by Moe Zilla

Created on: February 14, 2008

"The Maltese Falcon" is a classic detective film - but it's also a great book. Eleven years before the famous movie, Dashiell Hammett brought the characters to life in a detective novel that's just as compelling, and fun to read.

Originally Hammett published "The Maltese Falcon" in installments, which means every chapter has a stand-alone intensity. Brigid O'Shaughnessy is a woman in distress hiring detective Sam Spade to follow a man named Floyd Thursby - but it's soon revealed that she's lying about her past. Sam's partner, Miles Archer, is introduced in the first chapter, but then he's murdered almost immediately...along with Thursby. Spade has two murders to solve, and he's even a suspect in the killing of Thursby, with his only clue coming from the dishonest O'Shaughnessy. And then the eccentric Joel Cairo appears in his office, talking the seemingly unrelated matter of a missing figurine that's shaped like a falcon

Hammett had worked as a detective, so he knew what it was like to pursue the leads in a crime. He also knew that most crimes were boring and unglamorous - and in "The Maltese Falcon," he finally populates his detective world with colorful characters that are larger than life. The 1941 film followed the book faithfully, so the book includes all the familiar characters and their classic lines of dialogue. But in some cases, the book even includes additional lines of dialogue which were considered too provocative for the movie. For example, in the film, Brigid O'Shaughnessy slaps Joel Cairo before he can accuse her of scandalous behavior overseas. In the book, Cairo's complete accusation is presented: Brigid had tried to seduce a young man to gain valuable information!

Hammett's does some of his best writing in the book. He'd published short stories about detectives through the 1920s, and had already written two detective novels. ("Red Harvest" and "The Dain Curse.") But he'd finally mastered the art of combining characters with themes. A detective investigating murder and treasure-hunting is an interesting story, but Hammett raises the stakes with a higher message about love and greed.

The question of who killed Floyd Thursby is only the beginning of his problems.

Learn more about this author, Moe Zilla.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.