The Thin Man

By Dashiell Hammett

Dashiell Hammett's classic The Thin Man introduced the world to Nick and Nora Charles, further made famous by the popular Thin Man films. With a new introduction by Denise Mina.

Nick Charles seems to find trouble wherever he goes. He thinks his sleuthing days are behind him when Julia Wolf, a former acquaintance, turns up dead. Nick—thanks to some persuasion from his enchanting wife, Nora—finds himself falling back into old habits and making a few polite inquiries. The prime suspect, Julia’s lover and boss Clyde Miller Wynant, has vanished without a trace. Everyone is after him, but Nick is not so sure Wynant is the culprit. And when another dubious figure bursts into their bedroom, waving a loaded handgun, it seems Nick and Nora’s adventure is only just beginning. 

Nick and Nora Charles are among Dashiell Hammett’s most alluring creations: a rich, glamourous couple who solve homicides in between wisecracks and martinis. At once knowing and unabashedly romantic, The Thin Man is a murder mystery that doubles as a sophisticated comedy of manners.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jan 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9780307767509

Dashiell Hammett

Dashiell Hammett (May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) is widely recognized as one of the finest mystery writers of all time and, along with Raymond Chandler and others, is considered to be a founder of the hard-boiled school of detective fiction. Hammett drew heavily on his experience as a Pinkerton operative to create such indelible characters as The Thin Man’s Nick and Nora Charles, Sam Spade, and the Continental Op. Among his best-known works are The Maltese Falcon, Red Harvest, and The Dain Curse, all of which have been adapted for film or television.

Reviews for The Thin Man

[book58lover · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to read this classic because I loved the movie and like reading old time mysteries. I could hear William Powell's voice in all the dialogue so in that sense the movie was true to the book.But I just didn't enjoy it. Nothing wrong with the story;just didn't enjoy it and took quite a while to finish when I usually read a mystery in a day.

[jackmassa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A masterpiece of detective fiction, filled with vivid, amusing and infuriating characters, consistently puzzling plot twists, cool and ironic dialogue, and wickedly perceptive writing. Better even than the William Powell / Myrna Loy movie version, and that is saying a lot.

[lkernagh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Oh wow.... being new to Hammett (outside of having watched the movie adaptation of [The Maltese Falcon], I really did not know what to expect. Sure didn't expect this! Even in 2018, Hammett's portrayal of 1930's New York is a captivating - and eye-opening - experience. I do like Nick and Nora. Hammett has created a couple that "clicks" and comfortably banter as they easily move between the high flying society gatherings to the more questionable establishments. Amazing how calm both of them are when an intruder pays them a visit in the middle of the night! The mystery is a good one - I did not see some of the stuff that gets revealed - but for me, I was more enthralled with the setting, the characters, their interactions and the overall casual social nuances of the story (like a married man actively perusing a younger woman, and resorting to drinking as a solution when his wife tries to take him to task for his behavior) than with the actual mystery. Well written and I now understand why so many readers enjoy Dashiell Hammett's stories.

[louis.arata · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read the novel about 15 years ago, so it was fun coming back to it again. While I'm familiar with the movie series, having seen them a number of times, I felt like I got a richer story reading Hammett's novel. The characters are curiously quirky, in particular the Wynants, who prove a perfect contrast to Nick and Nora's urbane sensibilities. There is a fair amount of psychological study going on throughout the story, especially in terms of Mimi Wynant's former relationship with Nick, which was omitted from the movie. While there's a certain amount of repetitiveness to the scenes, Hammett nudges the characters forward so you can see them from slightly different angles, the way Nick does, so by the time he solves the mystery, you get a good sense of why they behaved the way they did. A very fun read.

[kvrfan9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was delighted to find that on the page, Nick and Nora Charles were as charming as they were on the screen. (Asta's role--who in the book is a Scottish terrier, not a wire-haired--is much more diminished.)

Nick Charles set the mold for a lot of literary gumshoes who were to follow. He straddles the line between the two cultures of low-life petty criminals and high society. He was exposed to the one from his years as a working detective. Now having married Nora, an heiress, he is supposedly retired from that life. But as it turns out, the rich and privileged behave as badly as their criminal counterparts (with perhaps even less of a moral compass), and that drags Nick into detecting once again. For her part, Nora is fascinated with this aspect of Nick's life and is excited to go along for the ride.

