What do you think?
Rate this book
The Continental Op
The Tenth Clew and Other Cases for the Continental Op (Annotated and Illustrated): Four Novelettes and Five Stories
• The introduction of this eBook reviews briefly Dashiell Hammett as a writer and the stories of the Continental Op, one of his most enduring creation, published in “Black Mask” and “True Detective” in 1924 and later published as book collections. The eBook is illustrated with all magazine covers, selected book covers, and other illustrations.
Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hardboiled detective novels and short stories. He created many well-known characters such as Sam Spade (“The Maltese Falcon”), Nick and Nora Charles (“The Thin Man”), and the Continental Op, a never named insurance investigator (“Red Harvest,” “The Dain Curse,” and numerous short stories).
Hammett is widely regarded as one of the finest mystery writers of all time. “The New York Times,” called him “the dean of the hardboiled school of detective fiction,” although, technically, John Carroll Daly was the first to write a story in the hardboiled style and to create, with Terry Mack and Race Williams, the first hardboiled private eyes.
This eBook contains four novelettes and five stories, all, except the last one, published in “Black Mask”: “The Tenth Clew” (“The Tenth Clue”) (novelette), “Night Shots” (story), “Zigzags of Treachery” (story), “One Hour” (story), “The House in Turk Street” (story), “The Girl with Silver Eyes” (novelette), “Women, Politics and Murder” (“Death on Pine Street”) (novelette), “The Golden Horseshoe” (novelette), and “Who Killed Bob Teal?” (story).
Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hardboiled detective novels and short stories. He created many well-known characters such as Sam Spade (“The Maltese Falcon”), Nick and Nora Charles (“The Thin Man”), and the Continental Op, a never named insurance investigator (“Red Harvest,” “The Dain Curse,” and numerous short stories).
Hammett is widely regarded as one of the finest mystery writers of all time. “The New York Times,” called him “the dean of the hardboiled school of detective fiction,” although, technically, John Carroll Daly was the first to write a story in the hardboiled style and to create, with Terry Mack and Race Williams, the first hardboiled private eyes.
This eBook contains four novelettes and five stories, all, except the last one, published in “Black Mask”: “The Tenth Clew” (“The Tenth Clue”) (novelette), “Night Shots” (story), “Zigzags of Treachery” (story), “One Hour” (story), “The House in Turk Street” (story), “The Girl with Silver Eyes” (novelette), “Women, Politics and Murder” (“Death on Pine Street”) (novelette), “The Golden Horseshoe” (novelette), and “Who Killed Bob Teal?” (story).
310 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 12, 2020
5 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Dashiell Hammett
504 books2,750 followersAlso wrote as Peter Collinson, Daghull Hammett, Samuel Dashiell, Mary Jane Hammett
Dashiell Hammett, an American, wrote highly acclaimed detective fiction, including The Maltese Falcon (1930) and The Thin Man (1934).
Samuel Dashiell Hammett authored hardboiled novels and short stories. He created Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse) among the enduring characters. In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on film, Hammett "is now widely regarded as one of the finest mystery writers of all time" and was called, in his obituary in the New York Times, "the dean of the... 'hard-boiled' school of detective fiction."
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashiell...
Dashiell Hammett, an American, wrote highly acclaimed detective fiction, including The Maltese Falcon (1930) and The Thin Man (1934).
Samuel Dashiell Hammett authored hardboiled novels and short stories. He created Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse) among the enduring characters. In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on film, Hammett "is now widely regarded as one of the finest mystery writers of all time" and was called, in his obituary in the New York Times, "the dean of the... 'hard-boiled' school of detective fiction."
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashiell...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 14, 2021
One might call these Continental Ops stories proto-noir, but really many are fairly straight laced murder (or attempted murder) whodunits. The protagonist, the "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" private detective, is bland and unremarkable, except for his shrewd ability to piece together clues. Undoubtedly that was Hammett's intention, perhaps hoping it would put readers' attention squarely on the plot. The settings too are generally bland, typically middle or upper class locations - a country house, an unremarkable store front or apartment building, etc. What these stories do have going for them are generally well constructed plots, casts of contemptible characters, and a nice twist or two that Hammett manages to drop the tiniest clue for early on.
The Tenth Clew (3.0) - This one is a fairly straightforward murder mystery involving a lover's triangle, heavy with police procedural details. Quite good, with some unexpected turns.
Night Shots (3.0) - A sick, bedridden man is the target of some clumsy assassination attempts... or is he? Hammett leaves too much to the final denouement and the confession of the would be killer.
One Hour (3.5) - A super short story about a super short case, but the details of the criminals' scheming and a big fight scene keep it interesting.
The House in Turk Street (4.0) - More action, violence and suspense than the usual Continental Op story as our nameless private eye unknowingly stumbles into a den of backstabbing thieves, using his cunning to stay out of the crosshairs. In addition to the usual contemptuous criminal(s) there's a young red headed femme fatale - bold, devious and deadly. This may be my favorite Continental Op story yet.
Death on Pine Street (3.5) - The Continental Op detective uses some good old fashioned Sherlock Holmes style deduction plus some brazen bluffing to flush out a killer from among several shady suspects, including the hysterical wife and a mistress who is either stoned out of her mind or stupid as a rock - "I didn't know then, and I don't know now, whether she was the owner of the world's best poker face or was just naturally stupid, but whichever she was, she was thoroughly and completely it."
Who Killed Bob Teal? (3.0) - An interesting setup, but the Continental Op pulls together a few too many thin strands to make this whodunit even remotely believable.
The Tenth Clew (3.0) - This one is a fairly straightforward murder mystery involving a lover's triangle, heavy with police procedural details. Quite good, with some unexpected turns.
Night Shots (3.0) - A sick, bedridden man is the target of some clumsy assassination attempts... or is he? Hammett leaves too much to the final denouement and the confession of the would be killer.
One Hour (3.5) - A super short story about a super short case, but the details of the criminals' scheming and a big fight scene keep it interesting.
The House in Turk Street (4.0) - More action, violence and suspense than the usual Continental Op story as our nameless private eye unknowingly stumbles into a den of backstabbing thieves, using his cunning to stay out of the crosshairs. In addition to the usual contemptuous criminal(s) there's a young red headed femme fatale - bold, devious and deadly. This may be my favorite Continental Op story yet.
Death on Pine Street (3.5) - The Continental Op detective uses some good old fashioned Sherlock Holmes style deduction plus some brazen bluffing to flush out a killer from among several shady suspects, including the hysterical wife and a mistress who is either stoned out of her mind or stupid as a rock - "I didn't know then, and I don't know now, whether she was the owner of the world's best poker face or was just naturally stupid, but whichever she was, she was thoroughly and completely it."
Who Killed Bob Teal? (3.0) - An interesting setup, but the Continental Op pulls together a few too many thin strands to make this whodunit even remotely believable.
November 3, 2023
An entertaining collection of Hammett’s best short stories, enjoyable today after many decades, in print and even audio.
March 19, 2020
Absolutely classic detective stories!
March 19, 2020
Hammett sets a high bar in the detective novel genre.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews