Detective Sam Spade gets mixed up in a hardboiled mystery after the murder of his partner. Chapter I: Spade & Archer Chapter II: Death in the Fog Chapter III: Three Women Chapter IV: The Black Bird Chapter V: The Levantine Chapter VI: The Undersized Shadow Chapter VII: G in the Air Chapter VIII: Horse Feathers Chapter IX: Brigid Chapter X: The Belvedere Divan Chapter XI: The Fat Man Chapter XII: Merry-Go-Round Chapter XIII: The Emperor's Gift Chapter XIV: La Paloma Chapter XV: Every Crackpot Chapter XVI: The Third Murder Chapter XVII: Saturday Night Chapter XVIII: The Fall-Guy Chapter XIX: The Russian's Hand Chapter XX: If They Hang You "The Maltese Falcon is not only probably the best detective story we have ever read, it is an exceedingly well-written novel." "Hammett's prose is clean and entirely unique. His characters are as sharply and economically defined as any in American fiction." "Like Wilkie Collins and Arthur Conan Doyle, Hammett was an original who created a profoundly influential literary template that gives him classic status." "After reading The Maltese Falcon, I went mooning about in a daze of love such as I had not known for any character in literature since I encountered Sir Launcelot." "The best detective story America has yet produced."