Dashiell Hammett knows how to do dialogue, and that's what makes The Thin Man as much fun as anything. The mystery is also satisfying as it keeps you guessing until the end, but when the murderer is revealed, you see that his identity was perfectly logical.

But, boy, do Nick, Nora, and their friends drink! They'd all be candidates for 12-Step programs. As great a detective as Nick is with a drink in his hand, I can only guess how much greater he'd be if he were sober!

[heather_s_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really like Dashiell Hammett's stuff, and on its own this was a really good who-done-it, but I didn't like it as much as the movie based on the book. Nick and Nora weren't as funny or as likeable.

[kaulsu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dashiell Hammett. Asta. Nick & Nora Charles. Pure classic mystery! How is it I could picture these four never having had read them?So. What a surprise!! My goodness, Nick & Nora couldn't get out of bed in the morning without a drink! I had no idea!!The secondary characters were full-fleshed. The writing didn't suffer from a lack of editing. I was going to give it 4 stars, but I have no upped it to 4.5. And the plot. I kept wondering where it was going. Who dunnit? No spoiler alerts needed here. Read this book: it is timeless. I just talked myself into another half star....

[wendyrey · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A crime novel set in 1930's New York where a group of cardboard characters do an awful lot of drinking and shooting each other. I couldn't get engaged with this book and couldn't have cared less about who did it other than rather hoping that Mr Charles the detective was the culprit. Culturally very dated and also used the old dodge of the clever private/ amateur detective working with the stupid (except for one man) police.Yawn.

[miss_scarlet_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is entertaining with its colorful cast of characters. However, I did find "The Maltese Falcon" more engrossing. Nick and Nora's witty comments are always humorous, however after reading 3/4 of the novel, it somewhat lost my attention. I prefer the film version, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.

[jbreedlove_6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Plain and obvious. A disappointment after reading The Maltese Falcon or The Red Harvest. The only saving grace was the casual reference to life in the 20's and early 30's. I'll stick with Sam Spade rather than Nick and Nora Charles.

[ambrosia4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of my favorite detective's infamous start in fiction! Nick and Nora Charles (in the series, not in the book...) have always been my favorite couple, ever since I watched the Thin Man series as a child. Reading Dashiell Hammett's original novel which launched the series was like travelling back in time to that first watching. Hammett's characterization, writing techniques and quick wit bring this book from another regular old detective novel to a sophisticated romp through New York in the '30s playing with murder and mayhem in the process.Nick and Nora are the quintessential pair, matching each other drink for drink and quip for quip. After retiring from the detective loop, Nick travels to New York and gets involuntarily mixed up in a murder investigation involving one of his old clients, Clyde Wynant. Thoughout the book the reader meets quite a cast of characters from Clyde's ex-wife Mimi, his hot-and-cold daughter Dorothy, his obsessive son Gilbert, Mimi's new gigalo husband Chris Jorgensen, as well as Guild, the police detective assigned to the case who picks Nick's head every once in awhile.Definitely worth a read for mystery lovers, anyone who appreciates comedic gold and those who thoroughly enjoyed the movie based upon this novel.

[ablueidol · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Classic film noire 30's crime story showing that the rich are bigger cads then the criminals. Rich eccentric millionaire disappears, a secretary is killed and a reluctant ex detective and his wife is dragged into an increasingly complex case. Lean prose, great natural dialogue and lots of twists and turns. One of the classics and one to read before you die

[seanj_26336 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A husband and wife detective team solve murder mysteries between martinis.

[thedivineoomba · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love Nick and Nora. They are the perfect detectives of the prohibition age. One where there is much drinking, a couple of parties, and no actual sleuthing as Nick manages to get involved in the murder of an old acquaintance, against his objections.Nora is a wonderfully intelligent woman, a bit ditzy, but mostly fun. Nick is her husband, an older gentleman who married into money (But not FOR money). He truly loves Nora. Asta is their dog. She doesn't play much of a role, but Asta's presence makes the book.The writing is tight. Clues are giving as part of natural conversation, with me guessing till the end who is the murderer.Truly a master novel of the genre.

