Take a photo of a barcode or cover
dave_peticolas's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of Hammett short stories, all good.
jenmcgee's review against another edition
3.0
Another collection of short stories, some of which I've read before but some of which I hadn't, showing Hammett's wide range in writing--his slow-witted but good-hearted boxer speaks with a dictinct diction, as does his wonderfully charming highbrow aspiring poet-detective, who's in love with his terrible poetry but dismisses his brilliant detective work as nothing much. Also includes an early draft of the beginning of The Thin Man, which doesn't work very well on its own but definitely reveals how important Nick and Nora Charles are to making the whole thing crackle as the final product does.
duckabroad's review against another edition
4.0
Why it's good:
Hammett is the father and master of hard boiled fiction, and this collection of short stories shows why. Most of the stories are detective mysteries, but not all. All three of Hammett's better known detectives each feature in multiple stories, and everything is nailed down in noir. This is a great example of a book being exactly what it sells itself to be.
Why it's not so good:
Its strengths become its weaknesses at times. These detective stories are the epitome of their kind, but often the scenes become too similar from one story to another and they begin to feel repetitive and bleed together at times. And personally, I don't think detective stories work as well in short fiction. Reading one after another, even when they're written by one of the best, puts the problems of fitting the genre onto the short form on full display. Still, the collection is great and worth a read.
Hammett is the father and master of hard boiled fiction, and this collection of short stories shows why. Most of the stories are detective mysteries, but not all. All three of Hammett's better known detectives each feature in multiple stories, and everything is nailed down in noir. This is a great example of a book being exactly what it sells itself to be.
Why it's not so good:
Its strengths become its weaknesses at times. These detective stories are the epitome of their kind, but often the scenes become too similar from one story to another and they begin to feel repetitive and bleed together at times. And personally, I don't think detective stories work as well in short fiction. Reading one after another, even when they're written by one of the best, puts the problems of fitting the genre onto the short form on full display. Still, the collection is great and worth a read.
lauras_rambles's review against another edition
4.0
What a swell book. I wish we all still used 1920s slang. I'm not going to be able to stop thinking about that last one.
If you want to take a step back in time to the American 1930’s, this is the book for you. Hammett is most famous for his novel, The Maltese Falcon. He has also written short stories featuring different private eyes, which are featured in this compilation.
While I enjoyed each story, reading one after the other caused them to start blending together. I recommend reading one, picking up another book, then reading another short story from this series. That should keep each story distinct. Unless of course that book you are reading to break up the short stories is another hard-boiled detective novel…
My favorite story was actually the last one in the book. It ends, and if you are me, you are left staring at the last page thinking “But who did it!?!?!” That story got me worked up and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for a couple weeks. Because of that it was one of my favorites and will stay with me. Once I knock down my “TBR Tower” I’ll be picking up The Maltese Falcon for sure!
OTHER PLACES I LIVE ON THE INTERNET
Art, Crafts, & Books: Blog | Instagram
Travel Stories & Tips: Blog | Instagram
Classy Cats in Classics: Tumblr | Instagram
If you want to take a step back in time to the American 1930’s, this is the book for you. Hammett is most famous for his novel, The Maltese Falcon. He has also written short stories featuring different private eyes, which are featured in this compilation.
While I enjoyed each story, reading one after the other caused them to start blending together. I recommend reading one, picking up another book, then reading another short story from this series. That should keep each story distinct. Unless of course that book you are reading to break up the short stories is another hard-boiled detective novel…
My favorite story was actually the last one in the book. It ends, and if you are me, you are left staring at the last page thinking “But who did it!?!?!” That story got me worked up and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for a couple weeks. Because of that it was one of my favorites and will stay with me. Once I knock down my “TBR Tower” I’ll be picking up The Maltese Falcon for sure!
OTHER PLACES I LIVE ON THE INTERNET
Art, Crafts, & Books: Blog | Instagram
Travel Stories & Tips: Blog | Instagram
Classy Cats in Classics: Tumblr | Instagram
karinlib's review against another edition
3.0
I've just started reading Dashiell Hammett, some short things, and I really like his blunt style.
vorpalblad's review against another edition
5.0
The different perspectives and voices he uses show what a versatile writer he was. Includes an interesting foreword.
bob_muller's review against another edition
5.0
It is tremendously fun to be a fan of an author like Dashiell Hammett and then discover a "new" collection of stories. Not that re-reading the Continental Op collection and the novels is boring, but a whole set of stories (Continental Op included, and Sam Spade) that one hasn't read? Nice. I think the editors have done a great job, and the biographical sketch told me a lot about Hammett that I didn't know. Highly recommended. Anyone out there doing the real, complete Dashiell Hammett collection? Please? Why should Twain get all the glory? Sam Spade would have had Huck Finn in jail faster than the squeeze of a trigger.
bearofsand's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I've always been a big fan of Hammett's novels. The Maltese Falcon is probably in my top five books of all time. So needless to say, I was quite excited when I started this compilation of short stories. And we start off with a bang! Nightmare Town is a great little novella. I'd argue it's the best story in this whole collection.
It doesn't exactly go downhill from there, there are some other gems in here (A Man Called Spade, Too Many Have Lived, etc.). But we definitely have dessert before dinner in this instance.
I do think Nightmare Town's length lends to its excellence. I've discovered Hammett tends to do better when he has some room to write. The worst short stories in this collection tend to be the shortest of the bunch. It's the stories that have room to grow, room to introduce new characters, room to develop a noir-style plot that end up having the best effect.
Some of these 8 pagers start building up to something, only for there to be a half page left to sum it all up! Hammett then relies too heavily on exposition from one of the characters to reveal the big mystery, a common tactic of the genre but other parlor scenes do this more adroitly.
If you're a noir fan though, this book is highly recommended. There are a few duds in here but there's enough greatness to balance the scales.
It doesn't exactly go downhill from there, there are some other gems in here (A Man Called Spade, Too Many Have Lived, etc.). But we definitely have dessert before dinner in this instance.
I do think Nightmare Town's length lends to its excellence. I've discovered Hammett tends to do better when he has some room to write. The worst short stories in this collection tend to be the shortest of the bunch. It's the stories that have room to grow, room to introduce new characters, room to develop a noir-style plot that end up having the best effect.
Some of these 8 pagers start building up to something, only for there to be a half page left to sum it all up! Hammett then relies too heavily on exposition from one of the characters to reveal the big mystery, a common tactic of the genre but other parlor scenes do this more adroitly.
If you're a noir fan though, this book is highly recommended. There are a few duds in here but there's enough greatness to balance the scales.
francomega's review against another edition
3.0
Sam Spade only appeared 4 times on the page: The Maltese Falcon and the three stories included here. While the stories are all essentially hard-boiled versions of Agatha Christie drawing room mysteries, they're fun and Spade has a better showing than he did in Falcon.
I didn't read all the stories here, but I did read the ones featuring Hammett's other famous detective, the Continental Op. Maybe it's me, but it feels like Hammett put more into the Op stories--more attitude, more substance. All enjoyable, short reads.
I didn't read all the stories here, but I did read the ones featuring Hammett's other famous detective, the Continental Op. Maybe it's me, but it feels like Hammett put more into the Op stories--more attitude, more substance. All enjoyable, short reads.