"The Continental Op"

He really is a man of mystery - someone about whom we know surprisingly little. He's a good detective, one who prefers to use his brain but who is not averse to using his fists or a gun, if necessary. He has no name - at least none that he is willing to share with the reader. He is simply a detective, an operative working for the Continental Detective Agency in the San Francisco of the 1920s. He is Dashiell Hammett's marvelous creation, "The Continental Op," featured in some of Hammett's short stories, collected and published in an anthology from Vintage, one of Random House's imprints. That collection is reviewed on this week's Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the entire review here.

Hammett is widely regarded as one of the most influential American mystery writers of the first half of the 20th century, and some of his books were made into top-notch movies. His fiction is American; his tough guy is tough, although there's not a lot of gratuitous violence. Nobody is ever likely to mistake one of Hammett's heroes for the detectives of Britain's Golden Age. But the Op roams the streets of San Francisco, getting involved with many different types of people. And, because the author is Hammett, the writing is colorful, the plotting strong and the characters memorable. This collection is a worthy addition to your library.