Before the Thin Man: The Prequel to Dashiell Hammett's "The Thin Man"

De: Christopher Allen

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Before the Thin Man: The Prequel to Dashiell Hammett’s “The Thin Man” is a prequel, set in 1928, to the original work based on The Thin Man characters created by Dashiell Hammett in 1933. His book was published in 1934 and soon afterward made into the hit movie of the same name starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. The movie was so popular five more movies starring the same lead actors were made in the following thirteen years. The final movie, Song of the Thin Man, was released August 28, 1947. This story shows who Nick and Nora are, where they came from, and how they met to go on to become the iconic detective couple created by Dashiell Hammett.

Awkwardly written, not much like Dashiell Hammett.

This short 'story' contains blocks of 'filler' - for example a discussion of car features - which do not advance the plot and which aren't that interesting. The names of the characters are the same as Dashiell Hammett's book, but the writing style is different - it is not like the Thin Man and it is not like Hammett's other darker works. Most importantly, there is not much story in this "story.' The Thin Man features a clever, free wheeling, lively, witty Nick. This one does not.

The chauvinist theme but I realize it was written in another time.

The AI voices were not good . I will not listen to books unless they are real actors.

A Nice Glimpse into the World of the Thin Man

The Thin Man is one of my favorite detective stories and so it was with great delight that I discovered this prequel tribute to that great tale. In it, Christopher Allen introduces many of the major characters of the classic detective story and gives a credible and at times touching account of how Nick and Nora met. He also provides a very solid mystery with enough clues to at least put the reader on to the correct suspect. He also very credibly places the story in the 1920s, helpfully making references to the major international events of that period and even using Germany's hyperinflation to add credence to the mystery.

But the real test of the story is how well Allen does in recreating Nick and Nora and for me his success was slightly mixed. I thought that he captured Nora perfectly—young, intelligent, enthusiastic, and very interested in criminal detective work. Nick was slightly less well done for me. The problem may be that in The Thin Man, Nick definitely doesn't want to get involved in the developing mystery and in this book, he is, as Dashiel Hammet described him, an actual practicing detective. If that is what is making me feel that something is off, then my complaints are invalid and Allen did a perfect job. But I just pictured the original Nick as being a little bit seedier than Allen recreates him. He definitely wasn't a bad guy, but for some reason I didn't picture him as a nationally famous very clean-cut detective.

Whether or not Allen got Nick perfectly or not, this is a great story that lovers of mysteries will enjoy whether they love The Thin Man or not.