Ahh, the best laid plans...I'd planned on being caught up this week, but I'm still one book behind. Oh, well.
The Thin Man - Dashiell Hammett
I'd seen this movie a long time ago, and remember enjoying it immensely. I had never realized that the famous mystery author Dashiell Hammett had penned the original story. Never having read any of Hammett's books, I decided this would be a good place to start.
Nick Charles is a retired private detective who has married a wealthy heiress, Nora, and now manages her business affairs. This seems to entail a few hours of work several times a week making investments and managing the affairs of several businesses that she owns. The rest of the time seems to be spent drinking and going to clubs. And boy can they drink. Nick seems to be the heavier drinker of the two, often indulging before breakfast, which because of their all-night clubbing might actually be in the afternoon. Nora is no slouch however, and usually imbibes when her husband suggests it. Nick and Nora normally live in San Francisco, but are visiting the Big Apple and staying in a hotel with their dog Asta.
Dorothy Wynant, the daughter of Clyde Wynant, an eccentric but successful inventor, is looking for her father and asks Nick if he knows how to find him. Mimi, Dorothy's mother and Wynant's ex-wife, also wants to find Wynant because she has run through all the money he gave her in the divorce settlement. Wynant has been in hiding for months, supposedly working on a top secret invention. Wynant's assistant turns up dead, and the mysterious nature of his whereabouts raises suspicion as to his involvement with her death. Wynant, through his lawyer Macaulay, insists on his innocence and implores Nick, who did some work for him in the past, to clear his name. Nick insists that he is retired and wants nothing to do with the case, but between Mimi, Dorothy, Macaulay, and a police lieutenant named Guild, he keeps getting dragged further and further into the case.
I haven't read a lot of mystery so I don't know if I can be a fair judge of the quality of the book. It's a bit melodramatic, but I think that has a lot to do with the state of the genre at the time. The book moves along briskly, and is very dialogue driven, relying on the conversations between the characters to tell the story rather than a using lengthy descriptions of scene. All-in-all, I'd have to say I enjoyed the book, and would recommend it to anyone who wishes to check out this classic mystery writer.
