Status
Available
Call number
Library's review
Indeholder "Første del. Dain-søstrene", " 1. Otte diamanter", " 2. Langnæse", " 3. Noget sort", " 4. De ubestemte venner", " 5. Gabrielle", " 6. Manden fra Djævleøen", " 7. Forbandelsen", " 8. Men og hvis", "Anden del. Templet", " 9. Blindebuk", " 10. Visne blomster", " 11. Gud", " 12. Den
???
Show More
uheldige gral", "Tredie del. Quesada", " 13. Klippevejen", " 14. Den havarerede Chrysler", " 15. Jeg har slået ham ihjel", " 16. Nattejagten", " 17. Neden for Dull Point", " 18. Håndgranaten", " 19. Den vanslægtede", " 20. Huset i vigen", " 21. Aaronia Haldorn", " 22. Skriftemål", " 23. Cirkus'et".???
Show Less
Genres
Publication
Fremad, 1969. Fremads kriminalromaner
Description
The Continental Op is a short, squat, and utterly unsentimental tank of a private detective. Miss Gabrielle Dain Leggett is young, wealthy, and a devotee of morphine and religious cults. She has an unfortunate effect on the people around her: they have a habit of dying violently. Is Gabrielle the victim of a family curse? Or is the truth about her weirder and infinitely more dangerous? The Dain Curse is one of the Continental Op's most bizarre cases and a tautly crafted masterpiece of suspense.
User reviews
LibraryThing member lilithcat
Head to the west coast, where the Continental Op is called in to figure out a burglary and diamond theft for his insurance company employer. A suspect turns up dead, but without the diamonds. Then the guy who was burgled commits suicide, or maybe it wasn't. And he's got a wife who's behaving oddly
Things just keep happening here. Once you think everything's resolved, something pops up, generally a dead body. It's Hammett at his hard-boiled best.
Show More
and a daughter who is gorgeous, troubled, addicted to morphine and pretty sure that she's the victim of a family curse.Things just keep happening here. Once you think everything's resolved, something pops up, generally a dead body. It's Hammett at his hard-boiled best.
Show Less
LibraryThing member EdGoldberg
Only Dashiell Hammett could start off with the theft of diamonds and move on to murder, bogus religions, morphine addiction and more. The Dain Curse is composed of 3 or 4 Continental Ops stories (depending on which version of the book your are reading). The reson I'm saying this is that this
Additionally, there are some differences in the volumes. While essentially the same stories, the final paragraph of each book is different. There are some other what are seemingly minor word changes, but there are some that might be major, so I have to read the Big Book version to find out what changes there are.
Anyway, true to Hammett form, the stories are exciting although probably stretching the plots a bit (the murders are pegged to a Dain (family name) curse on its members), the wording is phenomenal and all in all a joy to read. If you at all a pulp mystery fan, or a Dashiell Hammett fan, then you'll know of the Continental Ops detective and want to read all his stories. I'd definitely recommend the Dain Curse.
Show More
version published in 1929 has three sections while the Big Book of Continental Ops, recently published in 2017 and containing all Continental Ops stories in one book, has four sections to this novel.Additionally, there are some differences in the volumes. While essentially the same stories, the final paragraph of each book is different. There are some other what are seemingly minor word changes, but there are some that might be major, so I have to read the Big Book version to find out what changes there are.
Anyway, true to Hammett form, the stories are exciting although probably stretching the plots a bit (the murders are pegged to a Dain (family name) curse on its members), the wording is phenomenal and all in all a joy to read. If you at all a pulp mystery fan, or a Dashiell Hammett fan, then you'll know of the Continental Ops detective and want to read all his stories. I'd definitely recommend the Dain Curse.
