed "I, the Jury" overall and I will read others in the Mike Hammer series.

Bottom line: a bit crude but very entertaining piece of private eye nonsense. In its own way it is deserving of its status as as classic.

Rating:
Summary: a thoroughly enjoyable yet over-the-top mystery yarn...
Review: "I, the Jury" is the first of several Mike Hammer (private investigator) mystery novels, and it happens to be my first Mickey Spillane novel. Based on all the hype I thought it would similar to Raymond Chandler novel, with his Philip Marlowe character. I discovered this to be largely untrue, which isn't entirely a bad thing.

In "I, the Jury" we have a lovable cad of a private investigator looking for the killer of his best friend. But he seeks justice in a very crude way - revenge (ie, he's out for blood). Of course during the way he meets with some sexy "broads" (to use the vernacular of the times) who, of course, fall madly in love with him. So far this doesn't sound far off from a Raymond Chandler novel. However with Mickey Spillane the dialogue is less clever (yet easier to read), the prose is only fair, and the story could have been told better. In "I, the Jury" the rather terrific ending is very quickly brought to the surface is an an abrupt way. So Raymond Chandler seems to be the much better writer, capturing the essence of 1940s Los Angeles and the folks who inhabit skid row. Mickey Spillane's book is set in New York but it could have been Anywhere, USA, and I didn't exactly feel hurdled back in time. But I enjoyed "I, the Jury" overall and I will read others in the Mike Hammer series.

Bottom line: a bit crude but very entertaining piece of private eye nonsense. In its own way it is deserving of its status as as classic.

Rating:
Summary: THE START OF IT ALL
Review: "I, The Jury (1947) was the beginning, the beginning of a round of thrillers by then unknown Mickey Spillane. Mike Hammer, one of thrillerdom's ace protagonists was introduced, and the world couldn't read enough of his adventures.

Today Mickey Spillane is 85-years-old, and acclaimed around the globe for inventing the hard-hitting, hard-boiled protagonist who is a compelling mix of sex and sharp shooting. It's hard to believe this many years have gone by for the Brooklyn born Spillane. He's outlasted and out sold many of his contemporaries, and when last heard from was still hard at work.

Perhaps those of us who love to read don't take time to thank the writers who have given us so many hours of pleasure. I certainly fall into that category, so a big hats off to Mickey Spillane and gratitude for the wealth of reading pleasure he's given so many.

Rating:
Summary: I, THE JURY IS MICKEY SPILLANE'S BEST BOOK!!!
Review: I, THE JURY IS MICKEY SPILLANE'S BEST BOOK!!! MIKE HAMMER IS THE WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE!!! VELDA IS THE WORLD'S SEXIEST SECRETARY!!! PAT CHAMBERS IS THE WORLD'S BEST IRISH COP!!! It's all here!!! Everything a man could ever want in a murder mystery! A tough, smart hero, beautiful women, terrific supporting characters, and lots of action leading to a sensational finish in New York City!!!

I, THE JURY IS MICKEY SPILLANE'S BEST BOOK!!!