[mlleehreen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I feel bad for writing this but: I didn't love The Thin Man. I wanted to, and Raymond Chandler did, and I love Raymond Chandler but...oh, I just couldn't.

I thought the book was kind of repetitive. Oh, look, yet another morning when Nick wakes up and wants to down a bottle of hard liquor. What, another shady visitor thinks Nora's just a doll? Is that weepy girl really coming round again?

I figured out who the villain was pretty quickly, and I never really attached to the characters. So yes, it's a fascinating period piece, and a good character study, but I don't think I'll be picking up another Dashiell Hammet anytime soon.

[kimmr_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first Hammett novel I've read. I don't know why I haven't made the effort to read such an iconic writer before, particularly as I am a long-time crime fiction reader and a fan of "classic" mysteries. It may be my first Hammett, but I'm pretty sure it won't be my last.

I've just finished re-reading all of the novels of Dorothy L Sayers, who is without doubt my favourite writer of "Golden Age" mysteries. It was interesting to compare The Thin Man with Sayers' novels. It's certainly less literary and intellectual than much of Sayers' writing, but Hammett and Sayers share an ability to write witty and entertaining dialogue. They are both skilled at summoning up a strong sense of place and time and their plotting is clever.

I love the banter between Nick and Nora and the way Hammett conveyed the strength of their relationship without needing to spell it out. I love the novel's elegant style and it's evocation of 1930s New York City. The mystery was strong enough to keep me interested and I didn't guess the culprit in advance of the big reveal. I was initially amazed at all of the references to alcohol consumption and became convinced that the novel would be but a pamphlet if all the references to drinking were removed. But I either stopped noticing it, or else the incidence of drinking decreased as the novel progressed. All in all, this was a very worthwhile read. Now I understand what the fuss about Hammett is actually all about.

[bcquinnsmom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ah, the 30s, New York. Prohibition hasn't slowed down the cocktail set, who party until the sun rises. Speakeasies abound, thugs have names like Studsy, cocaine and morphine are the contemporary drugs of choice, and cops are allowed to beat the truth out of their suspects. This is the world of Nick and Nora Charles, at least temporarily while they're staying in the city over the Christmas holidays. Nick used to be a detective, but these days Nick is no longer pounding the streets in his trench coat -- he gave up his career to "look after" some business interests -- a lumber mill, a railroad, "and some other things" -- left to Nora after her father died. The two aren't in New York long when Nick gets dragged reluctantly into helping to solve the murder of Julia Wolf, the secretary and former mistress of an old client named Claude Wynant, described to Nora as "a good guy, but screwy," and "batty as hell." Wynant is incommunicado at the moment except for communications through his lawyer; the police want to talk to him, as does ex-wife Mimi who's running out of cash and stands to lose her current husband without more of Wynant's money. Trying to weed through the ever-increasing layers of deceit surrounding the truth of Wolf's murder won't be easy (either for Nick or for the reader, for that matter), but through it all the drinks keep flowing and Nick and Nora entertain each other with their back-and-forth witty banter. The crime is twisty and Hammett never tires of throwing the occasional monkey wrench into the works. Interestingly enough, a fair amount of the deception and deceit in this novel comes from the machinations of the women, except, of course, for Nora. She's sophisticated, witty, fashionable, compassionate and on the home front pretty much Nick's equal. Her trust in her husband is beyond question and she's there to support him, no questions asked. At the same time, while trusting and supportive, it's clear that Nora is to leave the detecting to Nick: "Listen darling, tomorrow I'll buy you a whole lot of detective stories, but don't worry your pretty little head over mysteries tonight."Hmm. With Nora clearly the exception, the women in this novel are either needy, manipulative, hysterical, liars,cheats or a combination of all of these qualities. But that's to be expected -- misogyny is prevalent in the two other novels by Hammett I've read -- The Maltese Falcon and Red Harvest-- and while those stories are much darker in tone, Hammett's scornful assessment of women (again, except for Nora) is the same here. Mimi, for example, is a sordid, money-grubbing and conniving female who, when she fails to get her way, has no qualms about flexing her figurative and literal muscle. Lying is her forte, but luckily Nick (obviously much superior to Mimi) has her number: "When you catch her in a lie, she admits it and gives you another lie to take its place and, when you catch her in that one, she admits it and gives you still another, and so on. Most people -- even women -- get discouraged after you've caught them in the third or fourth straight lie and fall back on either the truth or silence, but not Mimi. She keeps trying and you've got to be careful or you'll find yourself believing her, not because she seems to be telling the truth, but simply because you're tired of disbelieving her." Her daughter Dorothy is whiny and needy, prone to exaggeration, histrionics and like her mother, capable of distorting the truth if she thinks it will help her. Even the now-dead secretary, Julia Wolf, was no stranger to greed and lies. The core mystery is entertaining, and despite the twists and turns in the story, Hammett's writing is direct, witty and to the point. His characters are understood largely through their actions and interactions rather than through descriptive sketches, so it takes little time to become fully involved or acquainted with them. And as far as the misogynist subtext, the novel was written in the 30s, so it is very much a product of its time.Unlike the series of movies that followed the original "The Thin Man," with Myrna Loy and William Powell, Hammett's Thin Man was not written as a first novel in a continuing line of stories featuring Nick and Nora Charles. It is also much lighter in tone than the other works of Hammett's I've read: both Red Harvest and Maltese Falcon are much higher up the noir ladder and both are much more pessimistic than this one. At the same time, while it doesn't have quite the same edge to it as the others, The Thin Man is still able to deliver the goods. Highly and definitely recommended.

