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The Glass Key

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 4,227 ratings · 182 reviews

Paul Madvig was a cheerfully corrupt ward-heeler who aspired to something better: the daughter of Senator Ralph Bancroft Henry, the heiress to a dynasty of political purebreds. Did he want her badly enough to commit murder? And if Madvig was innocent, which of his dozens of enemies was doing an awfully good job of framing him? Dashiell Hammett's tour de force of detective...more

Paperback, 190 pages

Published July 1966 by Dell (first published 1931)

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Nov 04, 2012 Mei-Lu rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime

It's interesting to me that in terms of influence, Raymond Chandler seems to be cited more by novelists (Paul Auster, China Miéville) and Dashiell Hammett, by filmmakers (the Coen Brothers, Rian Johnson). Both the Coen Brother's Miller's Crossing and Rian Johnson's Brick were influenced by Hammett's writing and all three filmmakers specifically cite The Glass Key. As part of my crime fiction spree, I had been planning to read the Maltese Falcon or the Thin Man (because I've seen both movies), bu...more It's interesting to me that in terms of influence, Raymond Chandler seems to be cited more by novelists (Paul Auster, China Miéville) and Dashiell Hammett, by filmmakers (the Coen Brothers, Rian Johnson). Both the Coen Brother's Miller's Crossing and Rian Johnson's Brick were influenced by Hammett's writing and all three filmmakers specifically cite The Glass Key. As part of my crime fiction spree, I had been planning to read the Maltese Falcon or the Thin Man (because I've seen both movies), but my library didn't have either available. A quick internet search revealed the interesting factoid that both the Coen Brothers and Rian Johnson named this book as a particular influence and so of course I had to read it. I'd never heard of The Glass Key before (though of course I'd heard of Dashiell Hammett) so I had no idea of what I was getting into.

The Glass Key gives almost no exposition. It describes what is happening but gives almost no narrative background. The reader is left to infer who everyone is based on their actions and dialogue. Whereas Raymond Chandler's hero Philip Marlowe is wittily succinct, Dashiell Hammett's Ned Beaumont is the strong silent type, saying almost nothing. Like Marlowe, Beaumont clearly feels deeply while saying as little as possible. The literal beatings that Beaumont is willing to endure in order to protect the reputation of his boss and friend, Paul Madvig, and solve the mystery, is a testimony to Beaumont's loyalty and strength of character. Despite the fact that he lives in a morally corrupt world, and at least passively participates in a morally corrupt system, Beaumont comes across as a character of integrity. His rules may not be the same as society's but unlike society's rules they are inviolate.

By the end of the first chapter, I was completely hooked by this book. The lack of exposition makes the action very immediate and gripping. I literally could not put it down. I can not wait to read more Dashiell Hammett books.(less)

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Aug 15, 2010 Tim Schneider rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a re-read. And a relatively recent one at that. Interestingly, I did almost a 180 degree turn on how I felt about the book in a little less than two years. Legend has it that this was Hammett's favorite of the novels he wrote. Now I can see why.

There's little doubt that Hammett not only set the stage, but really invented the hard-boiled detective with The Continental Op and Sam Spade. Yeah, John Carrol Daly was earlier. But he was a dreadful writer. And his work wasn't particularly inf...more

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Jun 26, 2008 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, mystery

When are we getting those half-stars, again? I so wanted to give this 3 1/2 stars, simply on the strength of the noir prose. These were the days when men wore hats, women called them louses, everyone drank and smoked all day and goons beat up patsies and called them pals later.

This was extolled to me as one of Hammett's masterpieces, but I found a couple major flaws that I can't explain without issuing a SPOILER ALERT, so be forewarned.

Our protagonist is Ned Beaumont, a jack of all trades workin...more
When are we getting those half-stars, again? I so wanted to give this 3 1/2 stars, simply on the strength of the noir prose. These were the days when men wore hats, women called them louses, everyone drank and smoked all day and goons beat up patsies and called them pals later.

This was extolled to me as one of Hammett's masterpieces, but I found a couple major flaws that I can't explain without issuing a SPOILER ALERT, so be forewarned.

Our protagonist is Ned Beaumont, a jack of all trades working for his friend and boss, political chieftan Paul Madvig. Madvig has allied himself with patrician Sen. Ralph Henry to win the upcoming election, and early in the book, Henry's hotheaded son, Taylor,is found dead on the street by Beaumont.

