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The Dain Curse by Dashiell Hammett

The Dain Curse

Kindle Edition

Dashiell Hammett

Start Publishing PD · Ebook · September 15, 2025

The second of Dashiell Hammett’s Continental Op series is a masterpiece of hard-boiled noir detective fiction.

SuspensePrivate Eye FictionHard-Boiled Mysteryfamily
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Who it’s for
A bizarre case gathers darker complications, with the Continental Op’s cynicism as its steady compass.
Genres
Hard-Boiled Mystery, Private Eye Fiction, Suspense
Published
Start Publishing PD, September 15, 2025

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For younger readers: Lazarus Machine, Gideon Green in Black and White

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About this book

The second of Dashiell Hammett’s Continental Op series is a masterpiece of hard-boiled noir detective fiction. One of the nameless detective’s more bizarre cases begins with his investigation of a diamond theft but quickly turns into a tense, twisting tale of murder, cults, addiction, and an alleged family curse. The Continental Op confronts danger with his iconic cynical style in a world of corruption and moral ambiguity.

Noir’s Dark Turns

A bizarre case gathers darker complications, with the Continental Op’s cynicism as its steady compass.

Come here for

  • A diamond theft that opens onto murder, cults, and an alleged family curse
  • A hard-boiled detective’s cynical eye on corruption and moral ambiguity

Expect

  • Tense, twisting noir detective fiction
  • A morally ambiguous world, with danger close at hand

Where it sits

Hard-Boiled Mystery100%
Suspense48%
Private Eye Fiction42%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Historical Fiction
  • Hard-Boiled Mystery
  • Crime Fiction
Authors
Dashiell Hammett
Publisher
Start Publishing PD
Published
September 15, 2025
Format
Ebook
Reading lane
Historical Fiction