Book Review: The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

“When a man’s partner is killed he’s supposed to do something about it. It doesn’t make any difference what you thought of him. He was your partner and you’re supposed to do something about it. Then it happens we were in the detective business. Well, when one of your organization gets killed it’s bad business to let the killer get away with it. It’s bad all around-bad for that one organization, bad for every detective everywhere.
Sam Spade”

Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon

Review:

This is a book that has been on my TBR for over a decade. Now that it’s in the public domain, it seemed like a fun time to finally pick it up (even though I do own a copy). 

A woman calling herself Miss Wonderly hires Archer and Spade to investigate a man she claims to have taken off with her sister. Keen to her game, they accept her $200, but when Archer winds up dead, she’s forced to admit her true identity as Brigid O’Shaughnessy. Spade ends up entangled in her circle as everyone desperately seeks the priceless Maltese Falcon. 

It’s been a while since I watched the film adaptation, yet as I read, so many lines of dialogue rang in my ears, prompting me to double-check and make sure my copy wasn’t something produced after the movie. I’d have to rewatch it with the book in hand to say with full confidence, but from discussions I’ve scrolled through, it sounds like the film did remain faithful to the book. Honestly, I did enjoy the film better. The film noir atmosphere adds a lot to the tone of the story. It was still interesting to read the original work, though.

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• Great dialogue.
• The mystery flows well.

What I didn’t like:

• I wish it could have been slower-paced as a whole. Even though the mystery hit the right beats, everything else felt rushed.
• I would have liked more character depth.

Afterthoughts:

I’d like to revisit this alongside the movie when I have more time.

Where to buy the book: