Modern readers diving into Dashiell Hammett might start with “Red Harvest” (1929), as it’s the first of the former Pinkerton detective’s five novels. But in
I generally don’t like getting into the nitty-gritty of political gamesmanship, but such is the writing skill of Dashiell Hammett and the appeal of his
We have a tendency to think history is simpler than it really is. It’s tempting to think Dashiell Hammett wrote “The Maltese Falcon” in 1930
“The Thin Man” movie adaptation (1934) is a fascinating case study in how some things work for the written word and some things work for
I recalled “The Thin Man” (1934) being quite a bit lighter than Dashiell Hammett’s other masterpiece, “The Maltese Falcon” (1930). But on this reread the
In Philip K. Dick’s “Minority Report,” the three precog crime-solvers are named after legendary mystery novelists: Agatha, Arthur and Dash. Agatha Christie wrote 74 novels,