I won't give away the perpetrator or even all the plot twists, but two of them bothered me greatly, even trying to allow for differences in mores and literary styles over the past 80 years.

At one point in the book, Beaumont has a spat with Madvig and seemingly defects to Madvig's political rival, Shad O'Rory. When Beaumont won't cut a deal with O'Rory, he is mercilessly pummeled by O'Rory's thugs, until he eventually escapes and makes it to a hospital. What Beaumont was trying to gain by this little trip and why he put himself in a position to be repeatedly brutalized is never made clear -- if he expected to extract inside info from O'Rory, why would he refuse to cut a deal when he knew the likely consequences? -- and it remained a deep flaw in the plot. You could almost see Hammett writing this scene for the movie action, but it violated common sense.

Worse, at the end of the book, Beaumont falls for the senator's statuesque daughter (remember, all the beauties in noir are statuesque) and prepares to go off with her. Reason? Who knows. No basis for their attraction is ever made clear, especially when Beaumont knows that she despised his friend Madvig, who had hoped to marry her.

So while the mystery itself is well done and the pages are steeped in atmosphere, the basics had some holes big enough to drive a bootleg booze truck through.(less)

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bup ***SPOILER ALERT***

I want to answer both your plot holes.

First, I think Beaumont went to O'Rory because he didn't know how else to pursue the case - t...more
Dec 26, 2008 12:18pm

Mark I'm going to have to give you the benefit of the doubt on this Bup. It's been long enough since I've read it that the details are already starting to...more
Dec 26, 2008 01:58pm

Chris Schneider It's not at all certain that Beaumont has fallen for Janet. Frankly, there's more emotional and/or erotic involement with Paul and the fella who wants...more
Mar 20, 2013 06:04pm

Mar 09, 2013 Henry Power added it · review of another edition

I really enjoyed Dashiell Hammett’s writing besides how he introduced so many characters with such detail in the beginning of the book “The Glass Key.” I couldn’t really figure out which characters I was supposed to be paying the most attention to and which ones were pointless. Hammett finally revealed the importance of many of the not so important characters from the beginning at the very end of the book. It felt like there was a new character every page. In the beginning it was super overwhelm...more I really enjoyed Dashiell Hammett’s writing besides how he introduced so many characters with such detail in the beginning of the book “The Glass Key.” I couldn’t really figure out which characters I was supposed to be paying the most attention to and which ones were pointless. Hammett finally revealed the importance of many of the not so important characters from the beginning at the very end of the book. It felt like there was a new character every page. In the beginning it was super overwhelming and confusing, but halfway through the book I finally got used to it. From then on the book got easier to understand and more interesting which made me want to read on even more.
In the beginning of the book there was a lot of deaths and murders. When I started reading I had no idea what the book was about because of the two murders in the first three chapters. I thought that death was a regular thing and that it didn’t matter. Later on I found that both of the murders, along with other ones that I thought were pointless, were part of the main plot of the story. I was surprised by the amount of death and violence in Hammett’s book, especially because I just found it on the shelf and started reading. The Glass Key is probably the most violent book that I have ever read and probably will ever read. I never knew that a realistic fiction book could have so much violence in detail.
This was the first mystery book that I have read in a while. Before I read it I thought that the book was lame just by looking at it. I guess that’s why they say “never judge a book by its cover.” After reading this book my thoughts about it were completely altered. The next book I am going to read is definitely going to be another Dashiell Hammett book.
One flaw that I found in The Glass Key was that Hammett never explained what Paul Madvig and Shad were running for in the election. I was wondering that from the beginning to the end. Because of that I never knew why the election was important enough to kill people for a just a little more of a chance to win.
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Mar 05, 2013 Ursula rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, fiction

Dashiell Hammett is credited with really epitomizing the hard-boiled crime novel. I will just say up front that I don't think this is the best example of his mastery of the genre. The story centers around Ned Beaumont, a guy who presumably has some sort of profession although I couldn't tell you what it is. He is friends with Paul Madvig, who is a political boss trying to get a Senator re-elected. There is a pretty wide cast of characters - a rival crime boss, other gangsters, the Senator's fami...more Dashiell Hammett is credited with really epitomizing the hard-boiled crime novel. I will just say up front that I don't think this is the best example of his mastery of the genre. The story centers around Ned Beaumont, a guy who presumably has some sort of profession although I couldn't tell you what it is. He is friends with Paul Madvig, who is a political boss trying to get a Senator re-elected. There is a pretty wide cast of characters - a rival crime boss, other gangsters, the Senator's family (a daughter and a son who dies at the beginning of the book), et cetera. Behind-the-scenes machinations take place, much drinking is done, confrontations result in lies and omissions, Ned is beaten up a few times.

