8 Dashiell Hammett Short Stories That Will Get Your Heart Pounding 

Set among the tense heat of the Arizona desert, “Corkscrew,” and other stories in this collection, see the Continental Op sent into a cowboy town to investigate a series of murders. Of course, the San Francisco detective is in for way more than he bargained for in this hard-edged town. Corkscrew and Other Stories also includes “Dead Yellow Women” and “The Gutting of Couffignal.” 

In the titular story “Fly Paper,” debutante Sue Hambleton has a taste for danger. Determined to escape from the shadow of her upper-crust family, the socialite runs away from home and embarks on a debauched crime spree alongside some of the seediest and most dangerous figures imaginable. When Sue finally surfaces in San Francisco, it’s up to the Continental Op to deal with the potentially deadly consequences of the young woman’s actions. “The Farewell Murder,” and “Death and Company” are also featured in this collection. 

In The Golden Horseshoe and Other Stories, the Op is called on to find an Englishwoman’s missing husband. The husband, an addict, was last seen in Tijuana, and so the Op must head south of the border, and directly into the path of danger. Also included in this collection are the short stories “The House in Turk Street,” and “The Girl with the Silver Eyes.” 

In the first of the short story collections to feature the Continental Op, the titular hard-boiled detective must solve a deadly case of arson. Amidst the wreckage of a gasoline-soaked home, everyone is a suspect—from the neighbors, to the servants, to the owner of the home himself. “Slippery Fingers” and “Crooked Souls” also grace the pages of this collection.

When businessman Dan Rathbone and $100,000 go missing simultaneously, it’s up to the Op to figure out if Rathbone merely got greedy and skipped town with the money, or if something far more sinister is at play. It and Other Stories also includes “Bodies Piled Up” and “The Tenth Clew.”

The Op is minding his own business when a man staggers into his office, utters his chilling final word, “Hell,” and then dies. The Op immediately sets off on a quest to discover the victim’s identity, his shady underworld connections, and his connections to San Francisco. This short story collection also includes “The Big Knock-Over” and “$106,000 Blood Money.” 

Bob Teal joins the Continental Detective Agency with every sign of becoming a star detective. When he is tragically cut down in his prime by a bullet, the Op will stop at nothing to untangle the mysterious web of deceit and danger surrounding Teal’s death. Fans of The Maltese Falcon will see how Hammond first experimented with that same premise in the shocking short story, “Who Killed Bob Teal?” This collection also includes “The Whosis Kid” and “The Scorched Face.” 

In “The Main Death,” The Continental Op must figure out what happened to Jeffrey Main—a man recently involved in a scuffle that left him dead, his wife unconscious, and $20,000 stolen. The police are convinced that two gunmen perpetrated the crime, but it’s up to the Op to crack this case of murder and greed. Also included in this collection is “This King Business.”