The Maltese Falcon: Short Story

By Dashiell Hammett

Private Detective Sam Spade and his partner, Miles Archer, are hired by the beautiful Miss Wonderly to track down her sister’s brutish boyfriend, Floyd Thursby. Spade is dubious, but the pair take the case, and when both Archer and Thursby wind up in body bags within twenty-four hours, Spade realizes that there is far more to this case than Wonderly had let on.

Sam Spade has long been considered the definitive example of a hard-boiled detective, and author Daishell Hammett effectively established the hard-boiled crime genre through his stories about detectives like Sam Spade and the hard-nosed Continental Op. "The Maltese Falcon" has been adapted several times, most famously in the 1941 film starring Humphrey Bogart in the role of Sam Spade.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jan 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9781443423267

Dashiell Hammett

Samuel Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) was an American novelist and short story writer, best known for his "hard-boiled" detective fiction and the iconic characters he created for his books, including the Continental Op (Red Harvest and the Dain Curse), Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), and Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man). Hammett is considered one of the finest mystery/detective writers of the 20th century. As a young man, Hammett signed up to be an operative for the Pinkerton Detective Agency, but the agency's role in strike-breaking soured Hammett to Pinkerton and he joined the Army in 1918 and served in World War I. While in the Army, Hammett contracted tuberculosis and the ill-effects of his consumption would plague Hammett for the rest of his life. In 1922, Hammett began to publish short stories in some of the popular mystery magazines of the era, particularly Black Mask, for whom he wrote a number of stories featuring his nameless private investigator, the Continental Op. He began producing these stories at a furious rate, eventually expanding into novels - Red Harvest and The Dain Curse - which he serialized in Black Mask prior to publication. In 1930, Hammett wrote The Maltese Falcon, which featured Sam Spade, one of the most popular characters in all of detective fiction. Then, in 1934, Hammett topped himself, creating Nick and Nora Charles, the protagonists of the wildly popular book The Thin Man. Both would later be adapted into successful motion pictures, the latter spawning five sequels. Once Hammett moved to Hollywood and began writing screenplays, his fiction writing almost entirely ceased. His activism in left-wing politics would eventually lead to Hammett being placed on the "blacklist." Hammett's career troubles were exacerbated by his alcoholism and his drinking, in turn, worsened his health. He died of lung cancer in 1961.Despite his life and career struggles later in life, Dashiell Hammett is still considered one of the greatest mystery writers of all time and his work proved to be an inspiration to an entire generation of young authors from Ernest Hemingway to Raymond Chandler and many others.

Reviews for The Maltese Falcon

[leslie398 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What can you say about Sam Spade that hasn't already been said? Dashiell Hammett spawned a whole genre of rain-coat wearing, smoking, drinking, hard-nosed, no-nonsense private detectives....

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I don't know why I avoided reading Dashiell Hammett. I knew he was an influence on Raymond Chandler, whose work I love, but I only had the vaguest idea about what The Maltese Falcon was about. Turns out, it's not that different to Raymond Chandler's work, and Sam Spade is in the same mould as Philip Marlowe (well, the other way round, technically). It's the same sort of world, the same sort of morals, and though I think Raymond Chandler's writing was a lot more sharp and clear, a lot more new, Dashiell Hammett is nothing to sniff at. And, actually, I think his plots are that mite easier to follow.

Sam Spade's a good character -- it's hard to follow his motivations at times, hard to figure out what he'll do, but he also makes his own kind of sense. And he has some excellent lines.

[nmele_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

About halfway through this classic, I realized I had never read the book, only seen the movie. John Huston is credited with the script but key dialogue seems to me to have been lifted from the book verbatim. And why not? Even knowing how it ends from the film, I enjoyed the puzzle and the intricate-seeming but straightforward plot.