You get the idea. I mean, it was fine, mostly, but nothing to remember. I would have expected it to be a page-turner even if it was only fine, and it just wasn't. I alternated between confused and disinterested. You don't really get a handle on the characters because it's often unclear what their motivations are, and Hammett doesn't help you out by giving you any hints. Also, he refers to Ned as "Ned Beaumont" in just about every instance where he's mentioned, and since he's the main character, you can imagine it's a lot. Even if in the previous sentence, he mentioned "Ned Beaumont." I couldn't stop myself from thinking about Mojo Jojo from the Powerpuff Girls ("One shall be the number of Mojo Jojos in the world, and the number of Mojo Jojos in the world shall be one. Two Mojo Jojos is too many, and three is right out. So the only Mojo Jojo there is room for in the world shall be me.") As you might guess, that's not conducive to seeing Ned - sorry, Ned Beaumont - as a tough guy.

Recommended for: fans of cronyism, anyone nostalgic for when men were men and women were histrionic, people who want to use it as a drinking game and don't mind risking alcohol poisoning by taking a drink every time someone in the book does.

Quote: "The small nurse with large eyes opened the door cautiously and put her head in. Ned Beaumont addressed her in a tired voice: 'All right -- peekaboo! But don't you think you're a little old for that?' The nurse opened the door wider and stood on the sill holding the edge of the door with one hand. 'No wonder people beat you up,' she said."(less)

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Nov 29, 2012 Mel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century-fiction, pulp

The Glass Key was very interesting and different. There was a much greater distance from the characters, you never really felt you knew what the characters were doing or why until the end of the chapter when they let on to their ploy. At first I was a little confussed as to what the main characters did for a living were they detectives? Politicians? Gangsters? or the powers behind the throne. The main character was just a gambler, a gambler who knew how things should be run and why. He starts th...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Smcleish rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

Originally published on my blog here in September 2000.

The Glass Key is my least favourite of Hammett's five novels. Its central character, Ned Beaumont, is a political manager, not so much a manipulator of the mass media like a modern spin doctor but a chief advisor maintaining the web of corruption and extortion that characterised much American local politics in the thirties. Clearly considerably brighter than those around him, he remains an unlikable tough guy.

The way that the murder mystery...more

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May 11, 2012 Ensiform rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, mystery

Ned Beaumont, right hand man of corrupt kingmaker Paul Madvig, discovers the body of a senator’s son. Paul was backing the senator and loved his daughter, but there becomes reason to believe that he may have killed the son. At first using the death to avenge himself against a bookie who skipped town, he then gets truly embroiled in finding the truth, especially after Paul’s rival captures and beats Ned for information about the murder.

This thriller doesn’t have the long line of dead men that The ...more

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Jan 28, 2012 Kirk rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As many reviewers note, Hammett claimed this book was his favorite, and it's easy to see why. Structurally it's the most cohesive of his five novels. RED HARVEST is great but feels a little serial-y, DAIN CURSE is four stories glommed together, and both MALTESE FALCON and THIN MAN have some rather gaping plot holes that you gotta asphalt over to get to the end. But GLASS KEY feels coherent and cohesive and let's just add crisp to make an alliterative hat trick. Maybe what's most interesting is t...more As many reviewers note, Hammett claimed this book was his favorite, and it's easy to see why. Structurally it's the most cohesive of his five novels. RED HARVEST is great but feels a little serial-y, DAIN CURSE is four stories glommed together, and both MALTESE FALCON and THIN MAN have some rather gaping plot holes that you gotta asphalt over to get to the end. But GLASS KEY feels coherent and cohesive and let's just add crisp to make an alliterative hat trick. Maybe what's most interesting is the way the Ham embeds the serial cliffhangers within the larger plot---it's what makes the book feel less improvised than HARVEST. On top of this, the characters are shady and fun, in part because Ned Beaumont isn't a PI but a political fixer working a Baltimore machine boss. Read a few books on Hammett and Baltimore and you'll appreciate how he adapted a lot of real-life Democratic frame-ups and backstabs into the narrative. Some of Ned's dirty tricks will seem almost quaint in this CSI era where crimefighters get so tediously forensic they can track displaced air particles. I especially chuckled at the scene where Ned plants a hat in a rival's living room and then plays him like Play-Do. I also like how the book never gets too specific about ideology. We never really see what bossman Paul Madvig's agenda is, other than money and power. There are some faults: Hammett's women come in two varieties, either doe-eyed bambinos or hardened vixens. The broad here, Janet Henry, is a wet noodle and makes you long for the snappy patter of Effie Perrine. Still, I find Chandler's women more interesting---they're not so breathy and whiny as Hammett's. (Though they're better in his stories). Plus the whole significance of the title is a red herring. Hammett came up with the glass key because his editor at Black Mask was pushing him for a title to publicize his forthcoming serial and then he had to work it into the actual plot. And it feels worked in, trust me. Still, that hasn't stopped critics from getting all symbolical. I especially like when folks go Freudian, as when a guy writes Ned represents "a phallic aggression perpetually destroyed by the invasiveness of its masterful gestures"---because, you know, you stick a key in a hole and sometimes it gets stuck. Well, I also thought the significance of the lambs' silence was pretty patchy, but you can't call a book "The More Buxom, the More Homicidal." Or maybe you can. (less)

