Dead Street follows Jack Stang, ex-NYPD cop, as he discovers his girlfriend from 20 years ago, Bettie, who supposedly died in an attempted kidnapping, is alive and living in Florida, sheltered in a police and firefighter retirement community. He learns this from vet Thomas Brice, whose father took Bettie in after the kidnapping-gone wrong, who also informs Jack that she has lost her memory from before the accident and is now blind. Brice informs Jack that it has been arranged for the the house next to Bettie's in the retirement community to be Jack's and, since he's leaving the neighborhood anyway, Jack might as well go to Florida to be with her.
However, the men who ordered Bettie kidnapped are after her again now that they know she's alive. It seems she's got secrets that are vital to them and they will stop at nothing, not even murder, to get them. Thank goodness Jack's there for her, but will a community of old police officers be enough to keep the two of them safe? And what kind of secret, exactly, is important enough to hunt somebody after 20 years?
Truth be told, this was my first exposure to Mickey Spillane, I never even watch the old TV show. I've heard a lot about what tough guys his characters are and what a drunken misogynist he was, but I really didn't see any of that here. Just a grizzled ex-cop looking out for his dame and not too slow on the trigger when he needs to be. The book was written simply and effectively; not too wordy, not too brief, paced well and interesting throughout. Not as violent as I was expecting from what I've been told about Spillane, but that's a statement of fact more than a complaint.
Interesting thing here: the book was published posthumously and Max Allan Collins contributed 3 of 11 chapters and minor edits and continuity correction to complete the novel. The novel still remains fluid throughout and I never would have suspected had I not known. An afterword explaining the friendship of Collins and Spillane and a brief biography of Spillane close up the novel, and both are informative and round out the novel greatly. Definitely worth the $7 donation to Hard Case Crime.
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Mass Market Paperback: 219 pages
Publisher: Hard Crime Case (October 30, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0843957778
ISBN-13: 978-0843957778