Mike or Alec or Rufus - a Continental Op Short Story - #15

The Continental Op

by Dashiell Hammett

This short first appeared in Black Mask of January 1925. Here's the introduction they used to lead it off. "Mr. Hammett and his hard-boiled sleuth are too well known to 'Black Mask' readers to need much of an introduction. That the following story is as interesting and surprising as any which Mr. Hammett has yet written, is all we need to say to arouse your interest."

The Op is posing as a representative of an insurance company concerning the theft of valuable jewellry at gun point at the Coplin house. And then it gets complicated!

Librarian's note #1: this entry is for the story, Mike or Alec or Rufus. 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: Crime, Short Stories

9 pages, Paperback

First published January 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 3 out of 5]

A story about a robbery investigation with the ending which is far from suprising.

[Jack Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars. A quirky read. But there's a flaw in the story which I am almost certain Hammett tried to fix. For some reason, he didn't get it right. Perhaps it isn't a flaw and he was toying with his audience. I'll add a comment below this review; don't open it unless you are prepared to know the resolution! Black Mask readers must have had great anticipation as each new issue hit the newsstands - "Will there be another Continental Op short story?" They are so well written. Almost a century later, they jump off the page. This one came out in 1925 and my read was from The Big Book of the Continental Op of 2017. Nine double-columned pages. The Op is visiting the home of Jacob Coplin and family on behalf of a client, North American Casualty. There's been a robbery; as they were getting dressed the previous evening for a dinner out with friends, a well-disguised man forced his way in with a revolver. Coplin had brought home their best jewels for his wife and daughter to wear. Value? $100,000 in 1925! Quite a sum. Does the crime relate to the evaluation? Is it an insider job? There's another Toronto connection. Canadian sales must have been good. (Ja2021/Jun2026)

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK/Novella 153 (of 250)
A Locked-Room/Impossible Crime short from 1925 in which Hammett utilizes his Contintental Detective agency.
HOOK - 3: "I don't know whether Frank Toplin was tall or short. All of him I ever got a look at was his round head...propped up on white pillows in a big 4-poster bed." Toplin had been shot during a robbery at his apartment. This is Hammett, and if you're a fan of 'locked room/impossible crimes' you must read on, even though the hook is standard in crime.
PACE - 4: After reading this one-trick 'locked-room' short, I realize how difficult it is for John Dickson Carr to write novels in this genre, as once the 'trick' is out of the bag, the story is over.
PLOT - 4: The robbed Toplin family live in a high-rise apartment building (at least 9 floors) and after a shot was heard during the robbery, the janitor of the building steps into the stairwell from a low floor, forcing the robber to head upwards. But the janitor has already called the cops, and they've surrounded the building. Where's the robber? Interesting, but not overwhelmingly original.
CHARACTERS=3: The Contenintal Detective agency sleuth has no history, and there is little character devolopment. You'll probably remember no names, other than the robber, and the solution involves said robber so I'll not mention a name.
ATMOSPHERE = 2: I'd like to know more about how a 1925 high-rise apartment building is laid out, even what it looks like from the outside. But there is little in atmosphere.
SUMMARY: As part of Hammett's Continental Op series, this is worth a read, especially given that Hammett, as far as I know, didn't delve into the 'locked-room/impossible crime' genre often, even outside of this story. 3.2 overall rating.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5: it was a good short but would've been better if how the detective figured out the who would've been explained better also could've been longer it felt rushed towards the end but overall a good short read

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

A locked building mystery where someone isn’t who they are supposed to be, with an additional red herring thrown in because the Continental Op is playing insurance detective. Not quite as straightforward or enlightening as it could be, but smart enough in its own way.