The Third Wheel

The Black Mask publishings and novels of Dashiell Hammett are the genesis of noir fiction. However, as Dashiell Hammett was in fact a private eye, he has a credibility and a realism not found in other Noir. The origin of his writing was in paperwork on his missions as a private detective. As for this particular collection, the title story opens with the proverbial bang. The character of this story with his drunken ride... Read Full Review

echo through the twenty short stories and novellas by Dashiell Hammett contained in Nightmare Town. Before turning to a full-time writing career, Hammett traveled around the country holding a series of different jobs. Most notably he spent considerable time as a detective for the Pinkerton Agency. He worked in Baltimore, San Francisco, and in mining towns throughout the American west. He was exposed to murderers, grifters,... Read Full Review

"Nightmare Town" is a collection of 20 stories written by Dashiell Hammett between 1924 and 1934, spanning nearly his entire writing career. Seven of the stories feature the indomitable Continental Op: "House Dick", "Night Shots", "Zig Zags of Treachery", "Death on Pine Street", "Tom, Dick, or Harry", "One Hour", and "Who Killed Bob Teal". "Zig Zags of Treachery", about the apparent suicide of a prominent San Francisco surgeon,... Read Full Review

Great addition to the works of Hammett. I'm only half way through it, but the first story is worth the price of admission. I wish the slime that sent Dash to prison could see how beloved he is today. For that matter, I wish he could. Thank you, Black Lizard. The Continental Op lives. For those who remember, even Dorothy Parker said nice things about Hammett. For those who don't, you might start with "The Maltese Falcon", "The... Read Full Review

Dashiell Hammett is The Man. He wrote with such realism and truth, he was so dead-on right in almost anything he said, and he managed to convey important lessons and wisdom, sometimes without you even realizing that you were retaining these valuable pieces of information. Nightmare Town, a collection of a variety of his short stories has a few brilliant selections, a few average ones, and yes, even a few not so good fictions... Read Full Review