Dead Street

Volume 37 from the superb "Hard Case Crime" imprint is the final crime novel from one of the genre greats, Mickey Spillane. "Dead Street" was one of a handful of novels that Spillane was working on at the time of his death in 2006 and that was subsequently completed and prepared for publication by Max Allan Collins. The story is about hard-bitten NYPD detective Jack "The Shooter" Stang who discovers that his old fiancée, Bettie, who was believed to be dead following a heist that went wrong some 20 years previously, is actually alive and living in Florida. Stang goes to Florida and finds out that Bettie is blind and has lost all memory of what happened to her. He decides to dig into the past and discovers that the proceeds of the heist show more may be buried somewhere on his old beat in what is now a derelict "dead street". He also discovers that the perpetrators may still be looking for their loot and may now be onto Bettie as well. "Dead Street" is a post 9/11 book, with the spectre of weapons of mass destruction hanging heavy, but despite that Spillane keeps everything delightfully pulpy – the women are all "dolls", the bad guys are thoroughly nasty and the hero, Jack "The Shooter" Stang is a hard-punching, straight-shooting hard man with no compulsion about blowing the bad guys away – a bullet to the head, no questions asked, being his favoured style. Although the plot doesn't quite ring true with too many implausibilities piling up, Spillane's hard-boiled, take no prisoners approach shines through. The first person narrative is fast-paced and relentless, with the story moving towards a highly satisfying, although slightly predictable conclusion. Despite the pace, Spillane still manages to build some good character development around both Stang and Bettie and he has you rooting for them long before the final denouement. It is also a tribute to Max Allan Collins that the join where he takes over the story is smooth and virtually indiscernible. Collins also provides an excellent and touching afterword in regard to his relationship with Spillane and his process in regard to finalising the novel. “Dead Street” is another excellent book from Hard Case Crime and a fitting final crime novel from one of the all-time great crime writers. show less

“The street wasn’t dead yet. Not all the way.”

“For a minute there I thought you were going to shoot me.”
“For a minute there,” I said, “I was.”

Police officer Jack Stang lost his fiancé, Bettie, twenty years ago when she was kidnapped and presumed dead. Now retired , he finds out she is alive! But she has no memory and has lost her sight! So, why was she abducted in the first place? And what might be in her lost memories that could stop a nuclear terrorist attack in Manhattan?

Honestly, I kind of lost interest in this story about the second or third time Jack flew from Florida to New York and back. That was how the plot felt to me, bouncing back and forth with no sensible reason to it. I started hoping for my own memory show more loss. By the end, I was kinda hoping that someone would just shoot The Shooter... show less

There's still some spark in Spillane's prose in a story that reads fast if not altogether thrillingly. One can almost picture Stacy Keach in a tv movie made from this book as the just retired cop nicknamed 'Shooter', who seems to have all of NYC in the palm of his hand. I can't recall the last time I read a book where a single character was so welcomed and greeted by everyone he encounters. If they're not an old friend of Shooter's, they sure as hell have heard of him and are more then willing to lend him an ear or give a new piece of info connecting the puzzle at the heart of this novel. Elements as disparate as ice-cream vans, retirement communities, Saudi terrorists, lost atomic materials, and an amnesiac blind woman are all strands show more in this plot that manages to fuse all these elements together by sheer force of will. The story of a retired NYC cop finding crime in his Florida retirement community (populated all by ex-cops) would have been enough of a strong premise, but one does feel Spilliane is stretching once international terrorism become part of the stakes. The story loses some of its grounding and start to feel a little like a pastiche as this NYC cop does what not even the FBI and Homeland Security can accomplish. The device of the blind, amnesiac girl is something out of an old crime pulp and one can't fault Spilliane for milking it. As a device it offers a convenient way of withholding crucial plot points until Bettie "suddenly"remembers. Less convincing is the rich and benevolent veterinarian who not only keeps and protects Bettie for 20 years, but also buys her and Jack neighboring homes in the Florida so they can spend their golden years together. Where can I find a vet like that? show less

Dead Street is a 2007 novel published by Hard Case Crime. After
Mickey Spillane died, his pal Max Allan Collins was tasked with
completing Spillane's unfinished manuscripts. In the afterword, Collins
explains that Spillane wrote the first eight of eleven chapters and left
extensive notes for the final chapters.

It is not a Mike Hammer novel. Jack Stang is a retired police captain
who sees his old street dying. Twenty years ago, his fiancé was
abducted and killed and he never remarried. Turns out she's still alive,
has no memory of anything before the accident, but Is all of a sudden
in need of Stang's protection.

Although there are a few far fetched coincidences in this book, it is one
helluva good book and I started and finished it in show more the same evening.
Stang moves into a retirement community in Florida with all the other
retired cops, but soon finds himself running back and forth to the old
neighborhood to solve the twenty year old mystery before someone
else puts the pieces together and he loses Bettie all over again.
A good story that captures the reader from page one. show less

In Dead Street, we see a rumination on the role of the gritty anti-hero of the past coping with the post-9/11 world. Even as an walking anachronism, Jack Stang knows how do get things done and when it's time for shooting instead of thinking. This being the first Spillane book I have read, I can't say how this rates compared to others. Still, it was an entertaining diversion despite the inherent unevenness from two authors (Max Allan Collins completed the book after Spillane's death).

Richard Ferrone's presentation is way above average, especially for a hard case crime novel. The story, however, was published after Spillane's death in 2006 and ghost writing fingerprints are evident. This is part Spillane, part romance; some of the latter passages had me (and probably Mickey) cringing. It's a short listen, just 5 CDs, and is ok if nothing else tickles your fancy, but don't expect Mike Hammer-noir throughout.

"Dead Street" is a hard-boiled cop story about a retired NYPD officer whose fiancee was kidnapped and murdered 20 years earlier because of the dirt she had on a mob heist involving plutonium. Sprang, the cop, finds out that Bettie, his fiancee, didn't die after all: she suffered head injuries that left her blind and an amnesiac, remembering nothing about her past. A kindly veterinarian took her in and raised her as his own daughter, knowing who she was and how her life would be in danger if anyone of the bad guys found her. He moved her to a cop retirement community in Florida, and his son tells Sprang where to find her after his dad dies. Sprang is reunited with his long lost love (very touching) and discovers why the bad guys were show more after her. Of course, in the end, he gets his men and they all live happily ever after. show less