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Title details for Spade & Archer by Joe Gores - Available

Spade & Archer

The Prequel to Dashiell Hammett's the Maltese Falcon

by Joe Gores
Scott Brick
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available
When Sam Spade gets drawn into the Maltese Falcon case, we know what to expect: straight talk, hard questions, no favors, and no way for anyone to get underneath the protective shell he wears like a second skin. We know that his late partner, Miles Archer, was a son of a bitch; that Spade is sleeping with Archer’s wife, Iva; that his tomboyish secretary, Effie Perine, is the only innocent in his life. What we don’t know is how Spade became who he is. Now Spade & Archer completes the picture.
1921: Spade sets up his own agency in San Francisco and clients quickly start coming through the door. The next seven years will see him dealing with booze runners, waterfront thugs, stowaways, banking swindlers, gold smugglers, bumbling cops, and the illegitimate daughter of Sun Yat-sen. He’ll bring in Archer as a partner, though it was Archer who stole his girl while he was fighting in World War I. He’ll tangle with a villain who never loses his desire to make Spade pay big for ruining what should’ve been the perfect crime. And he’ll fall in love–though it won’t turn out for the best. It never does with dames . . .
Spade & Archer is a gritty, pitch-perfect, hard-boiled novel–the work of a master mystery writer–destined to become a classic in its own right.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 10, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781415960622
      • File size: 248885 KB
      • Duration: 08:38:30

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Scott Brick fights the urge to apply a Bogart-like tone to this prequel to Dashiell Hammett's classic, THE MALTESE FALCON. It's 1920s San Francisco. Brick's perfect pacing draws the listener into the world of antihero gumshoe Sam Spade, before he hired his secretary and joined forces with Miles Archer. This time, instead of a jewel-encrusted statue of a falcon, it's a treasure of gold that needs to be found, and Spade delivers. Brick's voice wears the gritty dialogue and minimalist description like paint on a flagpole. Lovers of hard-boiled detective adventures will want to stand up and salute. R.O. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from December 15, 2008
      Edgar-winner Gores has not only pulled off the Herculean task of writing a prequel to The Maltese Falcon
      but also created a rip-roaring yarn of his own that will please even the crustiest of Hammett devotees. In 1921, Samuel Spade leaves the Continental Detective Agency and opens up his own office. One of his first cases, which the local cops have bungled, involves the robbery of $125,00 worth of gold coins from the San Anselmo
      , a passenger ship. Gores cuts forward twice, to 1925 and 1928, along the way setting the iconic Spade off on various adventures throughout the Bay Area. The author, who does a brilliant job of bringing Prohibition-era San Francisco to life with street-level detail and a native's perspective, also captures Hammett's spare style and tone perfectly. The only thing missing is a real femme fatale, but Gores, himself a former PI, gives us a number of young beauties to keep Spade busy until Miss Wonderly finally appears at his door. 5-city author tour.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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