''Black Alley'' (

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

) is

Mickey Spillane Frank Morrison Spillane (; March 9, 1918July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American crime novelist, whose stories often feature his signature detective character, Mike Hammer (character), Mike Hammer. More than 225 million c ...

's 13th

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

featuring tougher-than-thou New York City private investigator

Mike Hammer Michael Hammer or Mike Hammer may refer to: *Michael Armand Hammer (1955–2022), American philanthropist and businessman *Michael Martin Hammer (1948–2008), engineer and author *Mike Hammer (character), a fictional hard boiled detective ** ''Mick ...

, and the last one he completed before his death in July 2006. Following the author's demise, the first of "five substantial Mike Hammer manuscripts," '' The Goliath Bone'', was completed by his friend and colleague

Max Allan Collins Max Allan Collins (born March 3, 1948) is an American mystery writer, noted for his graphic novels. His work has been published in several formats and his ''Road to Perdition'' series was the basis for a film of the same name. He wrote the '' Di ...

and published in 2008. Additional books based on Spillane's unfinished manuscripts have since been released, including ''Lady, Go Die!'' (2012), ''Complex 90'' (2013) and ''King of the Weeds'' (2014). ''King of the Weeds'' is a direct sequel to ''Black Alley.''Pierce, J. Kingston
"Collins Hammers Out His Legacy."
The Rap Sheet, April 29, 2014.

Plot summary

The novel begins with Mike Hammer recovering in Florida from bullet wounds he received during his infiltration of a drug war on the docks of New York—injuries from which he almost perished. After being thought dead by all of his close friends and family for a period of eight months, he comes back to Manhattan and resumes his normal, exciting life. When an old army buddy, Marcus Dooley, is on his deathbed, he clues Hammer in on a pot of $89 billion he stole and hid from the dons of the mafia. Young, greedy mobsters are also looking for that money, which they should have inherited, had it not been stolen. Mike Hammer takes on the whole mafia, coolly, and in imperfect health.

References

1996 American novels Novels by Mickey Spillane Dutton Penguin books Mike Hammer (character) novels {{1990s-crime-novel-stub