Hammett’s classic mystery novel featuring detective Sam Spade made the New York Times list of Classic Crime Novels in their 125th Anniversary Edition and for good reason.  Spade is a tough guy with a big heart, a huge sense of loyalty, and a commitment to his own well-being.  He uses his head, his fists, and his sixth sense for survival to outwit a gang of baddies intent on finding a jewel-encrusted statue of a falcon.

‘The Maltese Falcon’, written nearly 100 years ago, remains one of the greats of noir fiction, immortalized in the movie starring Humphrey Bogart as Spade, Mary Astor as Brigid O’Shaughnessy, Sydney Greenstreet as Kaspar Gutman, and Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo.  Throw in Elisha Cook as Wilmer and a young Ward Bond as a cop, and you have a classic cast in a movie that continues to appear on late night TV and at the Brattle Theater in Harvard Square where I saw it several times as an undergrad.

Hammett, who had been a Pinkerton detective before turning to writing, has all the tricks of the trade—double-crosses, false identities, stake-outs, and a beautiful, deceitful woman.  The story is a bit thin, but the action is fast-paced and the writing is superb.  If you don’t know this book, read it now and you’ll find yourself fully caught up in the San Francisco of the 1920’s, dark, damp, and foggy.  At the end, Spade is still standing even if most of the others are not!