Dashiell Hammett Complete Novels: Red Harvest, The Dain Curse, The Maltese… (edition 1999)

Have read "Red Harvest"

[The Maltese Falcon] by Dashiell Hammett

Sam Spade is the hardest boiled detective of the noir detectives, save Mike Hammer – the father of the private eye. Spade and his partner, Miles Archer, are hired by Miss Wonderly – you know everything you need to about this femme fatale when you hear her name – to follow a man who has run away with her younger sister. Archer is killed on the first night of the assignment and Spade sets out to get to the bottom of the caper. The twists of the investigation lead to an international conspiracy to retrieve a figurine – The Maltese Falcon of the book’s name.

Sam Spade is cold and determined – focused on justice, though of his own kind. The character and the story hatched an entire cannon of literature and film. Every detective that followed was a reduction of Spade on some level. Hammett’s genius is evident not just in the creation of a new kind of story but in the way he told the story.

Bottom Line: The grand-daddy of the hard-boiled detective story – all the others are a reduction of this one at some level.
5 bones!!!!! ( )

Iv'e only read "The Maltese Falcon" and here's my review:
I almost missed this little gem. Had it not been on the Modern Library list of 100 greatest novels, I would have skipped right over it. Of course, I had heard of Sam Spade. He’s got to be the most famous detective in American literature. So well known, I assumed there were a series of Sam Spade murder mysteries, but not so....just one highly original, incredibly intriguing, fast paced, action packed book.

Murder mysteries are not my favorite genre but this book is so deliciously 1920’s pulp fiction. A larger than life good looking, rugged, strong, smart, fast talking detective, a mysterious pretty woman - the quintessential damsel in distress, and a hand full of colorful shady characters. Smoky rooms and ashtrays full of hand rolled cigarette butts, pay phones in drugstores and phone numbers like GRAYSTONE 4500. Everyone dressed in formal suits and hats, offices with frosted glass door panels, and secretaries who answered to endearing terms like angel, sweetheart, and precious, using old fashioned clacking typewriters.

Thus begins the mystery of the Maltese Falcon. Sam Spade and his partner Miles Archer are hired by the gorgeous Miss Wonderly to trail Floyd Thursby, who’s ran off with Miss Wonderly’s sister. The shocking intrigue begins in Chapter 2 when Miles is murdered. With-in an hour Floyd Thursby is murdered, too, Miss Wonderly disappears and re-surfaces with a different identity, and Sam Spade soon finds himself under suspicion for the crimes. Throughout the remainder of the novel Sam manages to stay one step ahead of the police, trying to piece together the evidence and clear his own name. The entire story takes place in just 5 days.

The Maltese Falcon is a genuine classic that holds the suspense until the last page. Humphrey Bogart starred in the 1941 production of the movie with Sidney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Mary Astor. The film was nominated for 3 Academy Awards including the category - Best Picture.
I'm looking forward to reading the other novels. ( )

Red Harvest: Being an eighty-three year old story, some of the slang is a bit hard to follow. Entertaining and as hard-boiled as you could want, but the shoot-outs and body count are a bit over the top. ( )

Red Harvest: Solid suspense, lots of action, and some humorous prose. 3.5/5. 4-20-2011.

The Dain Curse: Well written, but not as fun as Red Harvest. The focus rarely shifts away from the plot. 3/5. 2-1-2012.

The Thin Man: A very entertaining whodunit. Hammett manages to make his characters lovable and fun, even though most of them would be awful people in real life. It consists mostly of snappy dialog, and almost reads more like a screenplay than a novel, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. 4.5/5. 3-28-2010 (read in different edition). ( )