Since the Tiger Mann books are spy novels and began as a series in the 1960s, the most obvious comparison with them would have to be Ian Fleming's hugely popular spy thrillers featuring British agent 007, James Bond.

Unlike the Bond books, however, Spillane's Tiger Mann sticks pretty close to home and does not travel all over the globe searching out enemy agents. Like Bond, though, Tiger is run by one head operative, Colonel Charlie Corbinet, who often covers for him with higher ups when he has violated international law or transgressed the pleasantries of the old boy network. Like M, Bond's boss, Colonel Corbinet most of the time secretly approves of Tiger's extralegal procedures, and like M, he disapproves of Tiger's womanizing and general way of life.

There developed an entire genre of spy writing in the wake of the James Bond phenomenon; some were direct...