Show Less
LibraryThing member rossryanross
The Dain Curse is far and away Hammett's worst novel, which is to say that it is still excellent. The characters may not be as fully drawn as those in The Maltese Falcon and Red Harvest, and the 'supernatural' elements don't work (despite the book's later attempts to rationalize them), but Hammett
Show More
still manages to piece together a story you'll give a damn about--full of murder, drugs, religious fundamentalism, the occult, etc.--even if you don't really understand what happens. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jonathan_M
*Possible spoilers ahead*
Hammett wrote only five novels, two of which--The Glass Key and this one--are considered "minor" works. This shows just how far off the mark critical consensus can be, since Hammett himself believed that The Glass Key was his finest book. (He was right.) The Dain Curse is
Hammett wrote only five novels, two of which--The Glass Key and this one--are considered "minor" works. This shows just how far off the mark critical consensus can be, since Hammett himself believed that The Glass Key was his finest book. (He was right.) The Dain Curse is
Show More
not in the same class, but it's a fun, engaging detective yarn that has a lot going for it. Firstly, this is a Continental Op case, which means that it's fast-moving and loaded with action. Secondly, even though Hammett had become a mainstream success, this novel enthusiastically embraces the wackiness of the pulp magazines in which he was first published: the Op tangles with a religious cult, hallucinatory gas and a variety of just plain bizarre characters. (He even sees a junky through withdrawal.) Finally, The Dain Curse is full of the surgically precise language that originated with Hammett and became a mandatory feature of hard-boiled fiction forever after. Don't let anyone tell you that this is a minor novel: Dashiell Hammett didn't write anything "minor"! Show Less
LibraryThing member Stahl-Ricco
Well, the Continental Op is back again! This time he has to deal with a curse, a curse with lots of murders to its credit! The book almost reads like 3 seperate short stories, and the connection between the three is how the Op will solve the who dunnit. Part One involves the case of missing
Show More
diamonds, an excentric scientist, and the meanest ol' woman I think there could be! What she claims to have taught a 5 year old is crazy! The second part of the book involves a cult, some ghosts, and a dude with a major God complex! And the third part is just murder, after murder, after murder down the coast from San Francisco. Ultimately, there is a connection, but even with a whole chapter at the end to explain it, I must say I don't think I quite understood it all. Oh well, it sure as hell won't keep me from reading more of the Op's adventures! Show Less
LibraryThing member g026r
Having finished this, I think it's fair to say that this is the weakest of Hammett's novels, and quite possibly the weakest of the Continental Op stories as well. The main flaw is the plot, which seems a bit disorganized, flailing and meandering all over the place to take in fake new age cults,
The prose, on the other hand, is what you'd expect from Hammett. In other words: not quite as good as Chandler's, but nowhere near as unnatural feeling as Cain's.
Show More
diamond heists, jealous lovers, and more. I'd say that the identity of the final culprit was fairly obvious part-way through, but really this sort of book is more about the journey than the final reveal. Pity that the journey didn't really seem to have much of a purpose most of the time.The prose, on the other hand, is what you'd expect from Hammett. In other words: not quite as good as Chandler's, but nowhere near as unnatural feeling as Cain's.
Show Less
LibraryThing member brettjames
This is the best Hammett ever wrote, which is a lot being the biggest whale or the scariest dinosaur.
LibraryThing member markatread
The Dain Curse could perhaps more accurately be titled The Case That Would Not Stay Closed. As he did with The Red Harvest, the author, Dashiell Hammett, originally wrote The Dain Curse in serialized form and it appeared in the Black Mask magazine. Hammett reworked the story so it could be released
But what this also leads to is the need to have several Ricky Ricardo moments in the book. In several of the old I Love Lucy episodes, an exasperated Ricky would turn to Lucy and say "Lucy you got some s'plaining to do". And so too does the Continental Op in The Dain Curse. What made a lot of sense at the end of Part One or Part Two of the book, needs to have some "more s'plaining" once the Continental Op is called back in on the case and discovers more information.
The Dain Curse can in some ways be seen as a transitional book between the hell bent for leather, amoral Continental Op in The Red Harvest and the much more human Sam Spade of The Maltese Falcon. The Continental Op is still middle-aged, short, pudgy, and he still does not have a name. But he does not use out-of-control action to resolve the problem; he uses his wits and as a result we end up seeing a more human Continental Op than in the Red Harvest. The Dain Curse is not as good as either The Red Harvest or The Maltese Falcon, but it does sit between them in much the same way as dawn sits between the nighttime and the daytime.