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Jan 21, 2012 Thirteenth Peer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, e-books, mystery

I read this soon after reading Chandler's "The Long Goodbye" so comparing them was unavoidable. I think the primary thing in favor of the Chandler book is that it was more realistic. This seemed a bit more like a comic book. Along with that, it seemed that the writing in "The Glass Key" was less sophisticated. I think one place this stuck out was in the descriptions of what the characters are doing. The Hammett writing is a lot more basic in this regard. The Chandler characters seem to operating...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So, I'm not going to say, "wow, this is the greatest noir novel I've ever read." It is written by the father of Noir - Dashiell Hammett (Mr Maltese Falcon, and Mr. Thin Man). It was a little difficult to get into it seemed to not want to commit to a story line at first and I was somewhat disappointed when I found out what the glass key was, none the less, I found myself getting drawn into this book obsessing over what the main character would find next.

Ned Beaumont (who is always referred to by...more So, I'm not going to say, "wow, this is the greatest noir novel I've ever read." It is written by the father of Noir - Dashiell Hammett (Mr Maltese Falcon, and Mr. Thin Man). It was a little difficult to get into it seemed to not want to commit to a story line at first and I was somewhat disappointed when I found out what the glass key was, none the less, I found myself getting drawn into this book obsessing over what the main character would find next.

Ned Beaumont (who is always referred to by both names for some odd reason) is not a detective, but he does hire one from time to time. His job title is somewhat nebulous. The best description I can give him is the Gang Leader's number two man. He has profited from his position (as money flowed through his hands like water especially during a time when there wasn't much of it to go around)and this is because he's quite good at what he does: protect his boss, the corrupt Gang Leader and Puppetmaster of the City's Leader. Ned does this by always being able to see three steps ahead of the competition, or at least be able to out-guess them, but finds his job becoming a little too difficult when the body of a the son of a Senator up for re-election (and in his boss's pocket) turns up in Chinatown. Loyalties are tested and everyone who has tried to hone in on his boss's seat of power now see their chance. What's worse, someone is sending the paper, the police and everyone involved in the investigation letter's highly suggestive of the boss's guilt (and perhaps insider knowledge).

The prose of the book is the highlight; it is tight and tense and, though it is sparse, quite rich and descriptive. Hammett had a true gift that he spent mostly on popular fiction. I got the feeling that this was his attempt at the great novel that he had in him, because it reads less like a detective novel and more like a piece-of-life novel(he did work as a Private Detective), but life on the tough streets where everyone has a vice and is out for himself. No one is beyond corruption in this world and those who seem most innocent are least trustworthy. It is a grim view of the world, especially since the ones that walk away the least scathed are the least attached to any loyalty. There were deeper themes involved, but I felt so traumatized by this world I just wanted to stop thinking about it once I was done. None the less, though not as literary as a novel could be (and perhaps too literary for a detective novel) it was interesting and I couldn't put it down. (less)

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Feb 09, 2013 Martin Pepe rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who loves a good mystery, politics of the late twenties, and the hard-boiled detective novels

Recommended to Martin by: My friend Benny who wisely gave it to me as a 40th birthday gift.

