Character guide · 5 books · 1929 to 1934 · Often set in San Francisco

Dashiell Hammett

Crime and mysteryPrivate eye Noir and hardboiled

Dashiell Hammett, a former Pinkerton detective, invented the hardboiled private eye: the nameless Continental Op, Sam Spade of The Maltese Falcon, and the cocktail-sharp Nick and Nora Charles of The Thin Man.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Only Hammett's five novels are charted. The many Continental Op short stories are left out.

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LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note

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Dashiell Hammett books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

The Continental Op

2 books · Mostly set in the fictional Personville, MontanaPrivate eyeNoir and hardboiled

1Red Harvest1929With The Continental OpBuy on Amazon
2The Dain Curse1929With The Continental Op · Set in San FranciscoBuy on Amazon

Standalone

3 booksNoir and hardboiledPrivate eye

1The Maltese Falcon1930With Sam Spade · Set in San FranciscoBuy on Amazon
2The Glass Key1931With Ned Beaumont · Set in an unnamed eastern cityBuy on Amazon
3The Thin Man1934With Nick Charles · Set in New YorkBuy on Amazon