Arson Plus and Other Stories: Collected Case Files of the Continental Op: The Early Years, Volume 1

author: Dashiell Hammett
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2017/01/12
date added: 2020/02/07
shelves:
review:
'Arson Plus and Other Stories: Collected Case Files of the Continental Op: The Early Years, Volume 1' by Dashiell Hammett is a book with three stories featuring the Continental Op.

Hammett was known for Sam Spade, but he started with these stories of a nameless detective and he wrote a bunch of them. His style of writing is economical and cinematic. The stories evoke a mood of someone trying to hide a crime and a relentless detective in pursuit of the answer. In 'Arson Plus', the first story featuring the Continental Op, a house has gone up in a fire, but what was the cause? There are plenty of suspects, to be sure.

'Crooked Souls' deals with a kidnapped heiress and 'Slippery Fingers' deals with a man found dead in his library. The money paid out of his account points to blackmail, but why?

I've been a Hammett fan for a long time, and it's great to see his work still in print. The Foreword and Introduction are interesting pieces on where these early work came from, and Hammett's inspiration for them (he worked for Pinkerton's National Detective Service for a while). There are only three stories here, but there are many other collections in the series. Check one out and enjoy a good mystery or three.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Mysterious Press.com, Open Road, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read https://ift.tt/2utk07u