The Goliath Bone

First edition
(publ. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

The Goliath Bone is the 14th entry in the Mike Hammer series by Mickey Spillane. It was completed by Max Allan Collins, and was first published on October 13, 2008. The Goliath Bone is one of three almost finished Mike Hammer novels that Spillane entrusted Collins to finish before his death in 2006.

Plot summary

Hammer is forced to put off retirement and his marriage to his longtime love interest and secretary, Velda, after he falls into the middle of an international crisis. Hammer saves a couple of archaeologists from unknown muggers somewhere in New York. Lo and behold, the archaeologists are the target of Al Qaeda agents who believe they possess a thigh bone that belonged to the Biblical character, Goliath. Hammer now finds himself going against Islamic terrorists, including a 7-foot agent code named, of course, Goliath. Will Hammer hold up against the new enemies of the US?