Information

Kiss Her Goodbye Title: Kiss Her Goodbye
Release: May 25, 2011 (Hardcover); June 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-01-5101-460-6, 978-05-4754-120-4
Publisher: Harcourt, Mariner Books
Hardcover:
Mass Market Paperback (with the orignal, uncensored ending):
Trade Paperback:
Audiobook:
E-Book:

Summary

Mike Hammer has been away from New York too long. Recuperating in Florida after a deadly mob shootout, the private eye learns that an old mentor on the New York police force has committed suicide. Hammer returns for the funeral—and because he knows that Inspector Doolan would never have killed himself. But Manhattan in the 1970s no longer feels like home. Hammer’s lovely longtime partner, Velda, has disappeared after he broke it off for her own safety, and his office is shut down.

When a woman is murdered practically on the funeral home’s doorstep, Hammer is drawn into the hunt for a cache of Nazi diamonds that makes the Maltese Falcon seem like a knickknack, and for the mysterious beauty who had been close to Doolan in his final days. But drug racketeers, who had it in for the tough old police inspector, attract Hammer’s attention as well. Soon he is hobnobbing with coke-snorting celebrities at the notorious disco Club 52 and playing footsie with a sleek lady D.A., a modern female on the make for oldfashioned Hammer. Everything leads to a Mafia social club where Hammer and his .45 come calling, initiating the wildest showdown since Spillane’s classic One Lonely Night.

Awards

2012 Scribe Nominee: Best Original Novel

Pierce's Pick: May 23, 2011

Reviews

Publisher's Weekly: "impressive … Collins's mastery of the character demonstrates that whenever he runs out of original material to work from he would be more than capable of continuing the saga on his own."

LA Times: "Spillane was right to place his trust in Collins"

Pulp Fiction Reviews: "a slam-bang adventure unlike any the savvy gumshoe has ever encountered. This book is packed with fast guns and dames and plenty of punches all culminating in a shootout that makes the Gunfight at the OK Corral look like a picnic"

Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: "a highly satisfying new outing for Hammer…. [Spillane] couldn't have made a better choice than Collins to work with his unfinished manuscripts, and Collins proves it again here."

The A.V. Club: "the narrative momentum never flags."

Los Angeles Review of Books: "Dexterous and dynamic plotting, swift and explosive action, snappy dialogue, graphic metaphors, and energetic characters that come alive: this is action-mystery par excellence."

Bookgasm: "The authors outdid themselves … And since Collins carries the Spillane torch perfectly, this book will not disappoint longtime Hammer fans."

AudioFile: "devilishly entertaining" "Keach closes the deal with a tough-as-nails yet nuanced performance." (audiobook review)

Singular Points: "Collins has nailed it…. Kiss Her Goodbye is well worth your time. Check it out"

Not the Baseball Pitcher: "the best one yet"

Somebody Dies: "Collins has really hit his stride" "[Kiss Her Goodbye] serves up a superlative mystery that kept me guessing"

Mike Dennis Noir: "It’s difficult to spot where Spillane left off and Collins begins … the Mick would’ve liked this one."

Mystery File: "There is enough violence in this book to make any Mike Hammer fan stand up and cheer, and loudly … if you are a Mike Hammer fan, you will absolutely love this book." (Discussion with M.A.C. in comments)

Kindle Taproom: "a tightly-wound, engrossing tale … [Kiss Her Goodbye is] firing-on-all-cylinders, straight-no-chaser Hammer"

Ed's Blog: "thrill-packed" "another seamless collaboration by Spillane and Collins."

Noir Journal: "Collins knows how to keep Spillane's tone, the essence of the characters, the pace, the grit, the vividness. He has the gift of popping the characters and settings from the pages into a virtual reality for the reader. It's rich. It's detailed. It's alive."

Journey of a Bookseller: "an excellent read."

His Futile Preoccupations: "a kick-ass, violent, Hammer novel which will make one of my top reads of 2011…. it really doesn’t get any better than Kiss Her Goodbye.

The Celebrity Cafe: "Spillane and Collins do a remarkable job in painting a colorful picture of New York in the golden age of disco.… Kiss Her Goodbye has earned its place on my bookshelf."

Jerry's House of Everything: "Kiss Her Goodbye is Spillane and Collins at the top of their game, an evocative look at an iconic American hero."

Spinetingler Magazine: "[Kiss Her Goodbye] is vintage Spillane, and is a tribute to both authors."

Alternate Covers

Kiss Her Goodbye
Hardcover Edition

Kiss Her Goodbye
Audiobook Edition

Kiss Her Goodbye Mass Market Paperback
Mass Market Paperback Edition

Resources

Larger Mass Market Paperback Cover Image (1450 x 2378 TIF)

Larger Trade Paperback Cover Image (994 x 1497 JPG)

Larger Hardcover Cover Image (1000 x 1500 TIF)

Larger Audiobook Cover Image (510 x 680 JPG)

Sample Chapter

Blackstone Audiobook Interview with Stacy Keach

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