[tanya8dogearedcopy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Winner of the 2010 Audie Award for Best Audiobook Adaptation,
Finalist for the 2010 Audie Award for Best Audio Drama,
Finalist for the 2010 Audie Award for Distinguished Achievement in Production,
An Audible Winner: Best All-Star Cast
A 2009 Grammy Nominee for Best Spoken Word Album for Adults
One of Booklist’s Top 10 Crime Fiction Audiobooks
A Booklist Editor’s Pick for 2009 in Adult Audio
One of AudioFile's Best Mystery Audiobooks of 2009
Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award

I listened to THE MALTESE FALCON (by Dashiell Hammett; and audio dramatization performed by Michael Madsen, Sandra Oh and Edward Herrmann.) For the record, I have not seen the movie or read the story, so it was all new to me; nonetheless, it was hard to disassociate the idea of Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre and Lauren Bacall from the production (and yes, I KNOW it was Mary Astor in the film, but still, the idea of Lauren Bacall is so firmly entrenched in my mind because of her relationship with Humphrey Bogart that it is *her* that I'm listening for!) That said, Michael Madsen, in the role of Sam Spade, wasn't half bad! It's an interesting story about the pursuit of a statuette, involving rough hard men, "bad"" women and, the machinations all will employ to get what they want. The noir characters have become so established in our cultural memory, and so stereotypical in nature by now, that a certain campiness has pervaded their image and interpretation. This production was no exception and was underscored by rather heavy-handed sound effects. I get that this is supposed to sound like an old radio show, but really, do I need to listen to three drinks being made with seltzer being siphoned into glasses? There were places were editing seemed a bit awkward, making it clear that the individual actors were called in for their roles and then the whole of it edited together later (no one talks over anyone else, even in an argument and; sometimes the reactions didn't match their counterparts in a conversation.) And there was one other "odd" thing about the production: Instead of having an omniscient voice for the neutral narrative, actors, in their roles, read those passages which often described themselves (i.e., the woman playing Effie (Sam Spade's secretary,) would narrated a lead in paragraph that was about her, so she was talking about herself in the third person!) It was all fun, but I think I would prefer a straight read, the novel or, even the movie! Ack, but what do I know! This recording has won a number of accolades despite what I think!

UPDATE: I was speaking to the studio engineer of this project and he said that the actors were actually all in the studio at the same time. The reason for the disjointed effect may have come from the decision to take the cleanest take of any given line; not necessarily the one that flowed best from the previous line.

[breakerfallen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hammett uses a completely different style of writing than the typical detective novel: he describes scenes, wardrobes, and characters in such detail that a photograph or sketch would be completely unnecessary.

[jeremyfarnumlane · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well, as a detective story, while it's often talked of as one of the best ever written, I would give it only three stars. However, and it really only becomes this in the last few pages, I realized this book, almost as much as it is a detective story, is about the very complicated relationships between men and women, and of loyalty. The figure of Sam Spade and the women around him is so much deeper when thinking about that. He's a terrible misogynist, as a hard-boiled 1920s detective would be expected to be, but he's not shallow, and he's not cruel, not really. Very interesting.

[alcracka · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ah, this book is a blast. It's so, like...you go in expecting a hard-boiled detective, all that stuff you heard about, and it totally delivers. Sam Spade is everything you want him to be. And so is the femme fatale. Just glorious shit.

One thing: Maltese Falcon catches flack for being homophobic: Cairo is of course gay, and Wilmer is not-so-subtly his...let's call it a catamite just to be old-school. They're both sneered at, certainly by Spade and probably by the novel. But: the men in the book are constantly and carefully and physically described. The women, not so much. There are an awful lot of references to men's chests and such; but even when Brigit gets herself naked, it's not exactly lingered over. I mean this seriously: is this book kinda gay?

The other fun question, and the more obvious one, is to what extent Spade is a good guy. Is he improvising the whole time? Would he have taken the money, had he had the opportunity? The only way I can read him is as a guy who's honestly not thinking about what comes next, which makes him more or less suicidal; he's utterly fucking around for the whole book, with little thought as to what his own end game is. That jibes with the final scene, where - all more risky conclusions featuring gobs of money or death having not worked out - Spade wearily faces Iva. Dude doesn't actually even have a life; everything that really happens to him is terrible. He gives Brigit up because he can't bear the possibility of someone getting over on him, or of jail...but if he'd just gotten his ass shot, I don't think he would have minded as much.

Kinsey Milhone would have dumped him, but Spade is a better character. Thumbs up; this book is great.

[kcreader49 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Could not help but envision Bogart, Peter Lorri, Greenstreet, etc. in the rolls as I read the book. Sure it is very cliche-ish, but that is sort of like saying the you don't read Shakespeare because it is full of cliches. Well worth the ride.

