The Maltese Falcon (Warbler Classics Annotated Edition)

Voted third-greatest crime novel of all time by the Mystery Writers of AmericaWhen his partner is gunned down on a routine stakeout, private detective Sam Spade is drawn into a ruthless contest for a small black statuette known only as the Maltese Falcon. The object is rumored to be priceless, and those who seek it-among them the alluring Brigid O'Shaughnessy, the fastidious Joel Cairo, and the corpulent "Fat Man," Casper Gutman-will lie, steal, and kill to make it their own. In this landmark 1930 novel, Dashiell Hammett strips crime fiction to its hard, bright essentials, creating the coolly self-possessed Sam Spade, a detective whose code is as unforgiving as the city streets he walks. As corpses accumulate and stories shift, Spade must decide where justice ends and self-preservation begins, testing the limits of loyalty, desire, and the very idea of truth. This Warbler Classics edition includes a new introduction by Malcolm Jones.