At times darker than the usual detective noir of this era that I'm familiar with, this collection of short stories starring our unnamed and unfit capable detective hits all the notes that I expected and hoped for. There are dangerous villains, terrible dames, double crosses, caricatures, as well as my favourite bits: the unglamorous boring grunt work of sitting around and waiting.

Having only been acquainted with Hammett's polished novel length famous heroes, these rough-edged curt men somehow feel more appealing, like a revelation of the real everyday world of these detectives, rather than just being associated with their high profile, once-in-a-lifetime cases. Will be seeking out even more Hammetts now. ( )

I felt like doing a reread of some Hammett, and I found this PB and realized I haven't read much of the Continental Op stuff. There are, it turns out, 36 Continental Op stories. This is a nice core sample of 7 . The formula with the detective protagonist in the middle of a a group of foreign villians, thick headed thugs, and femme fatales, engaged in some collective adversarial villainy as in The Maltese Falcon, is something that appears with some frequency. Terse, evocative prose -fun engaging stories. I'll hunt down the rest when I get a chance. ( )

This book contains a number of short detective stories, all involving the Continental Op. (You never learn his real name.) The stories are fast reads, and they are all well-written. Each captivates your interest, often with interesting twists at the end. I highly recommend this book! ( )

Very good stories- tough guy model for the ones that follow. usually out on the flyover states tracking down some fraud cases- ala Yours truly, Johnny Dollar- but a little more depth. ( )

1 - The Tenth Clew - Mr Leopold Gantvoort had arranged a meeting with the Continental Op for 9.00pm at his home. The Op arrives on time, but Mr Gantvoort fails to appear, after waiting several hours and just as he was leaving a call to house informs his son Charles that his father is dead. But why are there so many clues. The Continental Op and Detective O'Gar investigate.
2 - The Golden Horseshoe - Attorney Vance Richmond wants him to find missing Englishman Norman Ashcraft for wealthy Mrs Ashcraft
3 - The House in Turk Street - While looking for a man in Turk Street, what does the Continental Op stumble into.
4 - The Girl with the Silver Eyes - The Continental Op is called out of bed one Sunday morning to visit a Burke Pangburn. He states, eventually, that his fiancee Jeanne Delano is missing. Of course the case is not as straightforward as it at first seems.
5 - The Whosis Kid - after the kid is pointed out to him in 1917 as a suspected gunman, it is not until 1925 that he sees him again. The Continental Op decides to follow him. He's known as Arthur Cory or Carey. And follows him into a lot of trouble.
6 - The Main Death - Continental Op is employed by a Bruno Gungen to discover who killed his associate Jeffrey Main and robbed him of Gungen's $20,000.
7 - The Farewell Murder - He is hired by a Mr Kavalov because Hugh Sherry has threatened that he will die.
An enjoyable re-read of a collection of short mystery stories ( )