[theokester · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Thin Man was Dashiel Hammet's final novel. It sticks with the familiar hard boiled themes and motifs common in his previous works like the Continental Op series or The Maltese Falcon. There are scenes showcasing the gritty underbella of prohibition era America and the thugs and speakeasies of the time. Where the Thin Man takes a different tack is that our main hero is a "retired" detective Nick Charles. Nick got married 4 years ago to Nora, a rich socialite from the West Coast. When Nora's father died, Nick left detective work behind and has taken on some responsibility for overseeing the businesses. Granted, his level of "oversight" seems to involve hobnobbing, spending money and doing a lot of drinking.The novel is set during Christmastime in New York City. Nick and Nora are enjoying a luxurious vacation when Nick runs into Dorothy, the daughter of a family he did detective work for years ago. Her father, Wynant is missing and she wants Nick to help find him. Nick says he's retired and gives her some ideas of who she might call. A bit later it is revealed that Wynant's secretary has been found murdered.Wynant's family members and associates keep turning up asking Nick to help find Wynant. The police also try to rope him into helping them solve the murder. More and more details are revealed and more suspects keep turning up. One of the suspects ends up shooting Nick and Nick decides he can't stay out of the investigation any more and starts gumshoeing. He still tries to defer to the police where he can and keep the press at bay as they try to get him to admit to working the case. Nora is enthralled with seeing her husband work and she keeps trying to push herself into the action alongside him. I love the banter between Nick and Nora. They are both so witty and sarcastic. It's a lot of fun to see them tease each other and especially fun when they're teasing in front of other characters or teasing other people. A lot of the other characters don't seem to know what to make of the Charleses. It's pretty funny.While this is still a gritty murder mystery full of all sorts of suspects both from high and low society, it is definitely less grizzly than the Continental Op. There were action sequences but they weren't as intense or drawn out as in Hammet's other works. The tone and action was closer to Maltese Falcon than the Op books.I really enjoyed the mystery of this book. There are a ton of little nuances and extra layers that add to the complexity. While some of the characters felt a little flat and stereotypical there were also a lot of very distinctive and interesting characters. Wynant's family members are each very outrageously distinct and quirky. Wyant's lawyer and business associates are a little more predictable but still interesting and add flavor. As with a lot of these early mystery novels, the final revelatory narrative is a bit drawn out with Nick going into a lengthy monologue explaining just what happened and how and by whom. I did like the humor that Hammet brought into this scene through short comments between Nick and Nora as she questions just how it is that he knows these things. In some cases his response is that "it's the only way that makes sense"...in other cases he comments that he's "not sure" but he suggests that by making deductive theories in one direction, it's sure to put pressure on the real guilty party and expose something they don't want exposed.All in all I really enjoyed this story. It was a funny, exciting and intriguing mystery tale. While the overall mystery elements were all actually pretty complex in their unraveling, the actualy resolution was quite simple and seemed to make a lot of sense once fully explained. In the end this made for a rather satisfying conclusion.After reading the book, I sat down with my wife and we watched the movie based on the book. I loved that Dashiel Hammet received top billing. The movie was pretty faithful to the overall plot of the book although it did start out providing significant back story prior to the introduction of the Charleses. This served as a good introduction to Wynant and his family and associates. I felt like this change was a good way of putting a face to a character (Wynant) who otherwise is almost always "off screen" but constantly talked about. They did make a significant change to the "Dorothy" character. In the book she's flighty, erratic and just possibly a little crazy. In the movie she seemed pretty grounded and she's engaged to be married (which introduced a new character but also got rid of her "flirting" with Nick). Most of the other characters and situations remained the same until the very end of the story. Rather than having the final revelation meeting happen in the room of Wynant's wife and family, Nick sets up a dinner party and invites all of the suspects to attend. During the dinner he announces that he's brought the killer in and expects to reveal him or her there. The dinner party scene certainly made for better theater by adding more tension and suspicion as well as providing more opportunity for situational humor.Overall I really enjoyed this book. I've had a lot of fun reading Hammet's works and I look forward to reading more. If you're in the mood for a "Noir" mystery without as much grittiness but with just as much intrigue and fun, The Thin Man is definitely a good place to start.*****4.5 out of 5 stars

