One of the greatest crime novels of the 20th century. Sam Spade is hired by the fragrant Miss Wonderley to track down her sister, who has eloped with a louse called Floyd Thursby. But Miss Wonderley is in fact the beautiful and treacherous Brigid O'Shaughnessy, and when Spade's partner Miles Archer is shot while on Thursby's trail, Spade finds himself both hunter and hunted: can he track down the jewel-encrusted bird, a treasure worth killing for, before the Fat Man finds him?
Mystery novel by Dashiell Hammett , generally considered his finest work. It originally appeared as a serial in Black Mask magazine in 1929 and was published in book form the next year. The novel's sustained tension is created by vivid scenes and by the pace and spareness of the author's style. The other major attraction of The Maltese Falcon is its colorful cast of characters.