Show More
in 1929 as a novel. There are still three distinct Parts to the novel with the Continental Op apparently solving the mystery at the ending of Part One and Part Two only to have to be called back in on the case at a later date. As a result, there is a choppy feeling to the novel which in some ways gives it a more realistic feel since life itself seldom has nice tidy endings. But what this also leads to is the need to have several Ricky Ricardo moments in the book. In several of the old I Love Lucy episodes, an exasperated Ricky would turn to Lucy and say "Lucy you got some s'plaining to do". And so too does the Continental Op in The Dain Curse. What made a lot of sense at the end of Part One or Part Two of the book, needs to have some "more s'plaining" once the Continental Op is called back in on the case and discovers more information.
The Dain Curse can in some ways be seen as a transitional book between the hell bent for leather, amoral Continental Op in The Red Harvest and the much more human Sam Spade of The Maltese Falcon. The Continental Op is still middle-aged, short, pudgy, and he still does not have a name. But he does not use out-of-control action to resolve the problem; he uses his wits and as a result we end up seeing a more human Continental Op than in the Red Harvest. The Dain Curse is not as good as either The Red Harvest or The Maltese Falcon, but it does sit between them in much the same way as dawn sits between the nighttime and the daytime.
Show Less
LibraryThing member theokester
The Dain Curse is my second excursion with the Continental Op. I read Red Harvest about a year ago and really enjoyed it. In Red Harvest, the Op is battling gangsters in a mess of a town. Part of me expected the same sort of thing from the Dain Curse. While there were similar gangster-like
The Dain Curse plot is, at its heart, what you might expect from a robbery/murder mystery story. It involves a lot of intrigue, misdirection, suspense, etc. At the same time, it's not your standard mystery novel a la Sherlock Holmes. It's definitely gritty and "hardboiled" in the same style as the earlier Hammett I'd read.
One thing I noticed quickly was just how twisty the path was along the story arc. Things start out simple enough with our Op investigating a small scale jewel robbery as a representative for the insurance company who will have to pay the claim on the missing diamonds. The Op's detective nature shines as he questions the surface value of the facts and doesn't accept the "easy answer" that the suspects and the insurance company would like him to take. Instead, he keeps digging and before long, the jewel theft gets forgotten as murder becomes the primary crime…and then another murder…and another.
The language, imagery and pacing of Hammett's novel was fabulous. It was very easy to get caught up in the action and the adventure of the story. The depth and intrigue of the mystery was very impressive. In the end, I could follow the unraveling of the mystery but there were constant wild cards thrown from seemingly out of nowhere that threw into a spin any theories I had already come up with.
The biggest downside of the book were the times when everything was spelled out. While it was very interesting reading the entire plot unraveled so the whole mystery was exposed, the segment where this happened was a somewhat drudgerous read. Still, I was compelled to read it to make sure I didn't miss anything. The main drudgery of the explanation was due to its length and intricacy. The final mystery had layer upon layer of detail and a whole stage of characters. As a result, the wrap up took a long time to get out and part of me wanted to skip past it, while the other part wanted to make sure I understood everything.
While not as action packed as the gangster hunting events of Red Harvest, the mystery and intrigue level of The Dain Curse were taken up a notch. Once again, I found myself really enjoying the minimal, course, gritty, blunt style of Hammett and I look forward to reading more.
****
4.5 out of 5 stars
Show More
elements, the overall plot structure was fairly different.The Dain Curse plot is, at its heart, what you might expect from a robbery/murder mystery story. It involves a lot of intrigue, misdirection, suspense, etc. At the same time, it's not your standard mystery novel a la Sherlock Holmes. It's definitely gritty and "hardboiled" in the same style as the earlier Hammett I'd read.
