''The Big Kill'' (

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

) 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 fifth

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

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

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 ...

Plot summary

Drinking at a seedy bar on a rainy night, Hammer notices a man come in with an infant. The man, named Decker, cries as he kisses the infant, then walks out in the rain and is shot dead. Hammer shoots the assailant as he searches Decker's body. The driver of the getaway car runs over the man Hammer shot to ensure that he won't talk. Hammer takes care of the child and vows revenge on the person behind the deed. Next morning Mike awakens to the telephone ringing and to find the kid making a play for Mike's .45. After getting an elderly retired nurse from downstairs to look after the kid, Mike visits friend and police chief Pat Chambers, who reads a report to Mike about the kid's father William Decker, an ex-con gone bad. William pulled a robbery on Riverside Drive the same night prior to his murder by ex-con Arnold Basil, a stooge for Lou Grindle. After leaving Pat, Mike heads on over to the East Side where William lived and meets superintendent John Vilecks and the local Father who said that William was playing it straight and left a will to take care of the kid. William's only visitor was fellow dock worker Mel Hooker. Mike heads on over to Riverside Drive, the site of the robbery to meet Marsha Lee an ex-Hollywood actress who was hurt in the robbery. Marsha thinks the robbery was really planned for the apartment above hers since she had nothing of real value to steal. Hammer's trail of vengeance leads him to hostile encounters with his police friend Pat Chambers, the

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

and his stooges, as well as beatings, assassination attempts, and torture from gangsters that Hammer reciprocates. Hammer also has loving encounters with two women he meets on his quest. Marsha is a former Hollywood Actress who was beaten by Decker when he robbed her flat. Ellen is the estranged daughter of a rich horse breeder who works for the D.A..

References

1951 American novels Novels by Mickey Spillane E. P. Dutton books Mike Hammer (character) novels {{1950s-crime-novel-stub