"The Scorched Face" is a Continental Op story, over thirty pages long, a novelette I guess. First published in 1925 in Black Mask.
The Op works for the Continental Detective Agency, in the San Francisco office. He is looking for two missing girls, the daughters of a rich family in the area. The job involves a lot of footwork and tracking down information about friends and acquaintances, and the detective has support from other operatives. Once a death is involved, even though it is clearly a suicide, he also gets help from a policeman he knows. The story was very readable, and I did not lose interest at any time, even though it took a lot of footwork and dead ends before hitting upon the solution. It was a good picture of working at a detective agency at that time. And there is a great twist at the end.
I had previously read two novels by Hammett, The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man, but this was the first short story that I read by him. Now I will find more of those to read.
I read this story in Hard-Boiled: An Anthology of American Crime Stories, edited by Bill Pronzini and Jack Adrian. It has over 500 pages of stories published from the 1920s through the 1990s, with a preponderance of stories from the 1930s and the 1950s.
17 comments:
I can't think why I've never read anything by Dashiell Hammett but I just never have. 'Although' I'm quite sure I must've seen the movies of The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon. Looking at Fantastic Fiction there seem to be two series that look promising including the one you mention, The Continental Op. Wondering if Peter might like those too.
Great minds think alike, Tracy. I was reading a few stories from that anthology last night before I went to bed. [I had previously read "The Scorched Face."] Thus far, I haven't found a clunker in HARD-BOILED.
Those thirties-forties writers sure relied heavily on the missing girl theme. I have read a few of his novels but never his short stories. I had that collection but I think I gave it away when I moved.
I read HARD-BOILED years ago but remember it fondly. Dashiell Hammett mastered the genre and lead other writes to emulate his sense and style.
I've read a couple of Hammett's short stories, Tracy, and liked them. A lot of authors excel at one or another form of writing, but Hammett seemed to be able to do it all. Not easy!! I'm glad you enjoyed this one.
I've really enjoyed Hammett's short stories, Tracy. He writes them so well, that I can remember their plots for years longer than I can remember the plots of lots of novels I read. He's one of my favorites.
Cath, for some reason before I read any books by Hammett, I thought his books would be too hard-boiled for me, but I was wrong. I am going to make an effort to read more novels and short stories by Hammett.
Jerry, that is funny that we have been reading the same short story anthology at the same time. I especially like that it has stories up into the 90s, although just a few.
Patti, I haven't read enough stories from that time to note that, personally. It seemed strange to me because the family was rich and seemed to have caring parents, but the explanation made sense although a little over the top. A very good read though. I like missing person stories because they have more directions they can go in.
George, I have much to learn about Dashiell Hammett and his writing. I am sure I am going to like many more of the stories in this anthology.
Margot, I am looking forward to reading more Continental Op short stories and also the novels. Red Harvest is on my Classics List.
Sam, I am glad to hear that you enjoy Hammett's stories so much. I am always a little wary of longer short stories, but this one was the perfect length to tell the story with enough detail.
Hammett usually didn't waste too many words, to be sure. You're likely to have a good time, at least, with any Bill Pronzini anthology...and nearly any Hammett story. Still amuses me that both Hammett and Cornell Woolrich were writing briefly for THE SMART SET, which was kind of a Dorothy Parker/F. Scott Fitzgerald/Eugene O'Neill sort of magazine, and then turned with a passion to SMART SET's little sibling, NLACK MASK, where they became stars...
Or, even, BLACK MASK!
Todd, I am sure you are right about anthologies put together by Bill Pronzini, although I am still a novice in reading short stories. I am surprised to be enjoying short stories in many different genres.
That is interesting that Hammett and Woolrich both wrote for The Smart Set.
BLACK MASK was founded by H. L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan and their publishers to be a more-sure cash cow than THE SMART SET turned out to be, and eventually both magazines were sold by the publishers, while Mencken and to some extent Nathan moved on to found THE AMERICAN MERCURY, a somewhat less lighthearted but otherwise similar magazine to THE SMART SET, and its first sibling magazine was no other than ELLERY QUEEN'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE, along with various periodical digest book series, most durably MERCURY MYSTERY and BESTSELLER MYSERY, both of which would become no-bones-about-it magazines in their last years, and THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION...EQMM and F&SF, of course, still with us.
Glad you've found some joy in short fiction! As someone who has been reading short fiction more readily than novels most of my life, I hope your enjoyment deepens! And Pronzini is a fine short-fiction writer as well as novelist, as well.
Todd, my husband is a big fan of Pronzini's Nameless series and has all the short story books associated with that, plus the two Small Felonies books. I have some stories by Pronzini in various anthologies. (I actually introduced him to the Nameless series but I have only read 25 of the 41 books in the series; he has read all of them.)
Thanks for the info on the history of the various short story magazines. That is fascinating and I wish I had a stash of them to read.
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