The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

Genre: Mystery / Gumshoe / Detective / Noir / Classic

This is a story about a detective named Sam Spade who is seen as a possible suspect in the murder of his partner Miles Archer.  He soon finds himself chasing after a black statue called the Maltese Falcon, while at the same time trying to clear his name.

Goodreads Synopsis:
A treasure worth killing for. Sam Spade, a slightly shopworn private eye with his own solitary code of ethics. A perfumed grafter named Joel Cairo, a fat man name Gutman, and Brigid O'Shaughnessy, a beautiful and treacherous woman whose loyalties shift at the drop of a dime. These are the ingredients of Dashiell Hammett's coolly glittering gem of detective fiction, a novel that has haunted three generations of readers

What an amazing novel.  I expected to like this after having read Red Harvest and enjoying it mildly, but this was freaking awesome.  It was only my second Noir novel, and no disappointments here. I was definitely not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. 

So why did I enjoy it so much?  Sam Spade is an excellent character based off of Dashiell himself, which probably is why it's so good because he knew enough about himself to write about his reactions. I found myself smiling, laughing, and contemplating as I read through this book, Spade capturing most of my intrigue.  He's the type of guy who lives by his own rules, and plays things quite by ear.  He seems to have a good understanding of the world around him and the events taking place before him. 

I couldn't for one second guess what was going to happen next. 

I haven't seen the movie for this, but I find myself wishing I could land myself a copy to watch after having read this.  I know it would pale in comparison to this novel, but that's besides the point. 

I absolutely loved the storyline.  It's basically a tale about a mysterious black falcon that various characters are after for the soul purpose of obtaining something worth a fortune of which nobody truly tells how much.  It was a story full of characters who were full of lies and deceit.

By the end of the book I found myself feeling like I understood Sam Spade down to his emotional bones.  This is by far one of my favorite books of all time.

It's been a while since I've come across any 5 star novels, and this one is by far one of the greatest I have ever read.

Shame on anyone who thinks evil of this.

The Invisible Man

Genre: Science fiction / Historical Fiction / Crime

A man comes across a magnificent discovery.  He discovers that man can become invisible, and in doing so he turns himself invisible.  Griffin becomes known as the invisible man, but also is deemed a criminal.

Back Cover:

The Invisible man is the fascinating take if a brash young scientist who, experimenting with himself, becomes invisible and then criminally insane, trapped in the terror of his own creation.

I thought this book magnificent.  I will say that it was pretty slow going to begin with, but the story quickly picks up.  It seems at times metaphorical.  I don’t want to give anything away, but I think this is worth a read if you’re an H.G. Wells fan…and even if you aren’t.  If you’re interested in the hardships and what it means to be invisible from a darker perspective, this book is for you.

Shame on anyone who thinks evil of this.

Affinity by Sarah Waters

Genre: Crime / Historical Fiction / Lesbian / Romance / Spirituality

Miss Margaret Prior is a 29 year old woman seeking out something in her life to make it more worthwhile.  This all happens of course after her brother stole the love of her life.  She decides to visit ladies at the prison and meets a young woman named Selina Dawes who she assumes is a good soul. Quickly they become close and share spiritual means together, for Selina Dawes is a medium.

Goodreads Synopsis:  
An upper-class woman recovering from a suicide attempt, Margaret Prior has begun visiting the women’s ward of Millbank prison, Victorian London’s grimmest jail, as part of her rehabilitative charity work. Amongst Millbank’s murderers and common thieves, Margaret finds herself increasingly fascinated by on apparently innocent inmate, the enigmatic spiritualist Selina Dawes. Selina was imprisoned after a séance she was conducting went horribly awry, leaving an elderly matron dead and a young woman deeply disturbed. Although initially skeptical of Selina’s gifts, Margaret is soon drawn into a twilight world of ghosts and shadows, unruly spirits and unseemly passions, until she is at last driven to concoct a desperate plot to secure Selina’s freedom, and her own.

First, I'd like to say, this book was nothing of what I expected.  I was expecting a very spiritual and romantic novel.  Instead, I got a book about a woman who claims to see spirits in prison, and a woman whose so kind enough to visit her as well as the other ladies of the prison.  I sort of liked this book at times, but as a whole, it really left me disappointed.  I kept expecting something marvelous to happen, but nothing spectacular occurs.  This novel was nothing fantastic like Tipping the Velvet or Fingersmith.  If you liked those two novels you might find this one a disappointment.  I'd hate to give away the ending, but lets just say it's not spectacular in any sense, in fact, if you're anything like me it'll make you loathe the book.  I can't give this more than 2 stars. 2 stars is just a kindness to the fact that at times it had me intrigued, if only mildly.  Throughout the book it felt like it was missing something.  I think it just didn't have the tragedies or the difficulties that were contained in the other 2 books I read by this author to give it that certain something.  It felt quite stale.  That's not to say some parts of it weren't written well, they were of course.  It sounded very much like a Sarah Waters book, minus the dramatic occurrences that previous Sarah Water's books contained.  That's really all I can say about this book.  I don't recommend reading it if you enjoyed Tipping the Velvet or Fingersmith.

Shame on anyone who thinks evil of this.

Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett

Genre: Noir/Crime/Detective/Classic/Mystery

Red Harvest is the first book of a short series written by Dashiell Hammett called The Continental Op series. It's about a detective whose name I can't recall ever being mentioned within the course of this novel, perhaps it was mentioned just so infrequently that I didn't capture it. He's from San Fransisco and for some reason wants to stir up some mischief in a town called Personville, which keeps being called Poisonville. He finds himself in the middle of a crime he's sure he didn't commit...I'll let you read to find out what happens.


Goodreads Summary:
The Continental Op first heard Personville called Poisonville by Hickey Dewey. But since Dewey also called a shirt a shoit, he didn't think anything of it. Until he went there and his client, the only honest man in Poisonville, was murdered. Then the Op decided to stay to punish the guilty. And that meant taking on the entire town...
 

For this being the first Noir novel I've read it wasn't too bad; however, I felt like it was lacking something to make it capture me.  I didn't find myself connecting with any of the characters, but the story was an alright read. Dinah was an okay character, though too stereotypical. I do admit though that I got lost a few times in the dialogue, but later found myself back into the story a couple pages later. The ending seems flat to me, like it needs a little something more. It's an okay read if you're looking to start reading some Crime Detective books, it's a classic after all.

Shame on anyone who thinks evil of this.