‘Simple Art of Murder’ (1950) has overly complex street-level mysteries
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Not as accessible as the Marlowe novels, this collection is worth reading for Chandler’s titular essay.
Short Stories
‘Simple Art of Murder’ (1950) has overly complex street-level mysteries
‘Lost Stories’ (2005) gathers Hammett’s hidden gems; plus, it’s a biography
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): In addition to unearthing worthy stories, editor Vince Emery chronicles the author’s life.
‘Woman in the Dark’ (1933) gets murkier in 1934 film adaptation
Sleuthing Sunday (Book and movie reviews): Hammett’s experiment with blending crime and romance is worth reading, but the film doesn’t rise above a curiosity.
‘Nightmare Town’ (1999) an essential cross-section of Hammett’s work
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): This landmark collection gives us more of the Op, all three Spade shorts and fascinating one-offs.
‘Hunter and Other Stories’ (2013) cleans out Hammett’s files
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Unpublished and under-published tales are rounded up from the author’s archives, but this is for serious fans only.
Hardboiled fiction that goes over easy: ‘Big Book of the Continental Op’ (2017)
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Nearly a century after Hammett invented him, all of the Continental Op’s world-spanning adventures are cozily combined into one book.
‘Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes’ (1927) a spooky conclusion to Doyle’s canon
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Rather than resting on his laurels, the author tries new things with topics and point-of-view.
‘His Last Bow’ (1917) gathers Holmes’ penultimate adventures
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Doyle and his detective build up to the Great War in this second-to-last Sherlock collection.
Detective back by popular demand in ‘Return of Sherlock Holmes’ (1905)
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): It’s debatable how much Doyle’s heart was in it, but his mind certainly is in this third short-story collection.
Doyle solidifies an icon in ‘Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ (1892)
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Two novels came first, but it’s in the monthly magazine short stories that Sherlock Holmes really shines.