[jack3in3the3green · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In a little over 200 pages, the Maltese Falcon is a complete and engaging murder detective story with believable characters and a lot of loose ends well tied up at the end. It's too bad there aren't more crime/mystery/suspense books being written these days that can do all that with less than 600 pages. Recommended! Much better as a mystery than The Thin Man, the other Hammett book I've read so far. Both are enjoyable reads, but the Maltese Falcon is more of an actual mystery.I've never seen the famous movie, and can't imagine why the goofy Bogart was cast to play Spade.

[richardderus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Book Circle Reads 36Rating: 3.5* of five, because I love the movie more The Book Description: Sam Spade, Dashiell Hammett's archetypally tough San Francisco detective, is more noir than L.A. Confidential and more vulnerable than Raymond Chandler's Marlowe. In The Maltese Falcon, the best known of Hammett's Sam Spade novels (including The Dain Curse and The Glass Key), Spade is tough enough to bluff the toughest thugs and hold off the police, risking his reputation when a beautiful woman begs for his help, while knowing that betrayal may deal him a new hand in the next moment.Spade's partner is murdered on a stakeout; the cops blame him for the killing; a beautiful redhead with a heartbreaking story appears and disappears; grotesque villains demand a payoff he can't provide; and everyone wants a fabulously valuable gold statuette of a falcon, created as tribute for the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. Who has it? And what will it take to get it back? Spade's solution is as complicated as the motives of the seekers assembled in his hotel room, but the truth can be a cold comfort indeed.Spade is bigger (and blonder) in the book than in the movie, and his Mephistophelean countenance is by turns seductive and volcanic. Sam knows how to fight, whom to call, how to rifle drawers and secrets without leaving a trace, and just the right way to call a woman "Angel" and convince her that she is. He is the quintessence of intelligent cool, with a wise guy's perfect pitch. If you only know the movie, read the book. If you're riveted by Chinatown or wonder where Robert B. Parker's Spenser gets his comebacks, read the master. --Barbara SchlieperMy Review: There's nothing second-best about this book, no indeed not. It's a fine, solid book, one with a lot of good story packed into some very well-chosen words.But the film, well now, sometimes perfection comes in unexpected places. Bogart and Sydney Greenstreet! What a pair of second-raters! And how perfectly they meshed, and then add Peter Lorre, another second-rater, and the Holy Trinity couldn't have done better work with the tale being told here. It was a super retelling of the basic story.Wisecracks that, on the page, made me smile and even giggle, came out of Bogart's mouth, and Lorre's, and even Greenstreet's, at a wonderful pace and were there and gone...just like a wisecrack should be. Not to put down the book by any means! It's a fun read, and it's a well-made novel, and it's a classic noir for a reason.But for me, only for me, I want the film to be my memory of this story.

[jawalter · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I reread this in preparation to read Spade and Archer, an unofficial prequel to Hammett's story. It remains an excellent read, with an incredibly complex plot, filled with twists and double crosses, but always held together by the ambiguously amoral heart beating in Sam Spade's chest.

The book begins by describing him as diabolic and it's hard to argue that he doesn't always act in his own self-interest. But at the same time, he never strays from his own personal code, tirelessly pushing to be sure that the guilty are punished and the innocent avenged. Hammett's brilliance is that his devil isn't evil, but rather endlessly aware of and seeking out the evil in other men.

[kaethe_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When in doubt, read some noir. There's nothing like a mystery filled with bad people to reaffirm that all is right with the world.

[andreablythe · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Maltese Falcon is pretty much the epitome of the noir detective novel, with Sam Spade playing the part of hard-boiled detective and Brigid O'Shaughnessy the femme fatale that leads him into intrigue and danger. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was the first (because I have not clue as to whether that's true or not), but this book when it came out certainly gave to the popularity of the genre, influencing a number of books and movies that would come after. This influence in understandable, as the writing is snappy and the mystery quite fun. My only complaint is that since it was published in 1930 it presents a backwards view of women, as well as brief moments homophobia and racism. Every time Spade patronized his secretary or other women in the novel by talking down to them, patting them on the head, whispering in their ear, or in other ways performed acts of touching that would have been inappropriate today, I couldn't help but cringe. The sexism is just so present and accepted. While I understand that this is a result of the era in which it was written, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be talked about or pointed out. Despite this, The Maltese Falcon is full of twists and turns and action and suspense, and is absolutely a quick and fun read.