One thing I noticed quickly was just how twisty the path was along the story arc. Things start out simple enough with our Op investigating a small scale jewel robbery as a representative for the insurance company who will have to pay the claim on the missing diamonds. The Op's detective nature shines as he questions the surface value of the facts and doesn't accept the "easy answer" that the suspects and the insurance company would like him to take. Instead, he keeps digging and before long, the jewel theft gets forgotten as murder becomes the primary crime…and then another murder…and another.
The language, imagery and pacing of Hammett's novel was fabulous. It was very easy to get caught up in the action and the adventure of the story. The depth and intrigue of the mystery was very impressive. In the end, I could follow the unraveling of the mystery but there were constant wild cards thrown from seemingly out of nowhere that threw into a spin any theories I had already come up with.
The biggest downside of the book were the times when everything was spelled out. While it was very interesting reading the entire plot unraveled so the whole mystery was exposed, the segment where this happened was a somewhat drudgerous read. Still, I was compelled to read it to make sure I didn't miss anything. The main drudgery of the explanation was due to its length and intricacy. The final mystery had layer upon layer of detail and a whole stage of characters. As a result, the wrap up took a long time to get out and part of me wanted to skip past it, while the other part wanted to make sure I understood everything.
While not as action packed as the gangster hunting events of Red Harvest, the mystery and intrigue level of The Dain Curse were taken up a notch. Once again, I found myself really enjoying the minimal, course, gritty, blunt style of Hammett and I look forward to reading more.
****
4.5 out of 5 stars
Show Less
LibraryThing member wildbill
While this may not be Dashiell Hammett's best novel I enjoyed listening to it very much. This book left me with very vivid memories.
This is a Continental Op mystery and all through the novel we never learn the name of the protagonist. The book begins with the investigation of the theft of some low
Next the Op and Ms. Leggett end up at the Temple of the Holy Grail, a cult in San Francisco. There the Op has a fight with a spirit while under the influence of a sleeping gas that has been pumped into the room. There are two more murders blamed by Ms. Leggett on her curse. Then her husband is murdered and the Op takes Ms. Leggett to a place that is safe and secure.
Ms. Leggett is a morphine addict and my favorite part of the book is the section where the Op helps to wean her off the drug. For one week she goes through all the symptoms of drug withdrawal and the Op is with her all of the time. His crusty exterior is belied by the tender care he gives her as she cries and screams her way through release from the drug. The story sags somewhat after the drug withdrawal interlude and the solution to the mysteries is somewhat anti-climatic.
Hammett's writing is sparse and his dialogue full of short clipped phrases. This is an entrancing story with a gritty realism that is Hammett's signature touch. I recommend it along with all of Hammett's novels.
This is a Continental Op mystery and all through the novel we never learn the name of the protagonist. The book begins with the investigation of the theft of some low
Show More
quality diamonds. Then the man the diamonds were stolen from is murdered. This introduces the Continental Op to the man's daughter, Gabrielle Leggett, the carrier of the Dain Curse. Ms. Leggett blames herself for her father's murder which then becomes the focus of the investigation.Next the Op and Ms. Leggett end up at the Temple of the Holy Grail, a cult in San Francisco. There the Op has a fight with a spirit while under the influence of a sleeping gas that has been pumped into the room. There are two more murders blamed by Ms. Leggett on her curse. Then her husband is murdered and the Op takes Ms. Leggett to a place that is safe and secure.
Ms. Leggett is a morphine addict and my favorite part of the book is the section where the Op helps to wean her off the drug. For one week she goes through all the symptoms of drug withdrawal and the Op is with her all of the time. His crusty exterior is belied by the tender care he gives her as she cries and screams her way through release from the drug. The story sags somewhat after the drug withdrawal interlude and the solution to the mysteries is somewhat anti-climatic.
Hammett's writing is sparse and his dialogue full of short clipped phrases. This is an entrancing story with a gritty realism that is Hammett's signature touch. I recommend it along with all of Hammett's novels.
Show Less
LibraryThing member antao
(Original Review, 1981-03-08)
"We don't do it that way...You're a storywriter. I can't trust you not to build up on what I tell you. I'll save mine till after you've spoken your piece, so yours won't be twisted to fit mine."
