The Hunter and Other Stories

**The Hunter Shortlisted for the 2015 CWA Short Story Dagger



**

A new collection of crime stories from the legendary hard-boiled writer Dashiell Hammett. The author of classic novels The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon, Hammett has been called 'a master of the detective novel, yes, but also one hell of a writer' (The Boston Globe), while Raymond Chandler raved that Hammett 'wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before.' Two previously unseen 'Thin Man' novellas were recently published together as Return of the Thin Man, which garnered strong praise: the New York Journal of Books called it a reason to 'rediscover why Dashiell Hammett was the peerless master of crime fiction in all its dark and bloody glory,' while The Wall Street Journal praised it as 'an occasion for delight.' This new collection, The Hunter and Other Stories, includes several more never-before-published short stories, and, like the screen stories from Return of the Thin Man, the pieces here read as novellas rich in both story and character that no Hammett fan should do without.

The Hunter and Other Stories includes new Hammett stories gleaned from his personal archives along with screen treatments long buried in film-industry files, screen stories, unpublished and rarely published fiction, and intriguing unfinished narratives. Hammett is regarded as both a pioneer and master of hard-boiled detective fiction, but these dozen-and-a-half stories, which explore failed romance, courage in the face of conflict, hypocrisy, and crass opportunism, show him in a different light.

Featuring the title story, about a dogged PI unwilling to let go of a seemingly trivial case, the collection also includes two full-length screen treatments. 'On the Make' is the basis for the rarely seen 1935 film Mister Dynamite, about a corrupt detective who never misses an opportunity to take advantage of his clients rather than help them. 'The Kiss-Off' is the basis for City Streets (1931), in which Gary Cooper and Sylvia Sydney are caught in a romance complicated by racketeering's obligations and temptations.



Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, a screenplay writer, and a political activist. Among his enduring characters were Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and The Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse). He died in 1961 in New York City.



'If you are a confirmed Dashiell Hammett fan you will find this book interesting. This is a broad picture of Hammett's styles and his development as a writer'



'These stories reinforce the idea that had Hammett been able to realise his ambition of writing more than just detective fiction, he may have been able to rival Hemingway'



'this book is a must-read, because it shows the Maryland-born writer can handle just about any situation'