The Maltese Falcon is an NEA Big Read selection. The following links may be helpful:

About Dashiell Hammett
Putting his life in historical context
Introduction to The Maltese Falcon
Read-alikes for The Maltese Falcon
Discussion questions

"When a man's partner is killed, he's supposed to do something about it."
"Have the Spade & Archer taken off the door and Samuel Spade put on."

Meet Sam Spade, the intrepid private investigator who prowls the gritty, greedy, seedy side of 1930s San Francisco, solving murders, exposing an art theft ring, tussling with the police, and, oh, yes, having his way with the ladies. As “one of the earliest and best detective novels ever written,” The Maltese Falcon will provide plenty to discuss in local coffee shops and libraries, or wherever friends gather.

Dashiell Hammett Rewrites the Detective Story
The critics agree: “Detective novels of the last eight decades owe their appeal and format to Dashiell Hammett, the father of the genre.” This former Pinkerton detective gave readers their first taste of “hard-boiled” slang. And the setting? You could fill a street car with the names of fictional detectives working in San Francisco and the Bay Area (see “Golden Gate Mysteries”).

Suggested Read-alikes for The Maltese Falcon

Hard-boiled & Noir Mysteries

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. Private detective Jackson Brodie finds his own need for resolution sparked by three investigations, including that of two sisters who discover a shocking clue to the disappearance of their third sister thirty years earlier.

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. Private detective Marlowe is hired to investigate a blackmailing and finds himself bucking a well-run gang, several murders, and the D A’s office. Hard-boiled, fast paced, plenty of action, some sensationalism. Not for conservatives.

Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley. Easy Rawlins is fired from his factory job in 1948 and after working for a mobster, finds that he has skills as an investigator. Through Rawlins we see a very different side of L.A.—Watts instead of Beverly Hills, after-hours jazz clubs rather than art deco movie-star haunts.

L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy. Three troubled cops— Ed Exley, desperately seeking glory; vengeful Bud White, a witness to his mother’s murder by his father; and Jack Vincennes, a shakedown artist with a dark secret— tread a fine line between right and wrong in 1950s Los Angeles.

Amos Walker: The Complete Story Collection by Loren D. Estleman. Hard-boiled Detroit private investigator Amos Walker debuted 30 years ago in the novel Motor City Blue. The 32 stories in this collection range from standard missing-person cases, to a bizarre investigation that hinges on a tattoo, to a few in which Walker ventures outside his black-and-white hometown to the greener but sometimes more deadly Michigan countryside.

The Ghost and the Femme Fatale by Alice Kimberly. When a legendary femme fatale is nearly killed during Movie Town Theater’s first ever Film Noir Festival, Penelope Thornton-McClure turns to P.I. Jack Shepard, a hard-boiled ghost who remembers the victim’s dark past, for help in solving the mystery.

Death Was the Other Woman by Linda Richards. When her boss, PI Dexter Theroux, is hired by the mistress of one of L.A.’s most corrupt businessmen to tail her lover, secretary Kitty Pangborn suspects that the case may be linked to more than simple jealousy, especially when she and Dex stumble upon a corpse.

Modern Hard-boiled Mysteries

Harry Bosch Mysteries by Michael Connelly. Includes The Reversal, Lost Light, The Overlook, The Closers, The Narrows, and City of Bones

The Watchman by Robert Crais. Working as a bodyguard for a spoiled federal witness, Joe Pike hatches a desperate plan to disappear with the woman in the underworld of Los Angeles and turn on her would-be killers, an effort in which he enlists the help of private investigator Elvis Cole.

Mr. Paradise by Elmore Leonard. When party games involving a beautiful escort, her model roommate, lawyer Tony Paradiso, and his aide Montez Taylo, go murderously wrong, Detroit detective Frank Delsa finds himself with a double homicide on his hands.

Hard-boiled Mysteries for Younger Readers

Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. Nate the Great investigates two cases that may be connected, involving a missing valentine and a valentine that came from nowhere.

The Case of the Baffled Bear by Cynthia Rylant. Bunny and Jack, animal detectives, take a break from playing cards to look for Bernard Bear’s missing messenger whistle. (part of the High-Rise Private Eyes children’s series)

Tuff Fluff: The Sase of Duckie’s Missing Brain by Scott Nash. When Duckie, a terry cloth duck, loses his brain and can no longer tell stories to the other toys, Tuff Fluff the private investigator must solve the case.

Tough Cookie by David Wisniewski. When his friend Chips is snatched and chewed, Tough Cookie sets out to stop Fingers.

