Hammett back in the 1930s brought a darkness and suitably complex characters to crime and mystery books, where Sam Spade’s or the Continental Op’s personalities and emotional heritage was as important as the plots they became involved in. Tony Black’s Gus Dury is an Edinburgh journalist whose life has been destroyed and, through involuntary crime investigations, is being rebuilt piece by piece. Both authors reflect the despair brought along by corruption and alcohol and poignantly evoke real life’s reality.
Recommended:
Dashiell Hammett - RED HARVEST. An insidious web of corruption envelopes a whole city. Has never been filmed despite a slew of projects, but think CHINATOWN or the Coen Bros’ MILLER’S CROSSING, which were strongly inspired by Hammett’s book.
Tony Black - LOSS. Gus Dury is trying to patch up his broken marriage, but sinister undercurrents surrounding him and the rotten state of the city all conspire against his likely success. But he keeps on fighting, despite his many weaknesses.
The Continental Op first heard Personville called Poisonville by Hickey Dewey. But since Dewey also called a shirt a shoit, he didn't think anything of it. Until he went there and his client, the only honest man in Poisonville, was murdered. Then the Op decided to stay to punish the guilty. And that meant taking on the entire town...
'This story of senseless killing is made fascinating by its unrelenting paceand the sheer brilliance of the writing. Classic crime writing.' GOOD BOOK GUIDE
Author
About Dashiell Hammett
Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) was born in Maryland and worked in a number of
menial jobs until he became an operative for the Pinkerton Detective Agency. His
experiences as a private detective laid the foundations for his writing career.
His work includes Red Harvest, The Maltese Falcon, The Glass Key, The Thin Man and some eighty short stories, mostly published in Black Mask magazine.