In “The Dain Curse” by Dashiell Hammett
"'Are you -- who make your living
'We're different...I do mine with the object of putting people in jail, and I get paid for it, though not as much as I should.'
'That's not different...I do mine with the object of putting people in books, and I get paid for it, though not as much as I should.'"
In “The Dain Curse” by Dashiell Hammett
Hammett's main stated intention with the work was to attempt to make something approaching literature out of the detective genre. He clearly based his characters on people he knew but that doesn't preclude him also having other motives and working with other frames of reference. And in the end, this discussion exists outside of what Hammett really intended.
The work he created is dense enough to support multiple readings and resonate with other works of literature, and it is simply interesting to speculate on these.
I don't think any of us with our readings are claiming that Hammett meant it that way- we are just articulating ideas and references which have come to mind while reading “The Dain Curse”. There are plenty of books in the hard-boiled category about which it would be impossible to have these kinds of discussions, but “The Maltese Falcon” is, for a number of us, one which throws up many leads and echoes. I regularly re-read my Hammett. Yes, all 5 novels, including the thoroughly daft “The Dain Curse”…
"We don't do it that way...You're a storywriter. I can't trust you not to build up on what I tell you. I'll save mine till after you've spoken your piece, so yours won't be twisted to fit mine."
In “The Dain Curse” by Dashiell Hammett
"'Are you -- who make your living
Show More
snooping -- sneering at my curiosity about people and my attempts to satisfy it?''We're different...I do mine with the object of putting people in jail, and I get paid for it, though not as much as I should.'
'That's not different...I do mine with the object of putting people in books, and I get paid for it, though not as much as I should.'"
In “The Dain Curse” by Dashiell Hammett
Hammett's main stated intention with the work was to attempt to make something approaching literature out of the detective genre. He clearly based his characters on people he knew but that doesn't preclude him also having other motives and working with other frames of reference. And in the end, this discussion exists outside of what Hammett really intended.
The work he created is dense enough to support multiple readings and resonate with other works of literature, and it is simply interesting to speculate on these.
I don't think any of us with our readings are claiming that Hammett meant it that way- we are just articulating ideas and references which have come to mind while reading “The Dain Curse”. There are plenty of books in the hard-boiled category about which it would be impossible to have these kinds of discussions, but “The Maltese Falcon” is, for a number of us, one which throws up many leads and echoes. I regularly re-read my Hammett. Yes, all 5 novels, including the thoroughly daft “The Dain Curse”…
Show Less
LibraryThing member antiquary
Unlike a lot of the Op stories, this has more of a upper class California feel --more like Raymond Chandler -- stolen diamonds (only industrial grade, but still), weird young woman of wealthy family, bizarre cult etc.
LibraryThing member MarquesadeFlambe
Probably Hammett's weakest novel, it's very disjointed. Still a fun read.
LibraryThing member Vesper1931
The Continental Op is employed by an insurance company to investigate a theft of diamonds from the Leggett household. What seems like any ordinary theft changes when dead bodies start appearing. But is Miss Dain really cursed, she believes so, as everytime she changes her abode people start getting
An enjoyable re-read of this well-written mystery.
Originally written in 1929
Show More
killed.An enjoyable re-read of this well-written mystery.
Originally written in 1929
Show Less
LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
Its one of those reads that goes fast, is fairly typical and the story itself isn't that good. It also very dated. I could go on about stereotypes, and how gender is portrayed, etc etc. But its par for the genre and the age. There are any number of eye rolling moments - from a secret cult, to
Show More
parents with a rather tragic, murderous, backstory. Throw in a random kidnapping. Show Less
LibraryThing member write-review
The Curse: Head Spinning Confusion
Hammett’s The Dain Curse, for all of its many flaws, still bears his hallmarks that make reading him nearly ninety years after first publication fun. Here, what begins as a simple jewelry insurance investigation by the, as usual, unnamed Continental Op, expands
Of course, what balances out these flaws are Hammett’s crisp writing style, his Damon Runyonesque characters, his wisecracking dialogue, and his liberal use of slang, some of it now arcane. Then, too, there is his spot-on understanding of human nature, particularly the dark side; Hammett worked as a detective for the Pinkerton agency before and after his stint in the army during WWI. So, the best advice when approaching this novel is, don’t let the flaws frustrate you, appreciate it for all its good stuff (that, true, gets used to better effect in his noir classics The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man).
