The Maltese Falcon

By Dashiell Hammett

One of the most influential mystery novels ever written, and the only one to star the legendary and iconic Sam Spade.
 
When Spade’s partner is killed on what appears to be a routine case, Spade is drawn into the search for a mysterious, valuable object known as the Maltese Falcon, and must contend with the eclectic criminals looking for it, any of which would happily kill Spade (or each other), or use him for their own ends. It has been adapted for film three times, most famously starring Humphrey Bogart.
 
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• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781551998480

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 Maltese Falcon

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I haven't had the opportunity to read many crime detective noir novels and this one was an interesting one to start out with. I've never seen the movie version so I honestly didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's all macho men, witty dialogue, damsels in distress, stolen goods, and lots and lots of drinking. So honestly, why am I just now getting into noir novels?!? They seem right up my alley!! This was a fun, albeit semi slow paced introduction for me into the world of the hard nosed detective. I'll definitely be coming back for more.

[cecrow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is my introduction to classic hard-boiled detective fiction. Sam and Miles are rough characters from go, to demonstrate that heroes can be as lethal as the villains and an even match for them. Chapter Two has an incredible hook, and then it's off to the races. Sam understands very little about who is hiring him or why they think he's the best man for the job, introducing a layered mystery plot. He demonstrates his skill at taking things as they come, and so must the reader. Either Sam knows more than we do, he is figuring it out faster, or he is just really quick on his feet. Any of these interpretations works, but the last is well supported by the wrap-up. The fantastic battle-of-wits dialogue reminds me of Asimov but with a thick layer of emotion spread over it; there's nothing robotic about these characters.

[jessbass87 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful crime novel from the 30's. I've wanted to read this novel for many years now and finally got around to it and I am so glad that I did. I am a huge fan of noir films and this novel really made me think of that. Vivid story line with clear and interesting prose. Full of poignant imagery and great plot twists.

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

A classic of the genre. A novel so influential that you can't help but notice all the pop-culture references to it as you are reading.

[kaulsu · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well, it was as stereotypical of hard drinking, cigarette smoking detectives as Nick and Nora embodied the roaring twenties, I suppose. The only thing Spade didn't do was call all women "dames." For all the reasons I liked [The Thin Man], I had to dislike this book. The characters were so flat it was ridiculous. Only Spade had any dimensionality to him, and I was never certain that he was the good guy he played at, or the bad boy he flaunted.I am glad, though, that I read both sides of Hammett.

[bodagirl · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The story is of it's time. The characters are flat, especially the women who all just seem to drape over Spade within moments of meeting him, which was annoying. I can see why this is a "classic," as it sets a mold for so much of the noir genre. Not my cup of tea.

[lycomayflower · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There's something slightly compelling about the style in which this hardboiled detective story is written--it's very filmic, largely just showing the reader the action without commenting on it or getting into characters' heads. But the slight interest I had in the style did not make up for the rest of the thing, which was homophobic, misogynistic, and kind of boring. I was never interested in any of the characters, the plot never really takes off (there's little detecting, little following clues or figuring things out on the page), and the end makes me crazy. Meh.

[jameshold-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was fortunate to begin reading Hammett in more-or-less chronological order, meaning I read his Continental Op tales first. This was a good thing because had I read Maltese Falcon, Glass Key, or Thin Man first I would never have read Op. Hammett started out so well on Op, but he went steadily downhill after that. Falcon is bad, really bad...but Key and Thin are increasingly worse. His stories and prose deteriorate with each passing paragraph. Hammett for me has always been the type of author whom I enjoy HOW he writes more than WHAT he writes. In the Op Hammett gave us an interesting enigmatic character. Unfortunately he fizzled out quickly after that. Sam Spade is a thug who somehow thinks he's an intellectual. And for the life of me, I still don't know what was the point of the "falling beams" story.

[alanteder · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The hardboiled P.I. modelSam Spade may have been predated by Hammett's "The Continental Op" but the anonymous nature of the Op agent doesn't leave the same firm picture in your mind that Sam Spade does. That image is also indelibly linked to the iconic Humphrey Bogart in the onscreen role.There are so many later stereotypes fixed in place by this one novel that to look back on it now can make you think it is a parody of the style rather than the original boilerplate. I've read it several times now and this late revisit was due to an opportunity presented by the Audible Daily Deal. The reading by Eric Meyer was excellent, especially for the boss-man role of Casper Gutman, the sidekick Mr. Cairo and the gunsel Wilmer Cook.