[tmbcoughlin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My first Dashiell Hammett book. It was a quick, easy read that I really enjoyed. Sam is a detective who takes a case that seems slightly odd and suspect and there the story goes. Lots of enjoyable turns in the story and none of the sappy positions women are so often in of books written before I was born.

[ahs7wolfy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As it always does, it starts with a dame. Tough as nails PI Sam Spade is hired by Miss Wonderly to find her sister. It seems like she's taken up with the wrong sort of man and is refusing to see sense and won't even talk face to face so Sam is employed to follow the man and find her. Miles, Sam's partner, volunteer's to take the duty and soon ends up dead so are things quite so straightforward as the client made them seem?Spade is quite cold and detached to pretty much everyone in his life but manages to string along the three women involved in the story even though he doesn't exactly treat them well. The characters are never fully explored as not once do you get inside the head of any of them including the main character of Spade himself. Even so, the writing is descriptive enough to manage to form your own opinions of how they are developing and so adding the interior thoughts may actually detract from the whole. The dialogue and prose are very evocative of the time and the setting of late twenties San Francisco is used to create a vivid atmosphere. It's been many years since I've seen the movie adaptation but from what I can remember the film follows the book quite well so it might be worth allowing some space in-between reading and watching your chosen media.

[jayacarl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Great book but this "reading" seems like a wonderful idea that didn't pan out. Michael Madsen actually sounds like he is reading a script (normally the audio book narrators do NOT sound like they are reading.) Having different actors read the third person description of their character isn't workinf for me either.

[sallowswine · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'd never read any hard-boiled fiction before, but I feel like I got the gist of the genre from reading this. It was very riveting (cliffhangers galore!), but as a whole it left me a little flat. The story was interesting, but I felt it definitely could have been fleshed out a bit more, and the ending was a little too abrupt. In any case, Hammett spun a pretty decent yarn which I'm sure was even more exciting back when it was written.

[carl_alves_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Knowing that The Maltese Falcon is a bit of a classic in the noir genre, I wanted to give it a read. Perhaps this novel was good back when it was written, but I don't think it works today. Sam Spade is chauvanistic and almost comical at times. His language makes him a caricature. Mostly it was hard for me to take this seriously. It almost felt like a parody of 1920's detective novels. Perhaps that was the way people actually acted back then, but for me it just didn't ring true.Carl Alves - author of Two For Eternity

[cwflatt · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

How far are you willing search and sacrifice to find that that you have always wanted.

[theokester · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Maltese Falcon is a classic. A definitive entry in the "Noir" or "Hard Boiled" detective genre. Probably Hammet's most well known work. I have very vague memories of watching Humphrey Bogart work his way through this mystery but I haven't seen the film in ages and had forgotten enough that the book was still very fresh to me. Granted, I still plan to pull out the video and watch it again…soon. :)Like Hammet's other works, this is a gritty crime novel with a less than perfect protagonist. Sam Spade is, to me at least, one of the most famous and most copied/satirized of the detective characters. Even before seeing the movie or reading this book, I had a good feel for who Sam Spade was (though I didn't know him by name) through various cartoons, TV shows and other movies with similar characters. I was surprised to find that this is Spade's only complete novel though he was apparently in a couple other short stories.The mystery of the book starts out fairly straightforward…Spade is hired to tail a man. That simple presence quickly takes turn after turn and pulls in numerous other shady characters and plots finally resulting in a global conspiracy of sorts.I loved the simple, gritty and straightforward language of the book. It helped set and maintain the tone throughout the novel. I loved Spade's hard and cynical view on life as well as his approach to investigating and solving this mystery. I also found it interesting that the book never let us get into Spade's head (or anyone else's head for that matter). As far as i could tell, we never had a "Spade thought this" moment. Thus we were left having to try and deduce everyone's inner motivations and thoughts based on their actions and interactions. This made for a lot of fun and helped keep the resolution to the mystery at arm's length while at the same time seemingly presenting us with all of the information we might need to solve the mystery.The only problem I had with the book was that I didn't want it to end. Don't take that wrong…I was fully satisfied with the ending (which gave even more of an edge to Sam Spade). I just wanted more of the same. I'll definitely have to seek out the other Sam Spade stories and keep reading Hammett. Maltese Falcon is one of those classics that I'm glad I finally read. I'll have to go watch the movie now to see how true it is to the book and the tone/feel of the story. Even if you're not a fan of mysteries or detective stories…give this one a try. I'd be interested to hear what you think.*****5 out of 5 stars

[crazybatcow · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As someone who likes noir detective fiction, I thought I should go back to the beginning and read the only book about the original noir detective, Sam Spade.It was noir, and Spade is a pretty cool dude.The story, however, was rather disappointing. Spade didn't actually do any detecting - the mystery was solved, literally, by a man tumbling in through his front door and then the bad guy detailing how things went down. Spade just spent his time going from point A to point B being the strong and silent type.And the ending was very unexpected with all its "if you loved me, you wouldn't..." when, exactly did they have time to fall in love? He saw her 4 times, shagged her once and suddenly was in love with her? Different era I suppose, but...

