The Maltese Falcon
By Dashiell Hammett
San Francisco PI, Sam Spade is employed by mysterious “Miss Wonderley” which leads to his partner’s murder and a quest for an invaluable artifact; the Maltese Falcon.
Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel was immortalized on screen by Humphrey Bogart as the archtypical hard-boiled detective; Sam Spade in the 1941 Noir Film classic by the same name. Told entirely in the third person POV, Hammett's most enduring work is written in spare and descriptive prose. Essentially the story revolves around Spades quest for the Maltese Falcon, a jewel encrusted statue along with a group of disreputable characters. Consistently ranked as one of the top hard-boiled detective books; The Maltese Falcon endures for Hammett's unflinching prose and the stature of the 1941 film version.
