Writer Max Allan Collins has completed yet another unfinished manuscript left to him by the late Mickey Spillane, this one titled Lady, Go Die! (Click here to reserve it from us.) Dating from around 1945, just after Spillane submitted his first novel, I, The Jury, to the publishers, Lady, Go Die! is actually the belated original sequel to Jury, finally available to readers. And as with last year's Spillane/Collins collaborations, Kiss Her Goodbye and The Consummata, Lady, Go Die! was worth the wait.]]>
Set around 1945, Lady, Go Die! finds tough guy private eye Mike Hammer still trying to get over the harrowing and heartbreaking events depicted in I, The Jury. Accompanied by his sexy, loyal and equally tough secretary Velda, Mike leaves Manhattan for a brief vacation to get his head together and heads to the Long Island beach town of Sidon. But immediately upon arrival, Mike winds up rescuing a helpless beachcomber from being brutally beaten by the local (and corrupt) Sidon cops.
That's followed by the discovery of the nude dead body of one of Sidon's most influencial citizens, wealthy widow Sharron Wesley, draped over a statue in the local park. Seems Mrs. Wesley, whose infamous past Mike knew about, had helped run an illegal gambling den in the town with some of the cops (one of whom is an old enemy of Mike's) and gangsters from New York City. Drop in a possible serial killer who may be in the vicinity, and Mike and Velda, with some long distance help from their buddy, NYPD Captain Pat Chambers, are off to solve the case.
Fun from start to finish, Lady, Go Die! pulsates with an energenic pace that never lets up. Spillane and Collins -as usual, you can't tell who did what, and that's great- never slag off, and the straightforward storytelling, with close attention to period dialect and events, keeps you glued to the page. Good too is seeing a much younger Hammer, who's still in love with the city (unlike later books), good-humoredly deal with the press regarding his then-recent notoriety, and finally noticing Velda's charms (but doesn't let that get in the way of fooling around with another female character). If anything, I kind of missed the apocalyptic tone of impending doom that popped up in Spillane's later books, but seeing as we're dealing with a younger, less cynical (but just as vengeful) Hammer (and Spillane?), it's absence is understandable.
The supporting characters, including the various Sidon town citizens,cops and officials, Poochie the child-like beachcomber, and NYC gang boss "Johnny C", are just as vivid and compelling as our hero. Yep, there's some sex and violence too, but the situations depicted throughout the novel are never less than exciting. No fat here. And wow, what an ending! Lady, Go Die! is one book you need to check out!
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Researchers at Stanford University have found that "video goggles and photovoltaic retinal implants could make vision restoration more practicable". Using special glasses that "fire infrared signals into the eye and onto an implanted array of silicon photodiodes...(which) simplifies what needs to be implanted and both transmits visual data and power directly to the implants, eliminating the need for any bulky external power source". To read more about this possible breakthrough, click here. (Thanks WG!) ]]>
Blogger Jennifer Winter lists five tips that can help job seekers when they go to interviews. These tips range from doing research on the company you're interested in to following up after the interview. To see all five steps, click here. 
If you've just been laid off, you're going to have to make sure you still have health coverage and other benefits before starting a search for a new job. John Rossheim at Monster.com details how you'll need to secure your finances and other things (like health insurance and unemployment benefits) in this article. Click here to read. 
Over at the Think Beyond The Label website's "Hire Learning" blog, writer Suzanne Robitaille discusses how job seekers with disabilities can use their resume to "help a future employer understand why you're the best person for the job". Besides using her own CV as an example, Ms. Robitaille also offers interview tips and a list of what NOT to put on your resume. You can read her article by clicking here.
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Courtesy of Lawyers.com, here are some ways you can claim tax credit if you're disabled or handicapped and unable to work. Just be aware you'll need "a doctor... to certify that your physical or mental condition can result in death or has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous 12-month period". Among other things. For more, click here and here. 
This has been posted before, but with the April 17th deadline looming, taxpayers with disabilities may not know about tax credit benefits they're entitled to. The IRS has this list posted online for filers with disabilities or with children who have disabilities. Filers who fall under the proper criteria can deduct medical expenses, impairment-related work expenses, and care for the elderly, among other tax credits. For more information, click here. 
This 1913 sequel (published as a novel in 1918) to Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess Of Mars (reviewed here) starts off with a bang, as John Carter finds himself back on the planet Barsoom (Mars to you and me) after ten years), suddenly battling carnivorous plant men in the Valley of Dor on the River Iss.
