The Maltese Falcon, episode 1

Published in 1930, The Maltese Falcon is gritty, gripping noir at its best. As far as detective stories go, this one’s a game changer.

Detective Sam Spade’s cool, cynical nature turned him into one of the most memorable characters in literature and film, most notably the 1941 release starring Humphrey Bogart. Both the book and the movie are stunners.

Read: Buy it used or new on Amazon. (Read time: ~4 hours)

Reflect: Check out the conversation starters below.

Meet our guest:
Mike Nugent has worked as a lawyer, lobbyist, litigator and business executive in the
technology, intellectual property and financial services fields, and has always worked at being a writer. He has self-published three political mystery novels and has a fourth about to be submitted. He has self-published a children’s book and has had several short stories published in various journals in the US and abroad, one of which he’s turned into a short screenplay. One of his books was a Writers &  Readers Magazine’s Authorlink! Featured Thriller for two straight months and another made it to the semifinalist round in the 2015 James Jones First Novel Fellowship contest, meaning it was selected in the top 30 of over 675 submissions.

Mike’s work can be found at amazon.com/author/pmnugent.
https://www.facebook.com/pmnudge

Mike is a member of Lighthouse Writers’ Workshop in Denver, Colorado where he completed a 2-year Book Project program on writing novels led by 2023 Edgar Award winner Erika Krouse.
He lives near the Jersey Shore.

WRITING STYLE + NOIR MYSTERY: Spade’s gruff “matter of fact” voice lacks any sign of emotion and seems hyper-masculine, modern, and American. The Maltese Falcon’s mystery at the center of the story – how is it different from prior (pre-1929) mystery styles? Does it hold up? Do Hammett’s writing craft, methods, and tricks work? 

SANITARIUMS, SAN QUENTIN & SAN FRANCISCO: Spade tells Brigid, “Most things in San Francisco can be bought, or taken.” (Ch.6) How important is the novel’s setting in The Maltese Falcon?

“Cold steamy air blew in through two open windows, bringing with it half a dozen times a minute the Alcatraz foghorn’s dull moaning. A tinny alarm-clock, insecurely mounted on a corner of Duke’s Celebrated Criminal Cases of America—face down on the table—held its hands at five minutes past two.” (Ch.2)

“This is my city and my game. I could manage to land on my feet—sure—this time, but the next time I tried to put over a fast one they’d stop me so fast I’d swallow my teeth. Hell with that. You birds’ll be in New York or Constantinople or some place else. I’m in business here.” (Ch.18)

SAM SPADE: He’s 6’ tall and “looked rather pleasantly like a blond satan.” What’s his moral code? Is it hard (impossible?) to have one in so violent a world as the one in The Maltese Falcon? In Ch.12, he says he’s “no damned good.” Is that true? Is he a hero? Anti-hero?

“It’s tough, him getting it like that. Miles had his faults same as the rest of us, but I guess he must’ve had some good points too.” [Tom Polhaus speaking]

“I guess so,” Spade agreed in a tone that was utterly meaningless ….” (Ch.2)

“Have the Spade & Archer taken off the door and Samuel Spade put on.” (Ch.3) 

Spade stopped pacing the floor. He put his hands on his hips and glared at the girl. He addressed her in a loud savage voice: “Nobody followed her. Do you think I’m a God-damned schoolboy? I made sure of it before I put her in the cab, I rode a dozen blocks with her to be more sure, and I checked her another h