I was a little disappointed with this collection of stories. Part of the problem was I had grand - and unfair - expectations after reading The Maltese Falcon a while ago. This is not The Maltese Falcon. Part of the appeal of that book is the character of Sam Spade; the Continental Op is not nearly as interesting. In fact, he's not really very interesting at all. The other appeal was the terse, almost cinematic style. Here the shift to first person removes much of the elegance of the writing. It still shows efficiency, but it's just not as appealing. On the upside, we get the Continental Op's explanation of his actions, but those aren't often all that interesting. One thing The Maltese Falcon and The Continental Op unfortunately share with each other, and a large portion of detective and mystery fiction, is the sometimes convoluted scenarios the heroes find themselves in and some of the over-the-top criminals. There are femmes fatales here in abundance, and they are sometimes interesting, but they feel a little cliche after a while. The action scenes, of which there are many more than there were in The Maltese Falcon, are sometimes well drawn but sometimes a little incredible. And one wonders how a character like the Continental Op could be involved in so many shootouts with so few injuries and so little attention from the police. Just in this anthology alone he witnesses or participates in the killing of more people than I can count on both hands - seriously.

Having said all of this, the writing's still alright, and as far as detective and mystery fiction goes, this isn't bad stuff. The procedural aspect comes out a little, and that adds some interest. And it's entertaining enough, though I wouldn't say it's always a page turner; I often found myself walking away in the middle of a story and coming back to it later. Worth reading for fans of the genre, I guess. ( )

Hammett’s writing is crisp and descriptive. His knowledge of detective work - he spent six years working for the Pinkerton Detective Agency - lends an air of authenticity that balances out some of the more cliched moments: there are a few too many shoot-outs in dark rooms, for example.

The Continental operative spends much of his time chasing mundane leads - such as tracking luggage at train stations and running down bank cheques - in a way that prefigures the police procedurals that would become popular 30 or more years later.
Full review: http://www.26books.com/?p=231

The Op is no doubt a more true-to-life private detective than Hammett's other two detectives. He works for a large company, and he just grinds it out on cases. ( )

A nice quick collection of detective stories, the Continental Op is somewhat more loveable than Hammett's other detective, Sam Spade. ( )

The beginnings of the hard-boiled detective novels for Dashiell Hammett come with The Continental Op. This anthology of Hammett’s early work is an interesting foundation and engrossing, especially when you consider that it was written back in the 20’s. Many of our movie stereotypes are here but told with a zest, zeal and an unmatched pithiness I find refreshing. There’s also lots of cool violence. I especially enjoyed The House on Turk Street and its follow-up The Girl with the Silver Eyes. More Hammett novels are definitely in my future. ( )