Killer Mine

Two short stories in this 158 page book from Mickey Spillane.

The titular Killer Mine is the story of cop Lieutenant Joe Scanlon who is sent back to the neighbourhood of his childhood where his old school friends are turning up dead. Scanlon is your classic Spillane tough guy ‘cop who doesn't always play by the rules, but gets the job done' character. It wouldn't be Spillane without a beautiful woman involved who becomes interwoven in the story.
I found this one of his poorer efforts, where the twist was pretty obvious from quite early on, and I just don't think it was as well executed as normal.

The second story Man Alone features cop Pat Regan who has been acquitted of murder and taking a payoff, but everyone still thinks he is guilty, including most of his former police comrades. As there still has a police conduct process to go through, he is still suspended, and he sets about clearing his name. Reconnecting with an old friend (who happens to be a beautiful woman, see above) helps him progress on solving the case.
This one was a better story better executed, although it meandered for a while in the middle and wrapped up pretty quickly as the last pieces fell into place. There wasn't a lot of mystery about who the guilty party was from the midpoint though.

Probably the least satisfying of the fifteen Spillane books I have read.
2.5 stars, rounded up (which ironically leaves it as 3 stars, where most of Spillane's work lands with me).