Review: a Mike Hammer short that proves there's more than one way to skin a cat
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 17, 2013
Skin is a short story.  If you are new to the Mike Hammer world, this is a good place to start.  It's one of the manuscripts that Max Allan Collins found among Spillane's effects.  Collins was Spillane's designated literary executor.What I like about Spillane's writing is that there's little wasted effort on unimportant descriptions.  His work is easy to read and full of action.Mike Hammer is Spillane's most famous creation and he's the toughest hardboiled detective you'll ever meet.  Generally, he leaves a trail of bodies as he pushes through to mete out justice like a vigilante.  He has a decades-long engagement to his secretary Velda, who can still turn heads at fifty.  His pal, Captain Chambers, is often featured as well in Spillane's stories.Here, we have an aging Hammer who spots a human hand and a pile of raw flesh by the roadside.  Of course, a hot tv anchor pulls up and starts interviewing Hammer as her young cameraman pukes at the sight if the remains.  Later, Hammer finds that The hand belongs to a famous producer.All in all, a fine tale.