The Dain Curse

De: Dashiell Hammett

Narrado por: Richard Ferrone

Duración: 7 h y 43 m

Resumen del Editor

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.

©1928, 1929 Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. All rights reserved. (P)2011 AudioGo

Great snakes!

I love Hammett, every word is dingy poetry. A great yarn and the use of color is amazing. I recommend it!

Cobbled Noir

Hammett's noir fiction language is the most interesting aspect of this audiobook, and Ferrone has a wonderful voice for noir. The unnamed detective goes from one crime to another starting with a diamond theft. The plot elements seem cobbled together and the detective's attempts to understand the connections are tediously laid out.

Expected more from Dashiell Hammett.

Great narrator. I found the story somewhat contrived and a bit disappointing. Blatant racism.

A Confusion Within a Muddle

There are certainly some fine, Hammett-worthy moments in this book. But ultimately, it feels like three stories, gummed together with library paste, the combination explained at the end with a long-winded, and utterly nonsensical "reveal." Hammett tosses in everything but space alien abductions and a cameo of Satan himself. I came away thinking I had just wasted too much of seven hours and 43 minutes on some utter hogwash. Was he drinking bathtub gin when he wrote this?

The Continental Op Does An X-File

The Dain Curse is probably the weakest of Hammett's novels, and definitely the strangest. The overall arc is told via three detective stories: the first is about the Op investigating a diamond burglary, the second has him investigating cult weirdness, and the third has him investigating small-town weirdness, with a short detour that reveals a more compassionate side. The stories, being so different, give the whole thing a off-kilter feel. The characters don't always convince, and there are quite a few of them to keep track of by the end.

That said, I still enjoyed the book. It may not be The Maltese Falcon, or even Red Harvest, but it's still three hardboiled yarns written by one of the greats. It benefits from Hammett's splendid prose, constant plot twists, a surreal atmosphere, and Richard Ferrone's gravelly narration. I don't regret spending a credit on it, and I think that's the main thing.

gotta love classic detective stories.

From the Maltese Falcon to the Dane Curse I love the convolutions of the classic detective story. It also reaffirms my belief that nothing really changes and that people aren't any better or worse as time goes by...m

Hard-boiled Classic

The adaptation from short stories to novel makes it feel like such, but I could not stop listening.

Complex plot but slow paced

Semed like three novellas stitched togerher. Almost lost interest in the last third but getting to the end was worth the wait.

A Noir Classic

An atmospheric prohibition era detective novel with an incredibly complex plot. The essence is the authentic period dialog and the world weary detective following a maze of crimes. This novel is a precursor to so many 1950's detective novels.

fine

What a story and so well narrated. I'd read it years ago. This really enhanced my appreciation for the work.