Dashiell Hammett Collection of Books M4B - Dashiell Hammett

Written by Dashiell Hammett
Read by Various
Format: M4B

Updated: July 2026

Author: Dashiell Hammett

Author summary:
Dashiell Hammett was an American crime writer and former Pinkerton detective who helped define the hardboiled detective genre. He is best known for sharp, spare prose, cynical private detectives, corrupt cities, criminal double-crosses, and morally gray mysteries. His major novels and most important short fiction were written mainly in the 1920s and early 1930s. The Maltese Falcon

Genre: Hardboiled Crime, Noir, Mystery

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1. The Tenth Clew (1924)
Read By: Winston Tharp
Genre: Detective, Noir, Short Story
Summary: This Continental Op story follows Hammett’s unnamed detective as he investigates a murder case filled with suspicious clues and false leads. It is an early example of Hammett’s hardboiled style, with a tough detective, sharp dialogue, and a more realistic approach to crime-solving.

2. The Assistant Murderer (1926)
Read By: Christopher Strong
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Noir
Summary: Listed in your file as “Assistant Murder,” the correct title appears to be The Assistant Murderer. This early Hammett novelette involves a former policeman drawn into a murder case after being hired to look into a suspicious man following a young woman.

3. Red Harvest (1929)
Read By: Richard Ferrone
Genre: Hardboiled Crime, Noir, Detective
Summary: The Continental Op arrives in the corrupt mining town of Personville, nicknamed “Poisonville,” and finds himself surrounded by murder, gangsters, crooked officials, and betrayal. It is one of Hammett’s toughest and most violent novels, with the detective turning rival criminals against each other.

4. The Dain Curse (1929)
Read By: Richard Ferrone
Genre: Detective, Mystery, Noir
Summary: The Continental Op investigates a tangled case involving theft, murder, drug use, cult-like activity, and a family supposedly cursed by inherited evil. The story is pulpy, fast-moving, and filled with shifting suspects and strange connections.

5. The Maltese Falcon (1930)
Read By: Robertson Dean
Genre: Detective, Noir, Crime
Summary: Private detective Sam Spade becomes involved in a deadly hunt for a priceless black bird statue after his partner is murdered. The novel is one of the most famous hardboiled detective stories ever written, full of betrayal, greed, deception, and sharp dialogue.

6. The Glass Key (1931)
Read By: Stephen R. Thorne
Genre: Political Crime, Noir, Mystery
Summary: This political crime novel follows Ned Beaumont as he tries to protect his corrupt political boss, Paul Madvig, after a murder threatens to destroy their alliance. It is a darker, more political Hammett story about loyalty, power, corruption, and manipulation.

7. The Thin Man (1934)
Read By: William Dufris
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Detective
Summary: Former detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora are pulled into a murder investigation involving a missing inventor and his troubled family. Compared with Hammett’s earlier work, this novel is lighter and wittier, with more social comedy mixed into the mystery.

8. Nightmare Town (1999)
Read By: Not widely noted
Genre: Crime, Noir, Short Stories
Summary: Nightmare Town is a collection of previously scattered Hammett short stories, including hardboiled detectives, con artists, criminals, and people caught in violent or morally dangerous situations. The title story involves a man arriving in a small town and discovering that danger and deception are everywhere.

9. Honest Gain: Dicey Cases of the Continental Op (2023)
Read By: Stefan Rudnicki and Alison Belle Bews
Genre: Detective, Noir, Short Stories
Summary: Honest Gain is a modern audiobook collection of Continental Op stories rather than one of Hammett’s original novels. It gathers several early cases featuring Hammett’s tough unnamed detective, with stories built around scams, murder, corruption, and hardboiled investigation.