I more and more realize that I don’t really like Dashiell Hammett novels very much. I say this having liked this one, because of the three previous novels of his I’ve read, this is the only one that feels like it a) makes any real sense, and b) has captured something charming and wonderful. And the mystery here isn’t even all that good. Instead, he’s really figured out the right tone and tenor for this novel.
Nick and Norah are a married, upper crust couple, who host dinner parties and toasts, always have a drink in hand, and always have a joke to make. They make for a really engaging central focus. And what is also clearly different from earlier novels, is that there’s a lesser focus on the plot of the mystery, and more on the building up of the personalities of the detectives. And that’s the biggest difference. More so than his other novels, this one feels like it’s worthy of the classics label in which a book doesn’t just exist as a book in and of itself, so much as a text that is actively helping to define the genre it’s mapping out. Later writers really came to understand that a compelling detective character is way more important to the mysteries themselves. Sherlock Holmes strikes a balance, and plenty of standalone novel works as plot driven vehicles, but this one effectively capitalizes on charm. It’s almost like reading parody versions of mysteries like Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, but in good ways.
(Photo: https://www.amazon.com/Thin-Man-Dashiell-Hammett/dp/0679722637/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=the+thin+man&qid=1574372373&sr=8-2)