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The Continental Op
The Main Death and This King Business: Collected Case Files of the Continental Op: The Later Years, Volume 2
From the annals of Black Mask come the two-fisted adventures of the original hardboiled Dashiell Hammett’s Continental Op
Jeffrey Main comes home from Los Angeles with $20,000 in his wallet and a target on his back. Two gunmen burst through the door, instigating a scuffle that leaves Main dead, his wife unconscious, and the money long gone. At least, that’s the way the cops tell it. The police see no other way the killers could have escaped so easily, and the case falls to the Continental Op—San Francisco’s most ruthless private detective. Behind this strange murder lurks a toxic case of greed, and the Op must risk his neck to learn who pulled the trigger.
“The Main Death” is vintage Dashiell Hammett, the sort of hard-driving tale that made him a legend and made Black Mask the most respected of all the pulp magazines. Paired with “This King Business” in this captivating collection of Hammett’s later Continental Op stories, it is a fine reminder that hardboiled action never goes out of style.
Praise for Dashiell Hammett
“Hammett was the ace performer. . . . He did over and over again what only the best writers can ever do at all. He wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before.” —Raymond Chandler, author of The Big Sleep
“Hammett was the great poet of the great American collision—personal honour and corruption, opportunity and fatality.” —James Ellroy, author of L.A. Confidential
“Hammett is a master of the detective novel, yes, but also one hell of a writer.” —The Boston Globe
Jeffrey Main comes home from Los Angeles with $20,000 in his wallet and a target on his back. Two gunmen burst through the door, instigating a scuffle that leaves Main dead, his wife unconscious, and the money long gone. At least, that’s the way the cops tell it. The police see no other way the killers could have escaped so easily, and the case falls to the Continental Op—San Francisco’s most ruthless private detective. Behind this strange murder lurks a toxic case of greed, and the Op must risk his neck to learn who pulled the trigger.
“The Main Death” is vintage Dashiell Hammett, the sort of hard-driving tale that made him a legend and made Black Mask the most respected of all the pulp magazines. Paired with “This King Business” in this captivating collection of Hammett’s later Continental Op stories, it is a fine reminder that hardboiled action never goes out of style.
Praise for Dashiell Hammett
“Hammett was the ace performer. . . . He did over and over again what only the best writers can ever do at all. He wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before.” —Raymond Chandler, author of The Big Sleep
“Hammett was the great poet of the great American collision—personal honour and corruption, opportunity and fatality.” —James Ellroy, author of L.A. Confidential
“Hammett is a master of the detective novel, yes, but also one hell of a writer.” —The Boston Globe
- GenresMystery
116 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 14, 2016
About the author
Dashiell Hammett
761 books2,968 followersAlso 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...
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...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 2, 2023
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Our hero, our protagonist, our Continental Op, is handling two cases in this book.
First, he must investigate the robbery and murder of an antique salesman who is found dead by his wife.
And then, he visits a Balkan country, “Muravia,” to convince a young American to return home.
Apparently, the fool, er, young man, has paid three million dollars to help a revolution overthrow the existing government and install him as king.
Lots of underhanded double dealing in this one.
Four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Our hero, our protagonist, our Continental Op, is handling two cases in this book.
First, he must investigate the robbery and murder of an antique salesman who is found dead by his wife.
And then, he visits a Balkan country, “Muravia,” to convince a young American to return home.
Apparently, the fool, er, young man, has paid three million dollars to help a revolution overthrow the existing government and install him as king.
Lots of underhanded double dealing in this one.
Four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 4, 2019
3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I didn't much care for the second story. The Op on assignment mixed up in Balkan politics was a misfire for me.
January 21, 2017
Solid Hammett with some fancy plotting that does not disappoint.
March 28, 2019
Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) is famous for his Sam Spade books, such as “The Maltese Falcon,” his Nick and Nora Charles, in “The Thin Man,” and his Continental Op short stories and novellas like “The Main Death” and “This King Business” in this volume. The former appeared in the magazine Black Mask in 1927 and deals with a robbery of $20,000, a very large sum in !927, a strange killing that the policeman walking the street failed to notice who killed Mr. Main, a couple of instances of jealousy, and the Continental Operative covering up the crime. The second was published in the magazine Mystery Stories in 1928. It is about an American man who sought to become king of Moravia in the Balkans, resulting in exciting events such as an attempted assassination and a revolution. Both stories are fascinating. The activities of the Op are captivating. And Hammett’s writing skill is a joy to read.
