Author guide

Dashiell Hammett Books in Order

Dashiell Hammett (1894–1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and former Pinkerton detective. His realistic, economical fiction for Black Mask and other magazines transformed detective writing, while his five novels—especially Red Harvest, The Maltese Falcon, The Glass Key, and The Thin Man—became foundational works of hard-boiled crime fiction. He also wrote comic-strip scripts, military nonfiction, screenplays, and collections of detective stories.