Rating:
Summary: Verdict: Spillane Wins by Knockout
Review: Make no bones about it: this is definitely one of the best detective novels ever written, but not only that. It is also a piece of art, beautifully told, with characters that are hard to forget, and scenes that must have made Norman Rockwell shudder with disgust. It is also, more by accident than purposely it seems, a description of the underbelly of American society after World War II, when U.S. power was at its peak and the American way of life seemed to leave nothing to be desired.
Trying to find out who killed his best friend, Mike Hammer ruthlessly punches, kicks, and shoots himself through the mesh of thugs, pimps, racketeers, and femme fatales, that pave his way before he can finally nail down the murderer. His methods are brutal and totally inconsistent with even the most lenient interpretations of the law. Along the way, he meets a host of the most beautiful and attractive bombshells ever to grace the pages of a novel, not without getting a little closer to at least some of the most beguiling ones of these kittens. Despite his apparent disregard for rules, norms, and morals, deep down Hammer is a very decent and honorable man. Loyalty means everything to him; he treats doormen and elevator attendants with respect; and he even refuses to sleep with his soon-to-be wife before they officially seal their commitment. He even doesn't think anything of having a drink at the bar of a friend, who, incidentially, happens to be a black man.
As far as violence goes, Hammer sure doesn't shy away from it. Neither does he seem to dislike it all that much. However, he never resorts to it without a purpose. It's a means to an end, namely, to make the murderer of his friend pay and to finally bring about justice. The latter would not be served if not for Hammer taking the law in his own hands. "No jury would ever convict you on that, would they? ... We won't have to worry about a smart lawyer cracking our chains of circumstance and making them look foolish to a jury ... No, I am the jury now, and the judge, and I have a promise to keep".
The extent to which Spillane was despised by the 40s literary critics in particular and the then dominant voices of public opinion in general is not hard to imagine. I don't believe he would fare much better today; a statement like "you no longer had the social instinct of a woman - that of being dependent upon a man" would not go too well in today's politically overcorrect society. Well, I don't give a damn - to me Mike Hammer is an honest, straightforward, and down-to-earth character, just as I, The Jury is an unpretentious and sincere effort by its writer to make a buck. This, I guess, he did, and, incidentially, he created a great work of American fiction. You'r a good man, and I believe we all should have a whiskey or two to your health. Here's to you, Mickey.
(I have come across the "Unofficial Mickey Spillane Mike Hammer Site" - it's the best web page on this topic and about the best site on the whole world wide web).

Rating:
Summary: Really, 5 stars +
Review: Mickey Spillane and Raymond Chandler, on different coasts, saw the same hero. Western movies saw him in Shane, Alan Ladd's role, and in Cris, Yul Brynner's role. But before that there was Mike Hammer, tough, relentless, not (definitely not) PC, loyal and hard as nails.

We don't really know where he comes from. He hasn't been to therapy. He doesn't play soft jazz in his apartment, and have a collection of paintings, crockery, special fry pans and the poems of Robert Frost and Maya Angelou. He drinks a lot. He has a friend on the cops and a sexy, very sexy secretary.

It all starts with him. In his wake are Lehane, Crais, Lescroart, Parker, George, Margolin and the like.

There's also a nice collection of Mike Hammer including "My Gun is Quick" and "Vengeance is Mine," and you can now get several other novels together. Highly recommended. 5+ stars. Larry Scantlebury

Rating:
Summary: The First and The Best
Review: Mike Hammer has never been told so boldly, so brazenly as he was here by the master of the dime novel mystery, Mickey Spillane. This should be standard reading for any man's man as well as standard fair on any pure study of American literature. Mickey Spillane's prose ranks at the highest of its form, bar none, and there are very few novels that narrative points come down to the last sentence of the book.

This is a must for any serious fan of mystery fiction, whether you prefer your private eyes hard-boiled or not, and this should be on any serious men's literature list.

Trust me. "It was easy."

Rating:
Summary: Tough Talking Man of Action
Review: Mike Hammer is the classic hard-bitten private detective. He talks hard, he fights hard and when it comes to love he falls fast and hard. Nothing at all is held back in this highly charged murder case that cuts straight to Hammer's core.

The tough, no-nonsense Hammer is faced with the cruel shooting murder of Jack Williams, a close friend, and takes it hard. In front of Pat Chambers, another good friend who just happens to be the Captain of Homicide, he vows that when he catches the murderer he would gladly shoot him in the gut, just like Williams had been. The case quickly becomes a race between Hammer and Chambers, as Hammer is determined to have his vengeance.

This is hardboiled detective fiction as it should be. There are no qualms when it comes to violence, no regrets over shooting the bad guys, whisky is swallowed easily in one swallow and the dames are kept begging for more. We charge from suspect to suspect watching Hammer extract information under threat of violence, and following through on the threat whenever necessary. Moving at breakneck speed, the bodies pile up while Hammer finds himself falling in love. It makes for terrific reading for lovers of the hardboiled detective genre.

Rating:
Summary: Stacy Keach Is Still In Top Form Here
Review: That's right, bub.

Stacy Keach. The actor who played Mike Hammer in the CBS television series. He's the narrator of this, the first and best of the Mike Hammer tales penned by the master himself, Mickey Spillane.

An awesome listen to one of America's finest novels.