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The Maltese Falcon
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
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The Maltese Falcon
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Summary
The definitive masterpiece of the hard-boiled detective genre, The Maltese Falcon first appeared in the pages of Black Mask magazine in 1929 and was almost immediately acknowledged as not only a great crime novel but an enduring masterpiece of American fiction.
Tough, cynical PI Sam Spade - a man who, as his creator explained, is "able to take care of himself in any situation, able to get the best of anybody he comes in contact with" - is hired by the story's irresistible femme fatale, Brigid O'Shaughnessy, to locate the client's sister by tailing her companion. Spade's partner, Miles Archer, takes on the assignment, and quickly both he and the man he was shadowing are murdered. As Spade pursues the mystery of his partner's death, he is drawn into a circle of colorful characters - all of them after a legendary statuette of a falcon fashioned long ago for King Charles of Spain.
Made of gold and encrusted with jewels, the falcon is worth a fortune. Missing for centuries, it resurfaced in Paris in 1911, covered in black enamel to disguise its value, and then disappeared again until it was traced to Constantinople - and now, it would seem, to Spade's own backyard.
What listeners say about The Maltese Falcon
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- "the_gentleman_of_the_bush"
- 04-07-23
The Original Hard Boiled
Heard it recently described as a masterpiece, and it really is. VERY highly recommended. You probably already know the plot, but this was the story that kickstarted an entire genre.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joseph C.
- 06-01-23
Classic book/film, great narrator
Loved the original book & film.
The narrator made it sound just like Sam Spade, 'dead pan', just like Sam(character) and Humphrey Bogart(actor) in the film.
Loved every minute of it.
A classic from start to finish.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MR KEITH CRAIG
- 12-09-23
Fantastic
One of the true greats of hard boiled Detective fiction wonderfully brought to life. Almost 100 years old and still putting many of its contemporaries to shame.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 19-04-24
Cracking Crime Caper
Hammett’s Sam Spade classic read vividly by Robertson Dean, who kept the pace going and the tension building as the plot raced to its gripping end. Well worth a listen…
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Brian L.
- 18-02-20
classic
enjoyed listening to this classic detective story, so different from today's private eye tales so enjoy
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 18-12-22
Hell of a book.
I didn't know what it was all about through the entire plot of this book, but the conclusion made up for it 100%. Great katharsis you can expect from a good criminal novel. 5/5!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Notally_Not_A_Robot
- 18-08-21
A true Noir drama, with all the good AND bad.
The narration is great. The story is okay. It jumps very much from one topic to the next without really stringing them together.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- S
- 18-08-21
Terrific
Thoroughly recommended. 5 stars great story well read. And at least as good as the movie
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Rodger
- 07-05-21
Don't delay
amazing work specifically coming in with the bias of having seen the movie adaptation and more so having read other source material for film adaptations this proved more valuable in that it gave insights onto to strengths and weakness of adaptation and the genre itself amongst other insight into genre tropes and other subtleties like insight into the writers subconscious intelligence and influences.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Bena
- 03-10-23
excellent description
you can't fault the vivid writing style. story is decent. just read it if you like reading books lol
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