[lamour_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The classic who dun-it by the master. Full of quick humourous repartee, the novel has Nick Charles & his wife Nora solve the mystery with the help of their dog & much drinking.

[tnilsson_24 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a grand book. As good as the movies, if not as humorous. But be careful which edition you read as a great many of them are censored (yet don't note that fact anywhere). Find one that specifically claims not to be censored.

[davidreads · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I have found two rather glaring errors in this paperback printing. They are glaring on their own, and I have confirmed that they are errors by comparison with my Knopf edition. On the other hand, I quite like the illustration of the blonde on the lower half of the cover photo, which evokes the Mimi character well.The book is one of my favorites. The one-star rating is for this particular edition of it.

[vivl_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Picked this up as a cheapy got-through-my-first-year-of-uni-in-20-years/pre-Christmas present for myself based on having greatly enjoyed a short story by Hammett that I read some years ago. I must confess that at first this seemed wooden and unappealing. I'm not sure what happened, whether it was me getting into the flow of things or the writing getting better (I suspect the former), but by the end I was amused, entertained and immensely more satisfied than I had expected to be. I particularly LOVED Nick Charles, ex-gum shoe and wanting to stay ex- (but those around him have other ideas) disparaging the making of lists of opportunity/motive etc. HURRAH! I do love Dorothy L Sayers and Ngaio Marsh, but the diagrams and lists bore me witless. Also highly enjoyed the banter between Nick & his most excellent wife, and the way everything isn't (sort of) tied up in a neat little bow at the end. Great stuff.

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As thoroughly fun as the movie. (And the movie was perfectly cast -- the actors reflected the book wonderfully.) Hammett shines when he doesn't take his characters (or himself) quite so seriously.