Now, as to that long and winding plot, astute readers will spot the killer early on. You won’t know the why and the how, but your suspicions will be aroused and no twisting of the plot will throw you off the scent. The Op shows up at the Leggetts’ on behalf of the agency’s client to investigate some missing jewels. Leggett is a scientist and he’s taken on the assignment of purifying color flaws in diamonds; his specialty is the science of color. The Leggetts have a daughter, Gabrielle, who is very much an odd duck in appearance and behavior; additionally, she’s a morphine addict. She disappears and we learn she belongs to a local religious cult. Shortly, the Leggetts, first the husband, followed by the wife, turn up dead. A young man in love with Gabrielle tries to protect you. The diamonds reappear after a few more people get murdered. The Op is out of the case. But Gabrielle falls big time into the clutches of the cult and her estate lawyer summons the Op to figure out what’s happening to her. Meanwhile, the Op takes time to meet and dine with an acquaintance, a novelist, who has taken an interest in the ever morphing case, wherein lots of chatter happens about the psychological state of people and plot points get proposed and hashed out. With much effort and a few murders, the Op rescues Gabrielle from the cult as he destroys it.
All seems resolved, except that Gabrielle and her boyfriend run off and marry. The estate lawyer again enlists the Op’s aid. Off he goes to visit the couple at their honeymoon retreat on the California coast. He arrives to find the nice young husband dead, murdered. He becomes involved with a small army of local officials, brings in more Ops, and all set about trying to deduce what the heck is going on. You guessed it: more bodies are added to the pile. In the end, characters and readers alike find themselves in a total state of exhaustion, patience tried to the limit, while the Op helps Gabrielle kick her habit and solves the series of crime. To put a fine point on the conclusion, we have a chapter devoted to where everybody—and the cast of characters is numerous—ends of. Readers wipe their brows and take an extra dose of their blood pressure meds.
Hammett’s The Dain Curse, for all of its many flaws, still bears his hallmarks that make reading him nearly ninety years after first publication fun. Here, what begins as a simple jewelry insurance investigation by the, as usual, unnamed Continental Op, expands
Show More
in short order into a novel of multiple murders, dope addiction, child abuse, and religious cultism for money, not to mention criminal mastermind manipulation. The flaws, so you know them going in, are a wildly convoluted plot that even with careful reading you may find hard to follow. Regular exposition in the form of formulating theories about the crimes as they build up. (In defense, Hammett first serialized the novel in four parts in Black Mask magazine, where a recasting of the plot would have proven helpful to readers). And added to these, the typical racism and sexism of the period.Of course, what balances out these flaws are Hammett’s crisp writing style, his Damon Runyonesque characters, his wisecracking dialogue, and his liberal use of slang, some of it now arcane. Then, too, there is his spot-on understanding of human nature, particularly the dark side; Hammett worked as a detective for the Pinkerton agency before and after his stint in the army during WWI. So, the best advice when approaching this novel is, don’t let the flaws frustrate you, appreciate it for all its good stuff (that, true, gets used to better effect in his noir classics The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man).
Now, as to that long and winding plot, astute readers will spot the killer early on. You won’t know the why and the how, but your suspicions will be aroused and no twisting of the plot will throw you off the scent. The Op shows up at the Leggetts’ on behalf of the agency’s client to investigate some missing jewels. Leggett is a scientist and he’s taken on the assignment of purifying color flaws in diamonds; his specialty is the science of color. The Leggetts have a daughter, Gabrielle, who is very much an odd duck in appearance and behavior; additionally, she’s a morphine addict. She disappears and we learn she belongs to a local religious cult. Shortly, the Leggetts, first the husband, followed by the wife, turn up dead. A young man in love with Gabrielle tries to protect you. The diamonds reappear after a few more people get murdered. The Op is out of the case. But Gabrielle falls big time into the clutches of the cult and her estate lawyer summons the Op to figure out what’s happening to her. Meanwhile, the Op takes time to meet and dine with an acquaintance, a novelist, who has taken an interest in the ever morphing case, wherein lots of chatter happens about the psychological state of people and plot points get proposed and hashed out. With much effort and a few murders, the Op rescues Gabrielle from the cult as he destroys it.
