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mcf's review against another edition
4.0
I'm just really glad I accidentally discovered that I'm over my previous dislike of Hammett. So much goodness to reread!
lleullawgyffes's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lporto's review against another edition
2.0
This was one that I had to admit was a did not finish. Even setting aside our modern view I could not get past the "mulatto girl" wording and attitude. I really wanted to like this book.
gsatori's review against another edition
2.0
This is a pulp novel at its heart. Horribly constructed with absurd situations and a convoluted plot, the book works best when it is all about the action.
I have read Hammett and this is not a good example of the author.
I have read Hammett and this is not a good example of the author.
virtualreba's review against another edition
4.0
Weird but but fun. A page turner. Very 30s detective noir.
tasharobinson's review against another edition
2.0
Easily the weakest of Hammett's novels, this one was published as a serial, and reads like Hammett wrote most of it without a plan, then circled around to try to tie it up in any way possible at the end. The novel starts with a promisingly unusual diamond theft, but before long, everyone near the diamonds is delivering long, rambling, unlikely confessions and then dying. Where Hammett's other novels are gritty and realistic, this one goes into silly, lurid territory involving hypnotist cultists and human sacrifices (sort of), and still more long, rambling confessions. Then there's a murder mystery, which ultimately seems to implicate everyone in town—which they tend to admit in long, rambling confessions, half of which are false, and ill-justified. The plot twists come across as random and arbitrary, and by the time the book ends—with a long, rambling confession, naturally—the whole book seems like an exercise in mildly interesting setups followed by unlikely tell-don't-show endings. I read Red Harvest in one sitting. This one took me weeks, because I couldn't muster up the interest to get back to it. Hammett wrote five novels. All four of the other ones are much, much better than this.
tumblehawk's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not a big fan of detective/crime fiction. I picked this book up off a hunch I had when I skimmed past it in a bin of used novels for sale. I'm glad that, like the protagonist of this book, I listened to my intuition. I was richly rewarded. Such perfect sentences! Such an incredible voice.
batbones's review against another edition
4.0
"You've got a flighty mind. That's no good in this business. You don't catch murderers by amusing yourself with interesting thoughts. You've got to sit down to all the facts you can get and turn them over and over until they click."
Sometimes too-eager and over-dramatic state of events are counterpointed by the nameless continental op's levelheadedness and good nature. There's a coy chapter (18) in which a detective and a novelist discuss the appropriateness of a person's disposition to the calling of sleuth, and that comes closest to a nudge-and-wink without Hammett tacitly acknowledging it as meta-commentary.
Sometimes too-eager and over-dramatic state of events are counterpointed by the nameless continental op's levelheadedness and good nature. There's a coy chapter (18) in which a detective and a novelist discuss the appropriateness of a person's disposition to the calling of sleuth, and that comes closest to a nudge-and-wink without Hammett tacitly acknowledging it as meta-commentary.