[edwinbcn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am not very fond of reading detective novels, but only if they have some cult status such as Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, or, in this case Hammett's The Thin Man.Supposedly, The Thin Man, published in 1935, is an early and original detective novel, largely laying down the muster for the genre. The novel is centred around six or seven characters, who all know each other well, as family members, friends and acquaintances. While suspicion about the murder first points at the Clyde Miller Wynant, readers nowadays more familiar with the genre would soon rule out that character as the most obvious usually is not the culprit.The novel is written throughout in mostly dialogue, with very little telling. As a result, the reader is almost as completely in the dark as most of the characters, and starts theorizing about possible candidates and their motive for the murder, which quite obviously seems to be the money.With the limited role of story-telling, the obvious strategy of the novel is that the only knowledge that is imparted in through the physical presence of the characters, in conversation. It gradually becomes obvious that one character only communicates through correspondance, i.e. letters and telegrams.The Thin Man contains some references to the period it was written. Quite modern is the suggestion that "junkies" might be responsible for robbery; the etymology of the word "junkie" can be traced to its earliest use in that sense in 1923. It appears in the novel (page 60) along with the word "hop-head" to denote a drug addict, which also sprang up in the jazz era of the 1920/30s' America. Another interesting linguistic feature is the repeated use of the word "speakeasy" for bars during the Prohibition era, from 1920 - 1933 in the United States.The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett was issued in the Penguin Essentials series in 2012, and it is considered a classic and must read, as such included on the 1001 list of novels one should read.

[jeffreymarks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My favorite Hammett with witty banter and enough booze to pickle your liver, but a very nicely done plot underneath it all.

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Don't read Dashiell Hammett, or even the reviews of Dashiell Hammett's work, if you're particularly sensitive to misogyny, violence, and all that stuff. There's a good bit somewhere in the middle where Nora Charles tells her husband that she doesn't have the least understanding of anything people said or did while they were in a certain speakeasy, and trust me, I know the feeling. I love reading noir detective stories, though. There's just some amazing lines and even though they represent a world I don't like or understand, it's fun to try and hang on and actually figure out the mystery. I didn't get there with this one, but trying was fun -- and I did at least notice that a certain character was spoken of a lot, but never seen by anyone trustworthy (and I'm not sure I even trust the narrator, in books like this).

All the usual pitfalls of noir fiction, and I prefer Raymond Chandler's work to Hammett's, but still, a fun read -- and a quick one, one you probably wouldn't want to put down.

[jmoncton_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Classic gum shoe 'whodunit' murder mystery. I definitely didn't guess this one, so the plot was fine. But, both the good guys and the bad guys in this book are pretty seedy who gamble, go to bars and drink all day. I don't mind a mystery with dark flawed characters, but there is very little background on any of the characters, so everyone comes across and self centered and slightly hedonistic. Hammett's mysteries started a whole new genre of books and movies, definitely making an impact - just not my type of book.

[mossjon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the banter between Nick and Nora, although their drinking habits made my college binge days pale in comparison. The crime or mystery at the center of this tale eluded me. The final chapters wrap-up left me wondering if I'd read a completely different book in an alternate universe or dimension. I don't normally miss that many clues.

[sweetiegherkin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Former detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora travel to New York City for the Christmas/New Year holidays. While there, Nick runs in to the daughter of an old client, and soon after learns that the client's former lover has been murdered. Despite his protestations of early retirement, Nick finds himself drawn into the family and the case. Dashiell Hammett is considered a master of the hard-boiled detective fiction novel, and I certainly found that to be the case with this novel. The Thin Man immediately drew me, fascinating me with its characters and making a quick read with its sharp and witty language. Hammett doesn't linger long on descriptions yet I always had perfect pictures in my head of what was going on, where it was happening, and exactly who it was happening with or to. Hammett deftly crafts a dysfunctional family in the Wynant/Jorgensen household, a seedy cast of degenerates in the mobsters and informants Nick encounters, a beleaguered police force, and more, all of who felt well-rounded and believable. And of course, Hammett creates here the famous Nick and Nora couple, who are absolutely delightful in their interactions together. The story and particularly its characters were so compelling that I found I wasn't really trying to solve the case like I usually do with mystery books. Yes, I was a little suspicious of certain characters here and there, but I wasn't really formulating theories of my own much because I was too busy just waiting to see what happen next. By the end of the novel, I was certainly surprised by the tale that Hammett wove and hadn't remotely guessed the conclusion at all. Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and will be looking forward to reading more Hammett in the near future. I'd recommend this book for those who read for plot as well as though who read for character and, of course, I'd especially recommend it for fans of mystery novels.

[unclebob53703 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My favorite of his works, breathless, witty, and every other page: "We had a drink." Just love it--never seen the movies. Beware the book out there now claiming to be rediscovered, unpublished sequel--it's a screenplay, and lacks a certain--everything.