Lost Stories by Dashiell Hammett introduced by Joe Gores. More
a biographical journey through Hammett's life than any lost gems.
The pieces selected do show his evolution as a writer, and the
notes provide a vivid representation of the successes and foibles of
the great detective writer.
Grave Peril by Jim Butcher. Wizard
Harry Dresden takes on a bunch of classic mean vampires and demented
ghosts, while trying to avoid his wicked fairy Godmother. It's
kind of in a league of its own...
Woman in the Dark
by Dashiell Hammett. A minor novella, first serialized in 1933.
It's almost a western--kept woman comes to ex-con for help to
leave her rich and powerful lover. It seems pretty standard now,
but at the time Hammett was helping to create the noir genre.
Ill Wind by Nevada Barr.
The Hound of the Baskervilles was one of the first stories to
make a supernatural scary story easily explained by the scientific
method (a bit funny there, as I once saw a book with a preface by A.C.
Doyle testifying to the validity of some purported fairy photos, which
later were proven to be paper cutouts.) In latter days, Tony
Hillerman made a career of Southwest Indian scary traditions.
This book, by Nevada Barr, falls into the Hillerman mode, set, as
all her Anna Pigeon novels, in a national park, this time, Mesa Verde.
She always adds realistic Park ranger details from her own experience,
and a human touch to the story line to add interest. This was, I
believe, her second in the series, a long time ago now.
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