Spillane was the king of the next generation, and from him, I learned the value of frank action and sex and putting real emotion on the page.” Cain, the founding fathers of the noir school of fiction. “I was equally influenced by Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and James M. How did Spillane influence you as a crime writer? The narrative is usually in the first-person and, in another of his innovations in the genre, the conflict is a personal one, and the emotions of the lead character run hot.” “Structurally, the novels are typified by a startling opening chapter that thrusts the reader into the action and a closing chapter that is even more startling, both surprising and violent, with the ending abrupt. How would you describe a typical Spillane novel? His hard-hitting, vigilante-style anti-hero, Mike Hammer, paved the way for every fictional tough protagonist thereafter, from James Bond to John Shaft, from the Girl with The Dragon Tattoo to Jack Reacher.” He uncovered a market that gave birth to paperback originals, though he appeared in hardcover before being reprinted in cheap editions. “To the hardboiled mystery, he brought a new level of sex and violence, which connected with the post-WW 2 loss of innocence felt by former GIs. “His influence was huge in crime fiction, but it bled into other genres and the mainstream as well,” Mr. How did Spillane influence crime fiction? He knew Spillane and completed 13 posthumous Mickey Spillane novels. Collins, a Mystery Writers of America grand master, is the author of the Nathan Heller historical thrillers and the graphic novel “Road to Perdition,” which was the basis of the Academy Award-winning film. He is often mentioned only in a dismissive manner and deserved better,” Mr.

“ Spillane was the 20th Century’s bestselling American mystery writer - second, worldwide, only to Agatha Christie - and has never been the subject of a biography before.

One lonely night by mickey spillane