The Falcon’s Malteser: A Diamond Brothers Mystery by Anthony Horowitz. After his older brother, a fledgling private detective, agrees to safeguard a package for a dwarf who does not live long, 13-year-old Nick scampers to solve the mystery while also trying to stay one step ahead of an assortment of thugs.

The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko, Private Eye by Bruce Hale. When hired by a fellow fourth-grader to find her missing brother, Chet Gecko uncovers a plot involving a Gila monster’s revenge upon the school football team.

The Malted Falcon: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko, Private Eye by Bruce Hale.
Chet Gecko and his partner Natalie try to find a missing valentine and the winning ticket to a fantastic dessert.

The Mystery of Mr. Nice: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko, Private Eye by Bruce Hale. When the principal of his school begins acting nice to him, Chet Gecko realizes that he is an imposter and so sets out to find the real one.

Farewell My Lunchbag: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko, Private Eye by Bruce Hale. When fourth-grade private eye Chet Gecko is called to catch someone who is stealing food from the school cafeteria, he finds himself framed for the crime.

This Gum for Hire: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko, Private Eye by Bruce Hale. To save his own skin, private eye Chet Gecko sets out to solve the mystery of Emerson Hicky Elementary School's disappearing football players.

The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo. Matt Stevens, an average middle schooler with a glib tongue and a knack for solving crimes, uncovers a mystery while working with “the organization,” a mafia-like syndicate run by seventh-grader Vincent “Mr. Biggs” Biggio, specializing in forged hall passes, test-copying rings, black market candy selling, and taking out hits with water guns.

Betrayal & Murdered Partners

Flint by Paul Eddy. Nearly killed in an undercover sting operation, talented policewoman Grace Flint undertakes a mission of personal revenge and unleashes a terrifying chain of events that will result in treachery, murder, and extortion.

French Quarter by Stella Cameron. Celina Payne is plunged into a nightmarish world when her boss, Errol Petrie, dies in a scandalous situation and Petrie’s business partner, Jack Charbonnet, is convinced that she is hiding something. As they search for the truth, passion flares between them and an unimaginable evil threatens to destroy them both.

Sharp Edges by Jayne Ann Krentz. Art director Eugenia Swift and private eye Cyrus Chandler Colfax are forced to pose as husband and wife as they head to Frog Cove Island near Seattle so that Eugenia can catalog a glass collection belonging to the recently deceased Adam Daventry. In the galleries of Frog Cove Island lurks a killer.

Rainbow’s End: A Richard Jury Novel by Martha Grimes. Chief Superintendent Richard Jury of Scotland Yard tangles with a despicable villain while investigating three apparently “natural deaths” and finds himself embroiled with an assortment of eccentric characters.

Beacon Street Mourning: A Freemont Jones Mystery by Dianne Day. Turn-of-the-century San Francisco’s feisty detective, Fremont Jones, hastens to her dying father’s bedside in Boston. Fremont is convinced that her stepmother poisoned him—until someone kills her. Fremont and partner/lover Michael Archer subsequently expose a number of suspects in this atmospheric historical mystery.

Fidelity by Thomas Perry. When secretive private detective Phil Kramer is murdered, his widow, Emily, and his killer, Jerry Hobart, who has been ordered to kill Emily, compete to uncover the dark truth behind the killing while questioning where their true loyalties lie.

Where Memories Lie by Deborah Crombie. Detective Inspector Gemma James and her partner, Duncan Kincaid, must navigate the shadowy and secretive world of London’s moneyed society to discover a jewelry piece’s connection to a murderer and a pair of refugees from Nazi Germany.

Betrayal in San Francisco

Betrayal by John Lescroat. San Francisco defense attorney Dismas Hardy, coping with a newly-emptied nest and a returned-to-work wife, is asked by a judge to clean up the caseload of a missing attorney and soon finds himself plunged into a consuming homicide investigation.

A Plague of Secrets by John Lescroat. Dismas Hardy defends the mayor’s beautiful socialite niece who is suspected of killing a charming ex-convict in this compelling and timely legal thriller filled with blackmail, political intrigue, and multiple murders.

Damage by John Lescroat. San Francisco homicide chief Abe Glitsky takes on a particularly nasty villain in Lescroart’s hair-raising 16th novel featuring Glitsky and lawyer Dismas Hardy.

Nothing But the Truth by John Lescroat. San Francisco defense attorney Dismas Hardy finds himself caught up in a high-stakes murder case when his wife, Frannie, is jailed for refusing to reveal the secret of a man accused of killing his wife.

Passion, Betrayal, and Killer Highlights by Kyra Davis. When her unfaithful brother-in-law is murdered and her sister is accused of the crime, mystery writer Sophie Katz decides to investigate, only to get into a world of trouble that brings her face-to-face with the real killer.