Shelves: fiction, mysteries, hard-boiled, favorites

This was Dashiell Hammett's favorite book of the genre that he made popular, the hardboiled detective novel, and is thought the equal of one of his other masterpieces "The Maltese Falcon". His work has been made into some of the best examples of film noir. The aforementioned "Matese Falcon" and great film "The Thin Man" come to mind. The Coen brothers have also sited this book as the inspiration their 1990 film "Miller's Crossing" and it's been the inspiration of many other films. As someone who...more This was Dashiell Hammett's favorite book of the genre that he made popular, the hardboiled detective novel, and is thought the equal of one of his other masterpieces "The Maltese Falcon". His work has been made into some of the best examples of film noir. The aforementioned "Matese Falcon" and great film "The Thin Man" come to mind. The Coen brothers have also sited this book as the inspiration their 1990 film "Miller's Crossing" and it's been the inspiration of many other films. As someone who loves film noir I was surprised I had never heard of the book. The book was gripping and fun. It's a page turner that I couldn't put down. To steal from another review by a lady named Mei-Lu on Goodreads there real is no exposition or narrative background given which makes you feel so in the moment on every page. It follows the sleuthing of of Ned Beaumont, right hand man of the small town political boss Paul Madvig. Ned Beaumont is the strong silent type who can take a punch and never shows his hand. He is the quintessential archetype in these hardboiled affairs. He's always one step ahead of everyone else and is a great character to spend time with. Bogart would have been great in one of the early film adaptations of this book. His boss and friend Madvig is electioneering for a Senator who's daughter he desperately wants to marry. When the son of the Senator turns up dead the intrigue begins. All the twists and turns you'd expect are here and it provides a great look into ward politics and the era of the late twenties and early thirties as a whole. An era of speakeasies, gambling clubs and the tough guys that ran them who backed the politicians that they could control to make their illegal operations untouchable. Hammett's prose is wonderful, especially when it comes to describing the behavior and emotions of the main characters in every uncomfortable situation. Facial expressions and body language tells you so much as to what's going on in this book. Although I love film noir I'm embarrassed to say I had never read any of these hardboiled novels that served as the source material. Well I'm hooked. Next up is The Maltese Falcon then The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, the other master of the genre. (less)

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Feb 28, 2012 Madeline rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: detective-fiction, the-list

This is on The List? Really? I mean, I understand why The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man are on there, because they're great, but as far as I'm concerned there was no reason to include this one as well.

Plainly put, it was dull and confusing. It's more political thriller than detective novel, so if that's your thing you might like this, but any sort of political intrigue drama generally bores me to death unless it's actually a historical political intrigue. There were too many characters introd...more This is on The List? Really? I mean, I understand why The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man are on there, because they're great, but as far as I'm concerned there was no reason to include this one as well.

Plainly put, it was dull and confusing. It's more political thriller than detective novel, so if that's your thing you might like this, but any sort of political intrigue drama generally bores me to death unless it's actually a historical political intrigue. There were too many characters introduced too quickly who would then disappear for large sections of the story, making it very difficult to remember who everyone was and why they didn't like each other. The leading ladies are boring as hell (no smartass Nora Charles or evil Brigid O'Shaunessy here; just a hysterical gang moll, a dull gangster's daughter, and a duller politician's daughter, and none of them are even mildly scheming or sassy) and the detective's romantic interest in one of them doesn't make a damn lick of sense. The amateur detective in question is Ned Beaumont, and it's clear that Hammett was going for one of his hard-boiled-yet-charming detective scoundrels, a la Sam Spade or Nick Charles, but the problem is that the charming bad boy is a very sensitive and specific formula, and something was improperly measured when Hammett made Beaumont. Rather than being hard-boiled, he's just an asshole, and all his quips are more smug than funny. I never understood his thought process or motivation, much less why everyone kept talking about what a swell guy he was when clearly he was just a crafty douchebag.

The murder victim that the case centers around never gets to make an appearance in the story - we meet him when his body is discovered - and so the death Beaumont is investigating never really seems that important, and the twists and turns that the story took left me mostly perplexed because I never knew what was going on in the first place anyway. It got to the point where I seriously considered just abandoning the book and reading something else, which is not good - I didn't even care who had murdered the guy, because I didn't care about him or any of the people who might have killed him, and I certainly didn't like Beaumont enough to want him to crack the case and get the dame and all that.

