From Publishers Weekly
Diehard fans of hard-boiled king Dashiell Hammett have craved a collection like this for decades, gathering fiction currently unavailable in book form, plus a handful of tales never reprinted anywhere. Period illustrations embellish certain stories, and the texts often refer to original typescripts. Casual readers, however, may find the overall quality disappointing. Most of the stories are minor. Many are quite brief. A few tales yet remain uncollected, so this is not a one-stop shop, and one of the best from this book, "Night Shade" has already appeared in the
Vintage Hammett (2005). As if unsure of the premise, the editor immerses the stories within what is, in effect, a short biography of Hammett written by himself—almost half the total page count. Edgar-winner Joe Gores provides an introduction.
(Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* At first glance, this seems like another bottom-line-driven attempt to collect a famous writer's justly neglected early works. This time, though, that isn't the case. These 21, long-out-of-print stories find Hammett at or near the top his game, his signature hard-boiled style shining brightly, for example, in the original Continental Op stories published in
Black Mask in 1924. Hammett's very first story, "The Barber and his Wife," from 1922, is here, too, as is his last story for
Collier's, "This Little Pig" (1934), which is presented both with the published ending and with a newly discovered alternate ending. While many anthologies are fairly leaden, with pat introductions presenting the stories, editor and publisher Emery does a fantastic job of bringing Hammett the accomplished writer and Hammett the struggling writer alive. He provides a running commentary, both before and after the stories, placing each work in the context of Hammett's life and development as a writer. There are some wonderful extra touches, too. For example, in the chapter devoted to Hammett's brief career as an advertising man in 1925 (after he temporarily gave up writing to feed his family), Emery includes illustrations of Hammett's ads, featuring the hilarious "Advertising Man Writes a Love Letter." He also includes
The Thin Man and the Flack, a 1941 Cameradio production (a radio play with photos) that capitalized on the success of
The Thin Man by falsely claiming Hammett as the author. With an insightful introduction by mystery writer Joe Gores. All in all, a splendid collection.
Connie FletcherCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
