Done: "The Consummata" by Mickey Spillane and Max Alan Collins

Done: Consummata by Mickey Spillane and Max Alan Collins, 1969/2011,

Pretty damn good.  The story behind this is that Spillane wrote a novel featuring a new character, Morgan the Raider.  The novel did very well.  The novel was optioned for television.  Spillane worked on the TV project.  Spillane was so disgusted with the process he shelved Consummata before he finished.  Years later he handed over Consummata to Collins (along with everything else literary) and Collins finished the novel.  The great and mighty Hard Case Crime then published Consummata to my acclaim (a year and a half late).

Spoilers ahead.

It's the late 1960's and Morgan the Raider is on the run from the feds.  He's walking through Miami when he spots his tail. Make that tails. Morgan is boxed and sees an approaching ambush.  Morgan figures his free time is up.  Morgan is suddenly whisked and squirreled away by Cuban expatriates who see Morgan as a hero.

Morgan is shut up in a wall for a few hours and, after being let out, learns the local Cubans are looking for a Cuban agent who stole $75,000 from their anti-Castro group.  Bad Guy Cuban has already killed three good guy Cubans who tracked him down.  Morgan offers to find the guy and recover the money - for a finder's fee of course.

Things happen.  You learn about Morgan's past and his reason for running from the feds.  You learn Morgan married-for-real the CIA agent who posed as his wife when the CIA pressured him into working for him.  Morgan teams up with a Cuban hooker in hunt for Bad Guy Cuban.  Morgan's hotel room is bombed.  Morgan investigates bombing to find Bad Guy Cuban and find out who leaked the hotel information.

Morgan never consummated his marriage with CIA Wife.  Morgan has the sex with Cuban hooker.  Morgan almost has the sex with old acquaintance who is also whore's Madam.  Morgan kills an assassin.  Morgan kills another assassin.  Morgan's CIA Wife shows up.  Morgan makes temp truce with CIA.  Morgan and CIA Wife do the sex.  Morgan finally tracks down Bad Guy Cuban at sex party held by famous dominatrix, Consummata, on a private Florida island.  Cuban traitor revealed.  Morgan kills CIA boss who set him up and caused all the original CIA trouble.

Comments:
1.  Ever since Collins wrote about his collaborations and the percentages of work by each author I wonder how much of each project Spillane completed.  Some of Spillane's work was only outlines and notes, some was almost finished.  Collins probably wrote in more detail about Consummata's process, but will I scroll through his blog to find out?  Hell no.
2.  I don't know if there will be a third Morgan book.  I'll read it if there is.
3.  Glock anachronism.
4.  Sexy sex.  But not too much sex.
5.  Violence.  But not too much violence.
6.  I wonder what Christa Faust would say about Morgan's comments on the sado-masochism scene that Bad Guy Cuban is involved in.
7.  Sometimes Collins's books make me say, "Meh."
8.  Sometimes Collins's books make me say, "Yeah!"  This was a "Yeah!"
9.  I should try out those Mike Hammer audios done by Stacy Keach.