The House in Turk Street - a Continental Op Short Story - #10

The Continental Op

by Dashiell Hammett

A mystery with fast action, constant violence, colloquial dialogue, and wistful cynicism.

The operative from the Continental Detective Agency, looking for a young man, enters a house in the vicinity of his suspect's last known location, and then all hell breaks loose.

Black Mask in 1924 said this, "Mr. Hammett has written some lively and unusual tales about his realistic detective from the Continental Detective Agency, whose name has never been disclosed; but for action, shrewd detective-work, sheer interest, and surprise, his latest, herewith, surpasses them all"

Librarian's note #1: this entry is for the story, The House in Turk Street. 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: Mystery, Short Stories, Crime, Adventure, Fiction

12 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1924

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

[Jack Heath · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars. Reduced from four because - we'll get to that. As the story begins, we find the Op canvassing Turk Street in San Francisco. He has the description of a young man but doesn't have the street number. So he's knocking on every door. Eventually an older couple, Mr. and Mrs. Quarre, invite him in for tea and a quick review of the young men on the street who might fit. Nice of them and such a loving pair. Suddenly, from behind, the barrel of a gun touches the nape of his neck! This story first appeared in Black Mask in April 1924; my read was from The Big Book of the Continental Op of 2017. Twelve pages. The stories have been interesting. Back to this one. The Op's shock quotient jumps to 10. He's never fully aware of what's happening until after the episode ends when he's on the street buying a paper! That's my clue - he survives. Here are a few more: the mix includes a lovely red-head, a hollow-cheeked, ugly man named Hook, a Chinese man with a British accent, and the old folks. None of them trust the others. Oh, there's also $100,000 of cashable Liberty Bonds. Why the star reduction? The usual for the times, distasteful racial stereotypes. (De2020/Jun2026)

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

More action, violence and suspense than the usual Continental Op story as our nameless private eye unknowingly stumbles into a den of backstabbing thieves, using his cunning to stay out of the crosshairs. In addition to the usual contemptuous criminal(s) there's a young red headed femme fatale - bold, devious and deadly. This may be my favorite Continental Op story to date.

[Juergen John Roscher · Rating 3 out of 5]

The unnamed detective accidentally gets involved in a case when trying to solve another case. Fun story.

[ناني ماكفي لا أملك حساب ثاني · Rating 4 out of 5]

خفيفة وممتعة والاداء الصوتي تحفة

[Eric Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little detective story in the Continental Op line. Fun surprises keep it interesting, and it is briskly paced. Hammett originally wrote this is 1924, so there is some disrespectful language which might’ve been changed since.

[Jean-Louis Blanchet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une nouvelle d'un des premiers maîtres du roman noir americain. Je ne suis pas un très grand fan du style et du type de personnages hyper caricaturaux que l'on trouve ici mais ce fut un passage obligé dans l'évolution du roman policier entre le classique roman d'énigmes et le polar social plus contemprain. D. Hammet fut un des pionniers dans la révolution de ce genre.

[Karen K - Ohio · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nifty little story of betrayals and murders. Complete with a femme fatal and the hardboiled detective.