In a word: boring. Once again, The List has seriously dropped the ball.(less)

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Aug 06, 2010 Cindy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dashiell Hammett’s style is very different from anything I’ve ever read, being what is commonly known as a noir writer of hardboiled detective novels. The protagonist Ned Beaumont is not a typical detective: he is cool, cocky, engages in deception and violence, and probably would not be a very likable guy if he existed in real life. In fact, he is not even a real detective, but simply someone drawn into the murder mystery.

Plotwise, I didn’t understand what was going on in the beginning of the bo...more

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Sep 19, 2012 Cliff rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

"The Glass Key" is a novel in the pulp fiction tradition. It is a murder mystery within the larger setting of a 'dirty tricks' election campaign. Paul Madvig is a corrupt politician seeking re-election during the prohibition era in an unnamed American city to an unspecified office and his opponent is an equally corrupt individual called Shad O'Leary. Madvig is seeking the support of a patrician, Senator Henry, and has aspirations to marry the Senator's daughter, Janet. The Senator's son, Taylor,...more "The Glass Key" is a novel in the pulp fiction tradition. It is a murder mystery within the larger setting of a 'dirty tricks' election campaign. Paul Madvig is a corrupt politician seeking re-election during the prohibition era in an unnamed American city to an unspecified office and his opponent is an equally corrupt individual called Shad O'Leary. Madvig is seeking the support of a patrician, Senator Henry, and has aspirations to marry the Senator's daughter, Janet. The Senator's son, Taylor, is a neer-do-well who has designs on Madvig's daughter. The anti-hero, Ned Beaumont, works for Madvig as a fixer.

Many claims have been made about the literary ability of the author and the realism of his crime novels, particularly after a 1940s essay by Raymond Chandler in which he praised Hammett as the originator and prime exponent of the 'hard boiled' detective story school. But the plot of this novel, and the quality of the prose, never show signs of rising above the intellectual level of a comic book.

Beaumont comes across the dead body of Taylor Henry, who appears to have been assaulted. There are no witnesses. Beaumont notes that Henry jr.'s hat is missing. The most likely perpetrator is a bookmaker, Bernie Despain. Despain was owed money by Henry jr. who was unable to repay it. Despain, who also happens to owe Beaumont a large payout on a recent bet, has left town for New York City.

Beaumont obtains one of Henry jr.'s hats and tracks Despain down to a hotel room in New York. Despain refuses to pay him his winnings so he surreptitiously slides the hat down the back of a sofa. He leaves but later confronts Despain and tells him of the presence of the hat and asserts that the police will accept it as indisputable evidence of his guilt. Remarkably (we are not told that the hat has any features that identify it as belonging to Henry jr.), Despain believes this nonsense - 'Despain would have screamed in terror if Ned Beaumont had not clapped a hand over his mouth and growled "Shut up," in his ear' - and immediately arranges for Beaumont to be paid his winnings.

The mystery element of the novel essentially pauses here, less than a fifth of the way into the story and with the question of Despain's actual guilt or innocence unresolved, and only resumes shortly before the end. The action in between is concerned with the political rivalry between Madvig and O'Leary and resembles nothing so much as a play written and performed by the inmates of a madhouse.

Beaumont visits O'Leary. He pretends he has had a falling out with Madvig and that he can provide dirt on his employer for publishing in a newspaper sympathetic to the O'Leary camp. When O'Leary asks him to provide this information he refuses. Beaumont is tortured by O'Leary's thugs and locked in a room. He finds a razor blade and unsuccessfully attempts to cut his throat, then puts a matress against a door and sets fire to it. While O'Leary's thugs are putting out the fire, he jumps out a window and escapes.

After he recovers, Beaumont visits the thug who tortured him. The thug believes that Beaumont is a masochist and is interested in another torture session. They get drunk together. O'Leary enters the room and the thug attacks him and snaps his spine, killing him.

