This is a book of shortish stories, five of them. Four are Continental Op adventures, with all the ingredients of tough guy, early twentieth century noir, delivered by one of the genre's best writers. My favorite was the title story ("The Big Knockover"). The fifth story ("Tulip") is an unfinished fragment that is hard to believe is by the same author. It's just boring, meaningless dialogue. No real direction, no action, no real plot. A rough draft of a novel, perhaps?

The introduction to this collection is written by Lillian Hellman, Dashiell Hammett's long-time friend/romantic partner. I thought it was, perhaps, the best part of this book. ( )

continental Op stories in SF in 20s

Buena novela negra de Hammett. Se juntan los delincuentes de todo el país para un golpe en común y luego los empiezan a matar, quien será el cerebro que está detrás de todo ello? ( )

I liked 4 out of the 5 stories herein, therefore, 4 stars! I've always liked the Continental Op a lot, and the four tales of his in this book do not disappoint! I like that we don't get his name, nor his boss', the "Old Man", he isn't in the best shape, and he isn't afraid to shoot! Or steal a crutch! The title story was fun, with lots of old timey crook nicknames and double crosses! The story I didn't like, "Tulip", was not a Continental Op story, and honestly, I'm not sure what it really was. Sort of a meandering tale, and one I wasn't into. But the other 4 are good, and well worth reading! ( )

Big (451 pages) collection of Continental Op stories plus Tulip, Hammett's unfinished novel. Most of the Op tales are novella-length, while Tulip runs just under 50 pages. It's a sad, meandering fragment, as shockingly unfocused as the author's finished works are masterpieces of precision; the reader never even learns why the title character calls himself Tulip.

But let's get to the good stuff. Hammett was firing on all cylinders when he wrote the Continental Op stories: they're action-packed, grimly funny and unafraid to depict human beings as the very fallible creatures they are, usually acting from less than noble motives. The title story and its sequel, "$106,000 Blood Money," are the best of the bunch, their frenetic pace and high body count foreshadowing Hammett's first novel Red Harvest. Only "This King Business" (in which the Op travels to the fictional Balkan republic of Muravia to track down a young American expatriate) fell flat for me. ( )