These excerpts introduce a collection of hard-boiled mystery fiction centered on private investigator Mike Hammer, detailing his violent return after a seven-year hiatus to solve a series of interconnected crimes. The main plot revolves around Hammer’s desperate search for his assistant and love interest, Velda, who disappeared while gathering critical intelligence that makes her a target for an international assassination squad. Operating outside standard legal parameters, Hammer engages in intense physical confrontations and reluctantly cooperates with federal and local police figures like Art Rickerby and Captain Pat Chambers. Secondary plot lines complicate the investigation, including a decades-old armored-car robbery linked to District Attorney Sim Torrence and a horrific murder at the estate of a wealthy recluse, Rudolph York. The narrative culminates as Hammer uses extreme violence and unorthodox methods to survive attacks, expose corruption, and finally locate Velda, whose information is vital to na

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.