The political side of the story having been thus resolved, the murder mystery resumes. In spite of the absence of any detective work in the interim, Beaumont now knows who the killer was. The key is the remarkable missing hat. The solution relies on the fact that it was as unthinkable in 1920s America for a man to appear in public without his hat, as it is for a Sikh to appear in public without his turban. It seems improbable to me, but who am I to query it? After all, Hammett was around at the time and I wasn't.
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Nov 28, 2011 F.R. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you’ve never seen 'Miller’s Crossing', I urge you to – without the slightest hesitation – do so now! The Coen brothers’ gangster film is not quite up there with 'The Godfather' or 'Goodfellas', but is a work of genius nevertheless. It’s a highly stylised tale of a town ruled by the mob and the relationship of the two men at the centre of it. Both Gabriel Byrne and Albert Finney are superb (indeed, there are no slouches in the entire cast), and the film is packed with fantastic moments which w...more If you’ve never seen 'Miller’s Crossing', I urge you to – without the slightest hesitation – do so now! The Coen brothers’ gangster film is not quite up there with 'The Godfather' or 'Goodfellas', but is a work of genius nevertheless. It’s a highly stylised tale of a town ruled by the mob and the relationship of the two men at the centre of it. Both Gabriel Byrne and Albert Finney are superb (indeed, there are no slouches in the entire cast), and the film is packed with fantastic moments which will remain forever in your memory. (The soundtrack is brilliant too). The Coens are variable film makers, but this is one of their Grade A efforts. So if you’ve never seen it, I order you to please stop reading this now and go out and get yourself a copy. You will thank me later.

For whatever reason – even though I clearly love the film – I’d never actually read the Dashiell Hammett novel which inspired it. Perhaps it was because I didn’t know what ‘inspired by’ actually meant. The film isn’t a straight adaptation of the book, so is that inspiration obscure and oblique, or is it blatant and obvious? The answer is very much the latter. They share a similar setting, the relationship between the two central characters, the spark of a mob war, some great dialogue and even all that stuff about the hats. (You’ll understand when you see the film.) Even if I didn’t know that this was the inspiration, I’d have spotted it almost immediately anyway.

I always dislike reading a book after I’ve seen the film, as I normally end up just comparing one to the other, but in this case it was unavoidable. However trying to judge it on its own merits, I will say that this is a thrilling read which kept this reader permanently on edge. Much like Hammett’s ‘Red Harvest’, it’s frequently difficult to work out which side the lead character is actually on – and that of course means anything can happen. The ending perhaps isn’t as clever or as affecting as it should be, but this is a classy gangster tale with suspense, great scenes and fantastic dialogue – and you can’t really ask for more than that, can you?(less)

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Oct 06, 2012 Rich rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There is some beautiful writing. Every so often, Hammett suddenly produces a paragraph awash with colour:

Opal Madvig’s room was chiefly blue. She, in a blue and silver wrapper, was propped up on pillows in her bed when Ned Beaumont came in. She was blue-eyed as her father and grandmother, long-boned as they and firm-featured, with fair pink skin still childish in texture. Her eyes were reddened now.

Other times he turns in an incredible physical description. Just look at the dynamism in this port...more

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Jul 04, 2012 M. Milner rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: noir-and-neo-noir

You could make a pretty good case that most of Hammett's work is political in some way; Red Harvest, for instance, was focused on a town completely corrupt and rotten right to the core. The Glass Key his most overtly political book, directly dealing with dirty tricks, blackmail and murder behind the scenes of an election. And while it has it's moments, this is him at maybe his most cynical. While in Red Harvest, the Op was able to deal with the corrupt, here everyone is in some way a bad guy.

The...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Martin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

Thinking back on "The Glass Key", there were a number of things that annoyed me about it so three stars is really the most I can give it (and I think I might even be rounding up). It's supposedly Hammett's favourite of his own novels, and that's good for him and all that, but for me it's the total opposite.

What's different about it from other Hammett novels is that there really is no explanation given as to who's who (specifically Paul & Ned) and what they do. I still don't know what the tw...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Steve Goble rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries

A good read, and Hammett's favorite of his works, but I had a couple of issues with it. It did not hook me early; I almost quit on it. Once it got going it was great, but the plot meandered a bit before it took focus. My second issue is with the motivations of protagonist Ned Beaumont. Hammett characters are not knights in shining armor, but I could resonate with the motives of the Continental Op in "Red Harvest" and Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon." I never really felt a connection with Beaumo...more

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Feb 07, 2010 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1930s, crime

Hardest of all Hammett's hard-boiled fiction, The Glass Key (1931) is a brutal, cynical, depressing study of social and family values in Depression Era America ... with a murder mystery tacked on to the side. You can follow the plot most of the time, the dialog is nearly always brilliant, and the body count doesn't bust a dozen: so, it's almost credible and certainly more than just a Black Mask tale bloated all out of proportion. Don't look for humor in this tale of corrupted politics (both civi...more

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Jan 13, 2011 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of Raymond Chandler or film noir

