The Maltese Falcon by Dashiel Hammett is the quintessential detective novel with Sam Spade as the prototype detective. Hammett created a detective archetype (or at least popularized it) that survives (and even thrives) to this day. I would guess that more people have seen the movie (the Humphrey Bogart version) than have read the book. So, is the book worth reading or should people just see the movie?

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The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett was Hammett’s last novel and probably his second most popular (after The Maltese Falcon). It was also the starting point for the Nick and Nora Charles movies (starring William Powell and Myrna Loy). They movie and the book are completely different types of stories, but both are well worth their time.

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