347. The Glass Key

The Glass Key
Dashiell Hammett
1930
Around 215 pages

I'll be honest, these hard-boiled detective novels tend to run together. But they are fun, and they don't take themselves too seriously. Well, they do take themselves very seriously, which is why it is fun.

Ned Beaumont is a gambler and best friend of mobster Paul Madvig. Ned finds the body of the senator's son in the street, and is asked by Madvig to thwart the investigation so Madvig can marry the senator's daughter. Ned investigates the murder, encountering a dame or two along the way.

Modern man dreams of being a wise-cracking Marvel badass. I believe the men of the 30s were imagining they were Ned Beaumont: able to seduce any woman, impervious to torture, a diehard loyal friend, an obvious alcoholic.

So a fun novel and the brewing gang war provided a particularly interesting backdrop for the story. 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Dedicated to his ex lover Nell Martin.

Dorothy Parker wrote that "there is entirely too little screaming about the work of Dashiell Hammett." The Queen hath spoken.

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