[victortrevor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sam Spade, the archetypal hard-boiled detective, may have been copied but has been rarely matched by other writers. I've read this book several times and the dialogue remains fresh and crisp. Greed, lust and betrayal are at its heart and Hammett's chaacterisations and the realtions between the protagonists just keep you wanting to turn the page. Read it.

[jbreedlove_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you saw the movie you know the book. Still a good read but I couldn't get the black and white Bogie out of my mine. Still a good description of 1920's San Francisco. Definite precursor to Raymond Chandler.

[drewfull · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Occasionally overwrought/pulp fictiony to be funny, The Maltese Falconis still a fun read for anyone who enjoys the crime genre. Many of the tropes & stereotypes of the private detective from 50's movies start here and in other books of this era.The downsides to this book are very similar to it's upsides...Ridiculous at times, but always hard boiled and never caught without a quip. Realism...eh. Secret agent private eye stuff...yes.

[theampersand · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"The Maltese Falcon" is exquisitely plotted and economically written, and it's not hard to see that it's been a major influence on nearly every film noir and cop movie ever made. The plot's final twist is particularly good – perfectly executed and wholly satisfying. Hammett also does a good job of giving the book a sense of place, portraying mid-century San Francisco as its own kingdom, independent of the big Eastern cities, and mentions lots of local establishments for added flavor. All the same, I can't say I particularly enjoyed this book. The famous Sam Spade, who is undoubtedly the center of this novel, seems like a parody of a tough-guy detective and has precisely none of Humphrey Bogart's charm. He's emotionally distant, abuses his female employee, and possesses a psychopath's control over his facial expressions. The writers who came after Hammett have spent whole careers tearing this stereotype down, and probably deservedly so. Hammett also has the bad habit of describing his characters like a policeman might – "a Caucasian male, about six-foot-two, of medium build and brown hair" – as soon as the appear on the scene. I can certainly see why fans of crime fiction would eat this up, but I think I'll find my own reading pleasures elsewhere.

[rizeandshine · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep. Funny thing is, I preferred The Maltese Falcon movie to that of The Big Sleep. I think this could be because I like knowing a little bit about what the detective is thinking and you really have very little idea with Sam Spade. I also felt like Marlowe was a bit of a white knight and very protective of his clients, where Spade seems more hard-boiled, although still tight-lipped about his client's personal business. This is a great detective story that I would recommend to other mystery lovers, and I wouldn't hesitate to read another novel by Dashiell Hammett myself. In fact, it would be nice to read one where I didn't already know where the plot was going, having seen the movie first.

[alexrichman_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Despite the exciting plot I couldn't stop thinking how much I disliked Sam Spade, supposedly one of the great literary detectives - a lecherous lout with none of the witty repartee that usually excuses similar characters. Nonetheless, the rest of the cast is great, especially the aptly named, corpulent Gutman.

[bap1012 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Just okay - chauvinism and stereotypes....

[asauer_9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic of the genre. It reads like a movie, totally evocative of the era.

[hazelk_9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I didn't expect this short novel to be hard-going but I did.I raced through the first 100 pages and then seemed to lose my reading pace as they added more and more characters and double crossings. I slowed down a lot and only read a few pages at a time before putting it down again.I've read that it was first published in serial form and this must be the reason for Hammett's constant repetition of Sam Spade's facial features: the cigarette rolling does however become less frequent, thankfully.We all know that this form of crime fiction - hard-boiled - was quite new: thankfully in the Raymond Chandler novels which I read years ago the genre seems to have evolved somewhat: Marlowe is a more rounded character, the dialogue and the plots more finely worked (thought often complicated).I prefer the movie to the book - and I don't often say that. What good casting! To select just one - Peter Lorre - unforgettable!