I found this fair-condition trade paperback (different cover than shown) at the Used Book Superstore, and nabbed it for my Based on the Book bookbox. It's the novel that inspired the sparkling 1934 film starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, and while I suppose that my reading of the book was influenced by my memories of the film, I have to say that the characters and dialogue in the book have the sparkle and zip that must have motivated the film-makers and actors. (Whether Hammett had Powell and Loy in mind for his leading couple I don't know, but they certainly fit the roles perfectly!)

In the midst of all the wonderful conversation, I was amused to find a scene in which Nick tries to handle a tipsy young girl who's got a crush on him by starting a conversation about cannibalism, at which point he digs out a book about Alfred Packer, real-life murderer and cannibal - and the author includes five solid pages of the Packer story in the middle of the book! I don't know if Hammett was going for page-count, or if he just liked the story enough to want to include the whole thing, but it tickled me. [Other interesting trivia: at one point there's a mention of a bunch of newspaper items, as background to the crimes that our heroes are investigating. Among them: the Lindbergh kidnapping investigation...]

And now, as Nick says, "This excitement has put us behind in our drinking." {grin}

[The film gets a rave review in the entertaining and informative Best Old Movies for Families, too. There's an Unshelved Book Club strip about it as well. And don't miss the TV Tropes page on the film!]

This book's going into my Based on the Book bookbox, with this book serving as the bookbox journal. The box will be on the way to the first participant soon. Enjoy!

Friend received this and learned about bookcrossing at the same time!