[crazy4reading · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have always wanted to read this book. I am glad our library book club chose this one. It is about a detective that gets hired by a woman who is part of a ring of thieves. The twists and turns the story takes made for an interesting ride.

[soylentgreen23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm rather conflicted about this book. On the one hand, it kind of gave birth to a new genre, and the film with Humphrey Bogart is legendary. But on the other - the action almost entirely happens off-screen, leaving the reader to imagine what is going on; and the writing is almost comically sexist and homophobic. Is this still a book we want to be celebrating in 2017? Can we forgive the time in which it was written? It's hard to be sure.

[natalies11-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is supposed to be a book that helped create and define a genre, but I was completely underwhelmed.There was so much promise to the book, but I felt in a lot of areas it really fell short. There was certainly a lack in character development and absolutely no suspense or climax to speak of. There was no spark to keep me interested and I only finished it as it was a book club pick.

[ageoflibrarius · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm a mystery kinda girl, and this hit the spot.
Sam Spade is the kind of person I don't like...a real private (figure it out) in more ways than one.
But despite the characters flaws and the heterosexist privilege rampant in the book, I really enjoyed it. The mood, the language, the clever ways of getting around the censors--this is a book worth reading.

[runs2slow · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Old fashioned, poor dialogue, stereotypical behavior. Too much description of Spade rolling many cigarettes. And stupid descriptions like "her lip was between her teeth" instead of "she bit her lip".

[sebastianhagelstein · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What makes this book interesting is the main character, Sam Spade. It's an interesting and enjoyable noir story, but Spade's ruthless personality gives the story a different edge that really makes it interesting.

[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.

[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...

[cwflatt · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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

[cyderry · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I seem to have trouble liking classics. I had heard that [The Maltese Falcon] was Dashiell Hammett's finest work, but if t is, I don't want to read another. I got through this book, that's about all I'll say because I felt that the writing was poor and that there was too much repetition of the actions and words that were used. If I read one more time about how he rolled a cigarette, I was closing the book and quitting right there. Besides the fact, I didn't think that it was much of a mystery.I hope that this year I can find at least one new classic that I can enjoy.

[angharad_reads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Noir. Somewhat confusing, requiring plenty of sneaky inference. Crooks. Looking out for number one. I'd seen the movie already, and Humphrey Bogart looks nothing like Sam Spade. I also don't recall the homosexual element being quite so explicit, but it's been a while since I've seen it. Counter to all parody noir-scenes I've seen (mostly on TV but also in books), this novel was not narrated the first person, nor were the descriptions loaded with lots of metaphor. When the woman walked into Spade's office (as of course she did), the most adverbial part of her description is "tall and pliantly slender, without angularity anywhere". This forcing of the reader to read implications and connotations into descriptions, seems to echo the same coyness of the plot and the characters. It's also why I got tired of the book when I tried to read it fifteen years ago. I'm curious now to read others in this subgenre, for comparison.

[delphimo_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Most people have seen the movie version of this classic detective mystery, but how many individuals have read about Sam Spade. Hammet vividly describes each of the characters: Kasper Gutman, Joel Cairo, Sam Spade, Effie Perrine, Iva Archer, and Brigid. Also, in the telling of the story, the reader encounters a history lesson about Spain in the 1500's. The falcon becomes a coveted treasure, such as the Holy Grail, with many trying to gain this prize. Three men are murdered in the search of locating the falcon. Sam Spade is low key, but seems to be a woman magnet. He has three women jostling for his attention: Brigid, Iva, and Effie. But Spade seems to keep his distance from each of these women. Hammett employs climate to set the mood of the story. In many scenes that famous San Francisco fog covers and obscures people and places. I enjoyed this dark and at times humorous mystery, and look forward to reading other Hammett works.

[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!

[asauer_9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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

[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....

[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.

[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.

[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

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This novel is a classic from 1929. The detective is Sam Spade located in San Francisco and one of the first hard-boil detective genre. Spade and his partner are hired by a woman and soon his partner is dead. This woman isn't telling the truth, uses her feminine whiles to get her way and Sam has to dig for the clues to who murdered his partner and why. Of course it all involves the Maltese Falcon. It's a quick read. I liked it much better than The Thin Man. This book is one of the 100 best on the Modern Library list.