All seems resolved, except that Gabrielle and her boyfriend run off and marry. The estate lawyer again enlists the Op’s aid. Off he goes to visit the couple at their honeymoon retreat on the California coast. He arrives to find the nice young husband dead, murdered. He becomes involved with a small army of local officials, brings in more Ops, and all set about trying to deduce what the heck is going on. You guessed it: more bodies are added to the pile. In the end, characters and readers alike find themselves in a total state of exhaustion, patience tried to the limit, while the Op helps Gabrielle kick her habit and solves the series of crime. To put a fine point on the conclusion, we have a chapter devoted to where everybody—and the cast of characters is numerous—ends of. Readers wipe their brows and take an extra dose of their blood pressure meds.
Show Less
LibraryThing member write-review
The Curse: Head Spinning Confusion
Hammett’s The Dain Curse, for all of its many flaws, still bears his hallmarks that make reading him nearly ninety years after first publication fun. Here, what begins as a simple jewelry insurance investigation by the, as usual, unnamed Continental Op, expands
Of course, what balances out these flaws are Hammett’s crisp writing style, his Damon Runyonesque characters, his wisecracking dialogue, and his liberal use of slang, some of it now arcane. Then, too, there is his spot-on understanding of human nature, particularly the dark side; Hammett worked as a detective for the Pinkerton agency before and after his stint in the army during WWI. So, the best advice when approaching this novel is, don’t let the flaws frustrate you, appreciate it for all its good stuff (that, true, gets used to better effect in his noir classics The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man).
Now, as to that long and winding plot, astute readers will spot the killer early on. You won’t know the why and the how, but your suspicions will be aroused and no twisting of the plot will throw you off the scent. The Op shows up at the Leggetts’ on behalf of the agency’s client to investigate some missing jewels. Leggett is a scientist and he’s taken on the assignment of purifying color flaws in diamonds; his specialty is the science of color. The Leggetts have a daughter, Gabrielle, who is very much an odd duck in appearance and behavior; additionally, she’s a morphine addict. She disappears and we learn she belongs to a local religious cult. Shortly, the Leggetts, first the husband, followed by the wife, turn up dead. A young man in love with Gabrielle tries to protect you. The diamonds reappear after a few more people get murdered. The Op is out of the case. But Gabrielle falls big time into the clutches of the cult and her estate lawyer summons the Op to figure out what’s happening to her. Meanwhile, the Op takes time to meet and dine with an acquaintance, a novelist, who has taken an interest in the ever morphing case, wherein lots of chatter happens about the psychological state of people and plot points get proposed and hashed out. With much effort and a few murders, the Op rescues Gabrielle from the cult as he destroys it.
All seems resolved, except that Gabrielle and her boyfriend run off and marry. The estate lawyer again enlists the Op’s aid. Off he goes to visit the couple at their honeymoon retreat on the California coast. He arrives to find the nice young husband dead, murdered. He becomes involved with a small army of local officials, brings in more Ops, and all set about trying to deduce what the heck is going on. You guessed it: more bodies are added to the pile. In the end, characters and readers alike find themselves in a total state of exhaustion, patience tried to the limit, while the Op helps Gabrielle kick her habit and solves the series of crime. To put a fine point on the conclusion, we have a chapter devoted to where everybody—and the cast of characters is numerous—ends of. Readers wipe their brows and take an extra dose of their blood pressure meds.
