Good, but not great ( )

What a fun little mystery. Full of "good ol' boys", corruption and absolutely hilarious lingo. This is traditional mystery in the true "I'm your relative so make me a copper so I can hunt this guy down." The corruption and ridiculous thugs and even the deaths and story line was just all Old time Good fellas crime and punishment. It's rare I read books with this type of theme so it's always fun when I do. I really enjoyed the different style, even if I caught whodoneit early on. ( )

Hard-boiled isn't necessarily my thing, but this really was very good. Why write a review when Dorothy Parker, who had such a way with words, said it so well, "He is so hard-boiled you could roll him on the White House lawn." ( )

I had read The Maltese Falcon and didn't like it, and had read The Thin Man, and thought it was terrific. So I figured this book would be the tie breaker on if I liked Hammett's work.

Turns out I don't much like his work. Our main guy, Ned, makes all these moves and all these statements and gives no explanations or context for any of them. He doesn't even explain himself when the other characters in the book ask him questions, he only ever looks at them "obliquely" (Hammett is in love with this word). The story doesn't flow, it's a jumble of moments that have to all be explained at the end.

So it seems I am not a fan of Hammett's, I am only a fan of The Thin Man. Pass, and wish I had my €3 back. ( )

this was recommended quite highly for noir fiction and it's alright ... there's gotta be better though