The Scorched Face - a Continental Op Short Story - #17

The Continental Op

by Dashiell Hammett

Black Mask, where the story first appeared, introduced it in this fashion: "Here's another realistic detective tale by Mr. Hammett, formerly of the Pinkerton's. It has a ring of truth in that it makes you forget that you are only reading and not actually following the San Francisco sleuth around."

When the Continental Op is hired to look into the disappearance of two sisters, he gets caught up in a bigger scheme than he could have imagined as he uncovers a string of disappearances and suicides of wealthy debutantes. As the investigation becomes more and more complex, the Op gets into sticky spots as he works tirelessly to solve a case that seems to affect him more than most. The Scorched Face is one of Dashiell Hammett’s best-loved Continental Op stories.

Librarian's note #1: this entry is for the story, The Scorched Face. Entries for collections of short stories and the other individual stories can be found elsewhere on Goodreads. There are a total of 28 short stories plus one incomplete; they can all be found by searching Goodreads for: a Continental Op Short Story.

Librarian's note #2: there are also two Continental Op novels, Red Harvest (also known as The Cleansing of Poisonville), and The Dain Curse.

Genres: Short Stories

25 pages, ebook

First published May 1, 1925

About the author

Also wrote as Peter Collinson, Daghull Hammett, Samuel Dashiell, Mary Jane Hammett

Dashiell Hammett, an American, wrote highly acclaimed detective fiction, including The Maltese Falcon (1930) and The Thin Man (1934).

Samuel Dashiell Hammett authored hardboiled novels and short stories. He created Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse) among the enduring characters. In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on film, Hammett "is now widely regarded as one of the finest mystery writers of all time" and was called, in his obituary in the New York Times, "the dean of the... 'hard-boiled' school of detective fiction."

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashiell...

Reviews

[Olga · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great mystery story about the disappearance of two sisters and the suicide of their friend happening within a few days. I recommend it.

[Jack Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars. Our unnamed detective from the Continental Detective Agency always seems to draw assignments which take him deep into the criminal activities of San Francisco. This one resonates a century later. It appeared first in Black Mask in 1925, and its twenty-two pages can be found in 2017's The Big Book of the Continental Op. Every time I read a Hammett short, I am amazed at how readable they are. A worried father, Alfred Banbrock, consults the Op about the disappearance of his daughters, Myra, 20, and Ruth, 18. The previous day they had taken the family car, a black Locomobile cabriolet - a small convertible - but had not shown up where they said they were going. Nor did they return home. The Op begins to investigate by pushing buttons here and there. He talks to a friend of the missing girls and then, within a day, Mrs. Stewart Correll commits suicide by consuming poison. He admits that, reading this in the paper, it "spoiled my breakfast for me." When you finish the story, I anticipate you will agree that tragic criminal activities like the ones the Op discovers are still happening. There was something similar just a week ago. (Ja2021/Jun2026)

[kavi (HIATUS) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars ( a school read)
the ending definitely got me shocked

[Бранко · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is difficult to give Continental Op stories anything else than 5 stars. However, this one is quite average. The detective goes looking for missing young women, and the short story goes from there. It is ok, in particular if you like the ordinary type of detective that makes mistakes, gets beaten and is in general not extraordinary like most fictional detectives are. This is why I like Continental Op stories.
Anyway, this was first published in Black Mask magazine in May 1925. Wonder if Chandler was aware of it when he wrote “The Big Sleep”.

[Tojuan Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opie is one of my favorite fictional detectives, and I don't even know his name. he just feels like an actual detective because he's not this machine of reasoning and actually has to work for his cases to be solved.

[Mark Rabideau · Rating 4 out of 5]

very well narrated & interesting noir detective thriller