Hammett’s The Dain Curse, for all of its many flaws, still bears his hallmarks that make reading him nearly ninety years after first publication fun. Here, what begins as a simple jewelry insurance investigation by the, as usual, unnamed Continental Op, expands
Show More
in short order into a novel of multiple murders, dope addiction, child abuse, and religious cultism for money, not to mention criminal mastermind manipulation. The flaws, so you know them going in, are a wildly convoluted plot that even with careful reading you may find hard to follow. Regular exposition in the form of formulating theories about the crimes as they build up. (In defense, Hammett first serialized the novel in four parts in Black Mask magazine, where a recasting of the plot would have proven helpful to readers). And added to these, the typical racism and sexism of the period.Of course, what balances out these flaws are Hammett’s crisp writing style, his Damon Runyonesque characters, his wisecracking dialogue, and his liberal use of slang, some of it now arcane. Then, too, there is his spot-on understanding of human nature, particularly the dark side; Hammett worked as a detective for the Pinkerton agency before and after his stint in the army during WWI. So, the best advice when approaching this novel is, don’t let the flaws frustrate you, appreciate it for all its good stuff (that, true, gets used to better effect in his noir classics The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man).
Now, as to that long and winding plot, astute readers will spot the killer early on. You won’t know the why and the how, but your suspicions will be aroused and no twisting of the plot will throw you off the scent. The Op shows up at the Leggetts’ on behalf of the agency’s client to investigate some missing jewels. Leggett is a scientist and he’s taken on the assignment of purifying color flaws in diamonds; his specialty is the science of color. The Leggetts have a daughter, Gabrielle, who is very much an odd duck in appearance and behavior; additionally, she’s a morphine addict. She disappears and we learn she belongs to a local religious cult. Shortly, the Leggetts, first the husband, followed by the wife, turn up dead. A young man in love with Gabrielle tries to protect you. The diamonds reappear after a few more people get murdered. The Op is out of the case. But Gabrielle falls big time into the clutches of the cult and her estate lawyer summons the Op to figure out what’s happening to her. Meanwhile, the Op takes time to meet and dine with an acquaintance, a novelist, who has taken an interest in the ever morphing case, wherein lots of chatter happens about the psychological state of people and plot points get proposed and hashed out. With much effort and a few murders, the Op rescues Gabrielle from the cult as he destroys it.
All seems resolved, except that Gabrielle and her boyfriend run off and marry. The estate lawyer again enlists the Op’s aid. Off he goes to visit the couple at their honeymoon retreat on the California coast. He arrives to find the nice young husband dead, murdered. He becomes involved with a small army of local officials, brings in more Ops, and all set about trying to deduce what the heck is going on. You guessed it: more bodies are added to the pile. In the end, characters and readers alike find themselves in a total state of exhaustion, patience tried to the limit, while the Op helps Gabrielle kick her habit and solves the series of crime. To put a fine point on the conclusion, we have a chapter devoted to where everybody—and the cast of characters is numerous—ends of. Readers wipe their brows and take an extra dose of their blood pressure meds.
Show Less
LibraryThing member darushawehm
This novel is very much three interconnected stories in one, which felt a little strange at times, but Hammett pulls it all together in the end. The reveal has a little of the feel of deus ex machina, but it does make sense in the context of the story. A fun read.
LibraryThing member AliceAnna
Confusing, far-fetched, violent and not terribly interesting. Not as bad as Red Harvest but nowhere near as good as Maltese Falcon. Not exactly my cup of tea.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1929-07-19
1932
Physical description
181 p.; 18.8 cm
Local notes
Omslag: C. Vang Petersen
Omslagsfoto: Gregers Nielsen
Oversat fra amerikansk "The Dain Curse" af Kirsten Bernhard
Omslaget viser en ung kvinde, der står halvt i skjul bag en søjle med et skilt på, hvor der står Dain
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Fremads kriminalromaner
Omslagsfoto: Gregers Nielsen
Oversat fra amerikansk "The Dain Curse" af Kirsten Bernhard
Omslaget viser en ung kvinde, der står halvt i skjul bag en søjle med et skilt på, hvor der står Dain
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Fremads kriminalromaner
Similar in this library
Pages
181
DDC/MDS
| 813.52 |