I read Mickey Spillane’s I, The Jury in the early 1960s. I was blown away by the violence and the surprise ending! That led me to read My Gun Is Quick,  Vengeance Is Mine.  One Lonely Night,  The Big Kill. and  Kiss Me, Deadly. I binged on Mickey Spillane’s works then and recently I’ve been binging on Mickey Spillane’s work finished by Max Allan Collins for Hard Case Crime.

In his “Introduction” Max Allan Collins says that The Last Stand is Spillane’s last completed novel. This edition includes “A Bullet for Satisfaction”–a novella about a rogue cop fighting corruption.

The Last Stand (2018) was released to honor Spillane’s 100th birthday. The story follows a pilot who makes an emergency landing in the desert and gets caught in a dangerous power struggle involving FBI agents, fortune hunters, and a local Native American tribe over a mysterious discovery. All of Spillane’s signature tropes show up here: a clever hero, a beautiful woman, a loyal pal, a fight with a menacing thug, and a treasure worth billions.

If you’re a Mickey Spillane fan, you’ll enjoy this closing chapter of his writing career. If you’re just curious about the Spillane phenomenon, The Last Stand is a good display of his legendary talent. And, I also love the cover artwork by Laurel Blechman! GRADE: B+