The Continental Op

The definitive collection of stories starring the Continental Op, Dashiell Hammett’s legendary private detective In the early days of pulp periodicals, the gold standard of crime fiction was Black Mask magazine. And of all the cops, killers, and gumshoes who blasted through its pages, none was more influential than Dashiell Hammett’s nameless Continental Op. Stout and unglamorous, with a keen mind, professional determination, and a steady trigger finger, the Op was the toughest sleuth in San Francisco. Before Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, or Lew Archer, this infamous tough guy introduced the world to hardboiled private eyes and changed crime fiction forever. Based on Hammett’s real-life experience as a private investigator, the Op introduced rough-hewn realism to mystery fiction. This remarkable volume includes all twenty-eight Continental Op short-story adventures in their original form, along with Hammett’s unfinished and never-before-published “Three Dimes.” It is a collection that no true fan of crime fiction should dare to live without.