The Thin Man introduces Nick and Nora Charles, New York’s coolest crime-solving couple.
Nick retired from detecting after his wife inherited a tidy sum, but six years later, a pretty blonde spies him at a speakeasy and asks for his help finding her father, an eccentric inventor who was once Nick’s client.
Nick can no more resist the case than a morning cocktail or a good fight, and soon he and Nora are caught in a complicated web of confused identities and cold-blooded murder.
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"Hilarious. Easy and quick read. It was definitely a page turner and though I had guesses the mystery early on there were so many twists and turns that towards the end I didn't know what to think any more. Why aren't there more books like this anymore? I like it when authors can put your head in a swivel."
— Carmen (5 out of 5 stars)
“The most breathless of Hammett’s stories.”
— Sinclair Lewis, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature“None of [Hammett’s] creations proved as endearing as Nick and Nora Charles, the wisecracking crime fighters of The Thin Man, his final novel.”
— Washington Post“All the wit of Nick and Nora is there, and the plot from the book needed no change to make the film one of the greatest American mystery comedies ever…Try it for a great sense of the good life in the New York of the 1930s.”
— Amazon.com" One of the rare cases where the movie was better than the book. The comparison is somewhat unfair to the book. However, the movie was the reason I wanted to read the book. I felt like the book lacked a lot of the wit and charm of the film. The characters also seemed darker without a lot of dimension. "
— Brittany, 2/12/2014" Read this one as part of One Denver and book club... glad I read it but the genre is tired now--too bad. "
— Alison, 2/12/2014" Better than the movie. And that's saying quite a lot. "
— Zach, 2/9/2014" Loved the relationship between Nick Charles and his wife Nora. The book over all fell kind of flat for me. "
— Em, 2/7/2014" Good hard-boiled noir in the grand tradition of Raymond Chandler where Nick Charles seems to "need" a drink every 5 minutes, bodies pile up and nobody's quite above suspicion. Enjoyable romp. "
— Ram, 2/1/2014" I read this book many years ago and loved Hammett's writting - I was however not as thrilled with this audio version. I found myself stuggling with the narrator's voice. It didn't mesh with the story to me - it didn't sound the way I thought it sould. So 5 stars for the writing 3 stars for the reading. "
— Colette, 1/24/2014" The main characters from this book are always in crossword puzzles, so I decided to read it. You can tell it was written awhile ago, because there's a lot of drinking and cops roughing up prisoners. However, the story is good and he keeps you guessing to the end. "
— Melissa, 1/20/2014" I like his writing. The characters in this one are very compelling. "
— Nathan, 1/18/2014" I've seen all the movies which made me want to read the book that started it all. The movies take great liberties with the book. I still love the movies but join the chorus of "the book was better." "
— Vincent, 12/24/2013" Noir at its best. Man, if I could write dialogue like that! "
— Sweetman, 12/20/2013" Hmmm...I think I actually liked the movie better. "
— Caleb, 11/27/2013" Lots of alcohol and wry humor. The style overshadows the plot, but both are entertaining. "
— Shawn, 11/14/2013" Lots of biting wit and so very 1920s. You can almost see the art deco. Really enjoyed it and looking forward to reading more. Also, want to watch the movie again. :) "
— midnightblooms, 11/8/2013" What I expected was the kind of sparkle I saw with Myrna Loy and William Powell. Instead, it's a fairly straightforward noir detective novel in the style of Chandler. "
— C.R., 10/14/2013" I enjoyed the second read even more than the first. "
— Melissa, 8/29/2013" Excellant book! I loved the old school cops and the older language. Great great book. The couple was cute and sassy! "
— Trisha, 8/16/2013" This is the book for One Book, One Denver. A dive into Noir! We recently saw the movie Brick, which was really cool, also in this general genre, but contemporary. I liked the movie better than the book... "
— Ruth, 7/3/2013" Book is much better than movie! "
— Celeste, 3/16/2013" Heaven. I've seen the movie, of course, but the book brings Nick and Nora Charles vibrantly to life. "
— Susanna, 1/18/2013" I decided to read the book after seeing the movie. This is one of the few books where I think the movie was better. At points it was hard to follow who was who and what was happening. Otherwise it was a great mystery that keeps you guessing till the end. "
— Kathryn, 12/25/2012" The movie is as much fun as the book and vice versa. "
— Chuck, 11/26/2012" Not nearly as cutsie as the film - note the child abuse and insinuations of incest. I blame the Hay's code. "
— Jon, 5/12/2012" I read this for my book club. It definitely wasn't my cup of tea. I didn't really get the 20's slang and banter. The murder mystery was actually written quite well and I didn't suspect who did it, but the rest of the book was just not for me. "
— Julene, 4/30/2012" The last novel by Dashiell Hammett and possibly his finest. Hammett combines his experiences as a Pinkerton agent with his concise writing style to create an unforgettable characters (and spawned several movies). "
— Bookendsused, 4/13/2012" Good but I really enjoyed the movies better. "
— Ness, 8/11/2011" Nick and Nora Charles in the original. I listened to it and, once I got over Nick constantly sighing-- "Nora, pour me another drink", I really enjoyed it. That Nick is cool. "
— Jean, 6/28/2011" Witty repartee,<br/>Drinking, shooting, suspecting.<br/>Want to see films now. "
— David, 6/18/2011" I've watched the Thin Man series with William Powell and Myrna Loy endless times, but I'd never read the actual book it was based upon. Not as much Nora in the book, and way less Asta in the book, so I'll probably stick to the movies since I love both of them in the movies. "
— Sallie, 5/24/2011" I love Hammett. This book has been on my to read list for years. It's as disciplined and tight but just not as dark and wrenching as Maltese Falcon or Red Harvest. If this is your cup of tea read Red Harvest. It will blow you away. "
— Declan, 5/20/2011" "That may be," Nora said, "but it's all pretty unsatisfactory." This is how the book ends and this is exactly what I was thinking as I finished it, this was a pretty unsatisfactory read. Intrigue that plods along is not exactly a page turner. "
— Charity, 5/16/2011" One of Hammett's best (and that's saying something!) and surprisingly far darker than the wonderful movie - and better, IMO. "
— Abbey, 5/16/2011" I read this because I love the movies so much. It's much darker and more hard-boiled than the much lighter hearted movie. The dialogue snaps, but there's a current underneath that seems censored for the audience of the time. "
— Jamie, 5/14/2011" Witty. I liked the fast pace and the 1930s.<br/> "
— Linda, 4/27/2011" Excellent book, totally unique and a totally unexpected ending. "
— Lena, 4/20/2011" A fun book- dashiell hammet's The Thin Man is a fun story that's easy to read and full of booze. It's a period piece that's worth checking out if you enjoy mysteries, sarcasm and cocktails. "
— Abigail, 4/16/2011" When the cover features high praise from Sinclair Lewis and Raymond Chandler and the book lives up to said praise, you know it's a keeper. "
— peter, 4/10/2011Dashiell Hammett (1894–1961) was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He is widely regarded as one of the finest mystery writers of all time. In addition to The Maltese Falcon, his pioneering novels include Red Harvest, The Dain Curse, The Glass Key, and the #1 New York Times bestseller The Thin Man.
William Dufris attended the University of Southern Maine in Portland-Gorham before pursuing a career in voice work in London and then the United States. He has won more than twenty AudioFile Earphones Awards, was voted one of the Best Voices at the End of the Century by AudioFile magazine, and won the prestigious Audie Award in 2012 for best nonfiction narration. He lives with his family in Maine.