The Continental Op

At times darker than the usual detective noir of this era that I'm familiar with, this collection of short stories starring our unnamed and unfit capable detective hits all the notes that I expected and hoped for. There are dangerous villains, terrible dames, double crosses, caricatures, as well as my favourite bits: the unglamorous boring grunt work of sitting around and waiting.

Having only been acquainted with Hammett's polished novel length famous heroes, these rough-edged curt men somehow feel more appealing, like a revelation of the real everyday world of these detectives, rather than just being associated with their high profile, once-in-a-lifetime cases. Will be seeking out even more Hammetts now.

Hammett's detective with no name is, for me, more compelling than his three most famous creations, Nick and Nora Charles and Sam Spade. This short story collection is even better than Red Harvest, with tight, taut tales often finishing with brutal brilliance. To read one detective story with that sort of conclusion would be satisfying, but to read half a dozen is a treat.

I used to think that Raymond Chandler was the best American detective story writer, but I became tired of Chandler's over-long descriptive passages and his character Philip Marlowe's constant wisecracking. I now much prefer Hammett's succinct writing style in these "Continental Op" short stories. (Similarly, I like the way that Erle Stanley Gardner gets on with the story in his Perry Mason books.)

Six of the seven stories in this book are great. The only one I didn't like much was "The Golden Horseshoe". But six out of seven is pretty good going.

Incidentally, there is a book available which contains ALL of Hammett's "Op" stories. It's called "The Big Book of the Continental Op", and I consider 21 of the 28 short stories in that book to show more be great ones which are worth rereading.

The other thing I like about Hammett himself is that he was a socialist. Unfortunately, he seems to have been one of those who were deluded into being a supporter of the Stalinist regime in Russia, which I consider to have been a bureaucratic state capitalist tyranny (like China today), not socialist or "communist". But that's another story. show less

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

Quite simply the best thing Hammett ever did. A great character who is not a thug (like Sam Spade) or an alcoholic (like Nick and Nora) but a fellow who does his job as best he can without pretending to be something he's not. DH's prose style was at its best her: clipped, terse, concise, telling you everything you need to know and not a bit more.
Read this one...and toss the others out.

I wasn't sure what to start my year with. Then suddenly I was in the used bookstore and this slim volume caught my eye. Hey you. Yeah, you. You know you can't pass up a Hammett. So true. I had high hopes. There were flashes of genius but it never broke out into the page-turning glee of its Maltese brother. The Continental Op is no Sam Spade.

The Chinese set down his tan bag and shook his head. "There will be no killing," he drawled, "or there will be quite a bit of killing. You don't mistake my meaning, do you, Hook?" - The House in Turk Street

One of the best storytellers of any generation, his ability to hook and engage his readers feels almost effortless. This was a far more matured collection of stories than his first few for Black Mask that I read in a different collection. His writing evolves very quickly which is fascinating to see.

Superb