this is certainly the weakest of Hammett’s novels. The Dain Curse doesn’t build to all-out havoc like Red Harvest, it lacks the honed wit and emotional sophistication of The Glass Key (Hammett’s best imo) and The Maltese Falcon, and at its most urbane it feels clammy next to The Thin Man. if you like Hammett you will find something to like about this book, but you will have to put up with a lot of sloppy plotting and boring characters. 

Perhaps my least favorite part was the inconsistent narrative style; we get too much interiority into the Op and it blows the whole tone. Hammett is a master at first-person narratives where the protagonist's motivations are only revealed through dialogue and action, and not through internal monologues or reminiscence. it makes for subtle and compelling storytelling and complements the subject matter. this is the one novel of his where I can recall Hammett failing to maintain that style throughout. it would have been fine to pivot entirely, but the inconsistency was particularly ungratifying.