The Maltese Falcon is a bomb that starts ticking in the first chapter, ticks faster as it goes, and doesn't detonate until the last pitiless page. Who murdered Spade's partner? Where is the Maltese falcon? Is Brigid O'Shaughnessy as guileless as she claims? Will Spade risk himself to save her? Among many other things, The Maltese Falcon is about what it's like to want something-a fortune, a lover, or even respect-so bad that you would kill for it, give up a chance at happiness to get it, until finally the chase itself means more to you than what you're chasing. Sam Spade is not a man to shy away from a fight, but he is also clever enough to play along in order to find the falcon and prove himself innocent. Spade soon realizes that O'Shaughnessy, Cairo, and Cairo's boss, Casper Gutman, are all seeking an elusive falcon statuette once owned by the legendary Knights of Rhodes. He returns to his office, where the shadowy Joel Cairo pays a surprise visit and offers five thousand dollars for the return of a jewel-encrusted black bird. Spade knows he's being manipulated but remains uncertain about Brigid's motives. After Miss Wonderly summons Spade to her hotel the next day, she confesses that her real name is Brigid O'Shaughnessy.

The police question Spade's innocence because he and Archer's wife were having an affair. Though he disliked Archer, Spade's personal moral code dictates that 'when a man's partner is killed he's supposed to do something about it.' This bogus job gets Spade's partner, Miles Archer, and a thug named Thursby killed that same night. A tough, independent detective, Samuel Spade is hired by the beautiful and mysterious 'Miss Wonderly,' who walks into his office pleading desperately for help finding her sister. Set in San Francisco, the story takes place over a six-day period, beginning Wednesday, December 5, and ending Monday morning, December 10, 1928. Hammett's clean prose and sharp ear for dialogue produced an exceedingly readable novel with enough twists to keep the reader turning the pages in search of clues. Introduction to the Bookĭashiell Hammett's third novel, The Maltese Falcon (1930), set the standard by which all subsequent detective fiction would be judged. The only criticism one could offer Hammett’s private-eye classic is that it is so much fun to read, it might be hard the first time through to realize how deeply observed and morally serious it is. It’s also a brilliant literary work, as well as a thriller, a love story, and a dark, dry comedy. Yes, it is a detective novel-one of the best ever written. Some people were surprised when The Maltese Falcon, a detective novel, appeared on The Big Read list.

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