True, there is no commie/Mafia hatred spouting in the first
three Hammer books, but just to show I'm not completely
off-base this is from "Kiss Me, Deadly" Mike Hammer Book
#6
Plot Summary: "...Hammer decides that he can't walk away from
the mystery after they both become victims to the Mafia; the
woman is tortured and killed in front of him, and Hammer
himself is pushed over a cliff in his car, surviving only
when he is thrown clear. Hammer's disgust for the Mafia fuels
him for the rest of the novel."
And here is a plot description from "One Lonely Night" Hammer
Book
#4-- both quotes from the Buffalo Library database:
"...(Hammer's) uncertainty soon changes into swirling hatred
and a personal quest for vengeance when he learns that both
victims were involved with the Communist party. In Mike's
view, the Commies are an evil force threatening the
well-being of the United States, so he decides to infiltrate
the group... Mike's response is one that he knows only too
well -- find a weapon and give 'em all what they deserve:
"Kill 'em left and right, show 'em that we aren't so soft
after all. Kill, kill, kill, kill! They'll keep away from us
then."
That is some sweet social commentary. I will suggest that
both Himes and Spillane have social commentary but Himes'is
just a wee bit more subtle.
I agree the religious con is a minor one in "Real Cool
Killers" but the "Real Cool Moslems" are a street gang
pretending to be Moslems. In other Himes books religious con
men play bigger roles including two separate books featuring
guys dressed up as nuns and one where a nonegenarian
"preacher" runs a brothel out of a run-down funeral
parlor.
I agree that several Spillane and Himes' books share the plot
of protagonists going on a personal vendetta. I really enjoy
those plots, which is why I like both authors. But I think
other similarities are merely surface ones as the Himes books
all feature unconventional mystery plots, and Coffin Ed and
Gravedigger make intermittant appearances in the books.
Hammer is ALWAYS the focus of his novels, and in the first
six Mike Hammer books (the six that I've read) the plot is
either a whodunnit or a revenge plot. The most conventional
whodunnit in Himes is probably "The Crazy Kill" and to me
that's the weakest book in the series.
Best wishes
--Channing
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 18 Jul 2007 EDT