Now for the first time ever in one volume, all twenty-eight stories
and two serialized novels starring the Continental Op--one of the
greatest characters in storied history of detective fiction.
Dashiell Hammett is the father of modern hard-boiled detective stories.
His legendary works have been lauded for almost one hundred years by
fans, and his novel The Maltese Falcon was adapted into a classic film
starring Humphrey Bogart. One of Dashiell Hammett's most memorable
characters, the Continental Op made his debut in Black Mask magazine
on October 1, 1923, narrating the first of twenty-eight stories and two
novels that would change forever the face of detective fiction. The Op
is a tough, wry, unglamorous gumshoe who has inspired a following that
is both global and enduring. He has been published in periodicals,
paperback digests, and short story collections, but until now, he has
never, in all his ninety-two years, had the whole of his exploits
contained in one book. The book features all twenty-eight of the
original standalone Continental Op stories, the original serialized
versions of Red Harvest and The Dain Curse, and previously
unpublished material. This anthology of Continental Op stories is the
only complete, one-volume work of its kind.
