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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Extensive gang warfare and murder throughout; Hammett's violence is efficient and frequent
Language
Some
Period hard-boiled language throughout
Sexual Content
Barely any
Minimal sexual content in the hard-boiled tradition
Substance Use
Some
Drinking and opium appear in the corrupt town setting
Emotional Intensity
Some
The moral ambiguity of an Op who is willing to manipulate criminals into killing each other for his purposes — and the question of whether this counts as justice — gives the novel its lasting complexity
What this book is about
Dashiell Hammett's first novel established the template for American hard-boiled crime fiction. The unnamed Continental Op arrives in Personville (nicknamed Poisonville) and discovers it is entirely controlled by criminal factions; he proceeds to set the gangs against each other to clean up the town. The violence is extensive and the Op's methods are morally ambiguous. A foundational work of American crime fiction that launched the genre.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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