The Thin Man
Ratings45
Average rating3.9
One star for Nora, one star for the woman who threw the frying pan, and one star for the plot twist because I did not see that coming. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was a book that I got as a blind date book, so it is not a book I would typically pick out for myself. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I think if it was any longer than 200 pages I would have had trouble finishing it.
A quick, fun read from Dashiell Hammett, featuring retired (early, he's only 41!) former private detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora, who are passing through New York and get roped into a murder investigation.
A former client is the suspect, the scientist inventor Wynant (consider odd at best, mad more likely) in the murder of his assistant and former lover, and his lawyer is the go between trying to convince Nick to investigate. This seems likely to get in the way of Nick's drinking and socialising, but even his wife is keen to see him work. Added to the mix are Wynant's compulsive liar ex-wife with her new husband, her grown up children (by Wynant) all with a mixture of games to add to the confusion.
As well as his history with the local thugs, the police are keen to work with rather than against Nick, and so he works between all these people to try and get to the bottom of things - despite never taking the case...
There are plenty of twists and turns int this short (189 page) novel which doesn't unravel much until the 4th or 5th page from the end. It is written in an engaging style, almost fully as dialogue with very little description - although this gets a bit strained when Nick returns from somewhere and has to explain everything to Nora just to get the information to the reader. Published in 1933 it also contains plenty of period expressions and slang that weren't immediately understood, but the meanings of which became apparent quickly enough.
I probably enjoyed this more than the other Hammett books I have read to date, but I am aware there is plenty more to come as I have only read one of his big four.
High 4 stars from me.
Abandoned at 40%. Possibly because I am not a native speaker - I could not enjoy the dialogue as much as I think I should have. Also kept losing track of what happened to whom.
Exciting read, although as usual with most crime/detective/mystery novels I felt unsatisfied with the ending. But at least now I can watch the movie without guilt.
As far as mysteries go, this one was a bit hard to follow. The clues aren't laid out for you, as with most hard boiled mysteries I suppose, but it got repetitive. Here's how it goes: he has some cynical banter with his wife, drinks, comforts Dorothy, talks to the police, goes somewhere else, starts over again. I give it credit because the resolution was interesting and satisfying, though I don't feel I was given the tools to guess it on my own.
Update: This book was the basis of a very popular series of movies from the 1930s, more worth watching than reading the book.
Um, I´m thinking my liver is pickled after reading this book. They all drank so much. If they took out every mention of getting a drink they wouldn´t have enough pages left to make a book.
Anyway, I found this book kinda dull, that family was so crazy and I figured out what was up with the ¨thin man¨ too early. blah. I need a drink.
Nick and Nora: one of my favorite couples. I remember watching this old B&W a long time ago. I was ready to change the channel but Nick spewed one of many witty and dry lines, and I was hooked. I very much hoped that the book would capture that same playful and loving chemistry b/w him and his better half, Nora. It did not disappoint. That aside, the playing out of this who-done-it was carefully crafted and kept me engaged at every turn. What a hoot it would be to eavesdrop on Sherlock Holmes and Nick discussing a case over drinks in a speakeasy.
Hardly recognisable as the work of the man who wrote The Maltese Falcon and Red Harvest. Deftly executed,light-hearted, slightly self-mocking, but always entertaining. A feat of frightening versatility from the master of the hard-boiled.