What happens when you mix hard-boiled detective pulp with a Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn movie and add in enough alcohol to make Charles Bukowski blush? You get two of author Dashiell Hammett's most famous characters, Nick and Nora Charles. Written over 75 years ago, The Thin Man is chock full of 30's colloquialisms and dated policing methodology, but is still clever and edgy enough to compete with any modern equivalent. While this is the only novel Hammett wrote with these two amusing and well-developed characters, they resonated so much with readers that six movies, a radio drama and TV series were made about them.
The novel follows Nick, a former detective of some notoriety, and Nora, his wealthy, young socialite wife, as they solve a series of related murders that are closely associated to Nick's past. In between an ever-escalating amount of cocktail parties and gin joints, we are introduced to a motley cast of cops, crooks and New York's upper crust. Hammett brings the same amount of energy to ever character in this drama and develops each personality so adeptly, that the reader would be compelled to follow the story no matter which character was being focused on.
Hammett has the uncanny ability to keep this violent, and at times misogynistic tale, upbeat. Rarely can an author keep his audience in suspense and laughing at the same time, but Hammett pulls it off effortlessly. The Thin Man is the perfect book for fans of the detective genre, but is equally enjoyable for any reader who enjoys a witty book. Like its namesake, the novel is thin in size and is an ideal traveling companion.