Our Lady of Pain: A Novel by Elena Forbes. Detective Inspector Mark Tartaglia and his partner, Detective Sergeant Sam Donovan investigate after art dealer Rachel Tenison is found dead in Holland Park.

Deception & Betrayal

Faking It by Jennifer Crusie. A hilarious, warm novel with a cast of quirky and wonderful characters all pretending to be someone else, surrounding a plot to steal back a forged painting.

Paranoia by Joseph Finder. When a young employee at a high-tech corporation is caught attempting to manipulate the system, he chooses spying on a competitor over going to jail.

Cross Dressing by Bill Fitzhugh. Dan checks his brother, a priest, into the hospital under his own name to get free health coverage, but must then assume his brother’s identity when the twin dies. Nothing is sacred in this “out of the frypan, into the fire” satire.

The Other Side of the Door by Nicci French. Panicking when she discovers her secret lover dead on the floor, Bonnie attempts a cover up but cannot avoid the desperate game of cat and mouse that ensues.

Double Take by Brenda Joyce. This taut romantic thriller offers stunning twists and turns when estranged twin sisters, now grown, trade places for “a day or two.”

Art theft

Buy Back by Brian Wiprud. Tom Davin recovers stolen art and sells it back to its owners for a pretty penny, until he uncovers a devious plot and finds himself on the run.

Our Lady of Immaculate Deception by Nancy Martin. Involved in “mostly” legal activities, the niece of a mafia boss further complicates her life by hiding an ancient Greek statue.

The Same River Twice by Ted Mooney. Smuggling folk art out of the former Soviet Union causes problems for a French clothing designer and her American husband.

The Hypnotist by M.J. Ross. In this, the author’s third Reincarnationist novel, an FBI Art Crime investigator becomes the pawn in a much larger game, causing him to question, among other things, his own sanity.

Once a Thief by Kay Hooper. A man risks his family treasures as bait to catch a notorious thief.

The World to Come: A Novel by Dara Horn. A million-dollar Chagall is stolen from a museum by a pair of gifted twins who evade the police while seeking to discover the painting’s history.

The Marble Mask by Archer Mayor. A stolen sculpture and murder complicate a rookie investigator’s first case.

Four Kinds of Rain by Robert Ward. A psychiatrist discovers that his patient’s delusions regarding a valuable mask are anything but fanciful.

Mrs. Pargeter’s Point of Honour by Simon Brett. Discovering her late husband’s proclivity for thievery, a widow attempts to return a mansionful of stolen artworks.

Le Mariage: A Novel by Diane Johnson. A struggling journalist, on the trail of a missing manuscript, creates havoc for a cast of characters.

Cat in a Quicksilver Caper by Carole Nelson Douglas. Murder and mystery surround Temple Barr and Midnight Louie when a Las Vegas casino decides to exhibit a priceless artifact.

The Grand Complication by Allen Kurzweil. Intrigue and theft complicate the life of a stylish young librarian on assignment to research an 18th-century inventor.

False Impression by Jeffrey Archer. A breathtaking journey of twists and turns takes readers from New York to London, Bucharest and Tokyo before ending up in a sleepy English village where a mystery surrounding Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear will be resolved.

The English Assassin by Daniel Silva. In this taut, lightning-paced thriller, a simple cleaning job turns into a fight for his life for art restorer Gabriel Allon, who uncovers a conspiracy involving WWII profiteering and Nazi collaboration.

Miscellaneous

Crazybone by Bill Pronzini. The “nameless detective” journeys behind the lush facade of the affluent California community of Greenwood when he investigates an unusual case of insurance fraud and uncovers a complex web of larceny, adultery, betrayal, and murder.

Betrayers by Bill Pronzini. As Nameless inches closer to retirement, Pronzini gives readers three cases per novel, one involving each of the agency’s three principals. And, as always, each case reveals a little more of each character, which at this stage of the series—more than 30 novels plus short stories—is the greatest pleasure of all.

Beyond Eden by Catherine Coulter. The story of a successful model who hides behind a false name to protect herself from a past of betrayal and treachery — and a present filled with sinister shadows. When she meets an ex-cop turned private investigator, Lindsay is forced to face her own secrets — and to answer the disturbing question: who is trying to kill her, and why?

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway (Fic/Hem) This novel illustrates the shift in writing style that appeared during the 1920s, in which authors began to use simple, conversational language that more naturally reflected the way people talk. As with Hammet’s writing, many readers were shocked by the directness and the occasional use of profanity. The Sun Also Rises portrays young Americans in Europe. Their relationships in some ways resemble the character studies in The Maltese Falcon, though there is considerably more ambiguity.