What is the Continental Op and who was Dashiell Hammett?
The Continental Op, short for the operative of San Francisco’s office of the Continental detective Agency, is the name that Hammett gave to his private detectives. The stories are told in the first person without giving the name of the investigator. The Op is a man in his forties, short, and some twenty pounds overweight; yet he is very competent, observant, smart and able to fight. He has feelings but is a master of deceit. The Agency is run by the “old man” in his seventies who is “a shell without human feelings whatsoever,” but he likes and respects the Op.
The first Op tale appeared in the pulp magazine “Black Mask,” and is credited with introducing the “hard-boiled detective genre.” There are 28 standalone short stories as well as another 8 that Hammett linked together to form novels.
Hammett left school when he was 13-years-old. He worked for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency from 1915 to 1922, taking off some time from the Agency to serve as a sergeant in World War I. He published his first story, a short story called “The Barber and His Wife” in 1922 when he left Pinkerton, and his hard-boiled tales which followed, including “The Maltese falcon,” published in 1930, drew upon his experiences at Pinkerton. Hammett is credited for inserting dialogue into his tales which sounded authentic to the time of his books. He wrote his final novel, “The Thin Man,” in 1934, over 25 years before he died. He wrote five novels in total. Many film versions were made of Hammett’s novels such as two of “The Maltese Falcon,” made in 1931 and 1941. The 1931 version starred Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade, while the 1941 version featured Humphrey Bogart in the role and is credited in making him a star.
What is the Continental Op and who was Dashiell Hammett?
The Continental Op, short for the operative of San Francisco’s office of the Continental detective Agency, is the name that Hammett gave to his private detectives. The stories are told in the first person without giving the name of the investigator. The Op is a man in his forties, short, and some twenty pounds overweight; yet he is very competent, observant, smart and able to fight. He has feelings but is a master of deceit. The Agency is run by the “old man” in his seventies who is “a shell without human feelings whatsoever,” but he likes and respects the Op.
The first Op tale appeared in the pulp magazine “Black Mask,” and is credited with introducing the “hard-boiled detective genre.” There are 28 standalone short stories as well as another 8 that Hammett linked together to form novels.
Hammett left school when he was 13-years-old. He worked for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency from 1915 to 1922, taking off some time from the Agency to serve as a sergeant in World War I. He published his first story, a short story called “The Barber and His Wife” in 1922 when he left Pinkerton, and his hard-boiled tales which followed, including “The Maltese falcon,” published in 1930, drew upon his experiences at Pinkerton. Hammett is credited for inserting dialogue into his tales which sounded authentic to the time of his books. He wrote his final novel, “The Thin Man,” in 1934, over 25 years before he died. He wrote five novels in total. Many film versions were made of Hammett’s novels such as two of “The Maltese Falcon,” made in 1931 and 1941. The 1931 version starred Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade, while the 1941 version featured Humphrey Bogart in the role and is credited in making him a star.
July 21, 2018
Another good adventure with the Continental Op. I marked this edition down to three stars from my usual four only because "This King Business" seemed a bit out of tone for Hammett. Maybe it's the end of the line and he was going through the motions a little bit, but it's missing something compared to some of his better hardboiled stories. Still a good read.
January 24, 2021
Quite enjoyable. Recommended.
July 30, 2024
I'm getting close now to the end of this collection of Continental Op stories. This volume, and the one proceeding it, have definitely been the strongest of the two so far. This one only includes two stories, but each is of quite long length so more or less consistent with the others in the series. I think Hammett is at his best when working with a small set of characters with motivations that intercept each others. By contrast, his more who-dun-it style stories have always seemed a little strained. Both of these stories here showcase some of Hammett's best short story work. In the Main Death, the Op is employed to investigate a murder, but ends up uncovering a range of nasty little secrets held by seemingly everyone involved. This King Business involves the Op heading to the Balkans, where a wealthy expat American is trying to set himself up as king of a small country, or maybe is just being conned by the locals. The fact that Hammett can get through this sort of set-up without resorting to farce is a testament to his developing writing. I haven't enjoyed all the volumes in this series but this was one I did.
January 31, 2017
Normally I like The Op stories, but from these I got a very Carroll John Daly vibe ala "Murder From The East" - and that ain't a good thing.
February 13, 2022
De lo peor de Hammett que he leído, es decir un 7/10 fácil en la escala de novela negra, porque Hammett fuera de forma sigue siendo top.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews