Monthly Archives: October 2015

Strolling Through the Devil’s Garden

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91NSUhiOT5LDevil’s Garden
Ace Atkins
Putnam
paper $16.00
ebook $11.99

At one point in The Lost Detective, Nathan Ward mentioned that Hammett had worked for a time on the Arbuckle case. And that reminded me that Ace Atkins had written a novel about Hammett’s work on the case which I had been wanting to read.  So I did.

For those who may not be aware of the Arbuckle case, and I’m assuming that’s going to be many of you because Arbuckle is pretty much forgotten these days, it changed Hollywood and the studio system forever. Continue reading →

Finding The Lost Detective

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TheLostDetective-HC-catThe Lost Detective: Becoming Dashiell Hammett
Nathan Ward
Bloomsbury
hardcover, $26, 214 p.
ebook $9.99

I’m a huge fan of Dashiell Hammett, particularly the Continental Op stories.  So when I saw The Lost Detective come across my recommendations on Amazon, I preordered it.

This isn’t the first biography of Dashiell Hammett, nor will it be the last.  He’s too fascinating a figure to be summed up in one biography.  What caught my attention about The Lost Detective is that the book doesn’t focus on his relationship with Lillian Hellman or his life after he became famous. Continue reading →

Congratulations to the 2015 Shamus Award Winners

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We here at Gumshoes, Gats, and Gams would like to congratulate all the nominees for the 2015 Shamus Awards and especially the winners, which were announced October 9 at Bouchercon:

Best Hardcover P.I. Novel
Hounded by David Rosenfelt

Best First P.I. Novel
Invisible City by Julia Dahl

Best Original Paperback P.I. Novel
Moonlight Weeps by Vincent Zandri

Best P.I. Short Story
“Clear Recent History” by Gon Ben Ari in Tel Aviv Noir

Best Indie P.I. Novel
The Shadow Broker by Trace Conger
(reviewed here)