Red Harvest

Dashiell Hammett

Hardboiled Literature – Another fine example of why Dashiell Hammett is considered a great writer and a cut above a “mere” detective story writer. Sure, this 1929 novel features a lot of pulp. “I gathered she was strictly pay-as-you-enter.” “A bullet kissed a hole in the door-frame close to my noddle.” “The room smelled of laudanum.” “At forty I could get along on gin as a substitute for sleep, but not comfortably.” But then, about three-quarters of the way deep into the story and after nearly 20 murders plus twice as many double-crosses, the hard-drinking, tough-living Continental Op confesses he’s on his own journey into the heart of darkness. If the Continental Op isn’t free from bloodlust and corruption, who is? This scene is followed by a masterfully rendered dream sequence in which the Op wanders streets in towns across America, and the whole book is elevated into the realm of literature.