Why is the threat of rape from the first book included in this? And why would Morgan feel nauseous about the topic when he threatened it so many times as a way of intimidation? Disgusting. And again when Kim enters the story, Morgan says, “Come over here. I won’t rape you - I promise.” Sick. ( )

Mickey Spillane was one of the great hardboiled writers of the fifties and sixties. He is most well-known for writing numerous Mike Hammer books, the quintessential tough-nosed detective. Spillane began writing the Consummata in the sixties, but never completed it. After his death, Max Allan Collins, with instructions from Spillane, finished and published a number of Spillane's works. Whatever Collins did to finish these books, they are so deftly written that, without a microscope, one cannot tell where Spillane stops and Collins filled in. The Consummata is well written and the story flies by. The action starts with page one and, in typical Spillane style, never stops. It involves an escapee from federal custody, a ton of missing money, Cuban exiles, and the Consummata, a mysterious woman setting up shop in Miami. Before Morgan can lay a trap, bombs go off and people are assassinated left and right. With the federal marshals on his tail, Morgan is determined to get his man. He just wonders why all this fuss is being made over what really isn't a lot of money.
A great action-packed story that is just plain fun to read. Highly recommended. ( )

Started by Spillane some forty years ago the book was recently completed by Collins and is a follow-up to Spillane’s “The Delta Factor”. Set in the early ‘60s against the backdrop of Castro’s revolutionary Cuba, the book see Morgan “The Raider” on the run in Miami after being set up over a $40m heist. He finds himself working with a group of Cuban exiles hunting down a traitor in their midst, but soon the bodies are piling up and Morgan finds himself in the clutches of a mysterious S&M queen known as “The Consummata”. As you would expect from Spillane the action is pretty non-stop, although, cleverly, a lot of the story is told in exposition between characters. The language is fast flowing; with many a clever turn of phrase and in Morgan, Spillane created another wonderful character (a modern day pirate?), who unfortunately wasn’t able to flourish due to other considerations. Collins completes the novel fairly seamlessly and it makes for good, challenging fun trying to work out where Collins’ contributions actually sit within the whole. Although not the very best from Hard Case Crime, “The Consummata” is nevertheless a rollicking good adventure yarn in the best pulp tradition. ( )