Shelves: mystery

One hell of a stylish mystery of hard-boiled school with crisp dialogue, brisk pacing, a modicum of wry humor. The murder angle, who killed the senator's son, is less gripping than all the other shenanigans that Ned Beaumont, our detective by circumstance, is up too. Ned is a pretty shifty character not above planting evidence and framing a pretty rotten punk, but one thing he wants is to get to the truth of the matter, or at least in this case. Because he thinks an awful lot of people are barki...more

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Aug 14, 2012 Abbey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vintage, series, myst-pi, favorites, myst-set-andor-auth-usa, suspense-thriller

Brutal story in the "good guy cleans up a bad town" style, um, well, sort of... Extremely dark, fast moving and brutal, but the prose is wonderful - pulls you along page-by-page.

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Apr 25, 2012 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, classics

After the high loopiness of The Dain Curse, it was a great relief to plunge into this final novel of Hammett's and find it to be on a par with Red Harvest and The Maltese Falcon. Primarily, this is a tale of friendship as well as murder and politics, and of the extremes that one will go to get a friend's back. It is splendid and speedy and fun.

If you are at all familiar with the Coen Brothers' Miller's Crossing, then you'll hear the voices of Albert Finney and Gabriel Byrne in the dialogue betwe...more

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Mar 13, 2011 Jason rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction

This is the first Hammett novel that felt like it had a heart at its core. Ned Beaumont isn't a detective by any means, just a quick-thinking criminal who gets pulled into a mystery in order to protect a friend. The lengths he goes to in order to protect said friend are rather touching and I found it much easier to root for the ostensible criminal with the good heart as opposed to the "good guy" protagonist with the heart of a criminal from The Maltese Falcon.

The mystery unfolds in the way you'd...more

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Oct 13, 2011 Jack rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this in college about ten years ago, and couldn't remember any details about it other than it being my favorite Hammett novel. It still is. The characters are well drawn, the narrator's motives have just the right amount of ambiguity, and Hammett continues his astonishing ability to convey vivid impressions of places and people with a stark economy of words. Sidenote: I'm also still fascinated by how strongly Miller's Crossing feels like a direct –and faithful - adaptation of this book ev...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Ruhi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Much has been written to compare Dashiel Hammett with Raymond Chandler as the originator of the hard-boiled crime novel. Hammett is the favourite. I think Chandler was the one that perfected the tough yet somewhat sentimental style that became the hallmark of the genre. Nevertheless, Hammett has an unshakeable status in the genre. Most think The Maltese Falcon is his best work. I prefer The Glass Key with its cynical hero with his heart in the right place and the plot full of betrayal and deceit...more

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Mar 16, 2010 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love noir. How can you not like mysteries that are fast, violent and dangerous? You can't.

This is actually the first Dashiell Hammett book I've read, as I've mainly been reading Chandler up to this point. But this was an excellent introduction, following a mobster's smart, young right-hand man as he tries to keep his boss out of a mob war and solve the murder of a senator's son. The plot twists and turns all over the place. There's actually so much that the Coen brothers were abole to pluck ou...more

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Feb 14, 2013 Lise rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A story about the mob and its control over a city as well as political corruption, this book has all the hallmarks of Hammett with a lot more thrown in. The friendship between the two main characters offers a real human interest, as do the dilemmas between family and ambition, while at the same time offering a realistic portrait of American society at a time when a mobster could buy not only the police and the judicial system, but even senators. The highly tangled plot which keeps the reader gue...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Paul Curd rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-and-mystery

He read the book coolly, from a third-person subjective point of view. As he read, a crease appeared in his brow. He turned the pages. Spots of colour appeared on his cheeks. 'This is about as hard-boiled as they come,' he said to himself. He read about corrupt politicians and fast women. He read about friendship and loyalty. Someone was murdered, and other men died along the way. There was gambling and violence and plenty of drinking. No one told him what to think or knew what he was thinking....more

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About Dashiell Hammett

Also wrote as Peter Collinson, Daghull Hammett, Samuel Dashiell, Mary Jane Hammett

Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hardboiled detective novels and short stories. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse). In addition to the significant influence his nove...more

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“When he awakened again he could stand, and did. He doused his head in cold water and drank four glasses of water. The water made him sick and after that he began to shake with a chill. He went into the bedroom and lay down on the bare blood-stained mattress, but got up almost immediately to go stumbling and staggering in haste back to the bathroom, where he got down on hands and knees and searched the floor until he had found the rusty razor-blade. He sat on the floor and put the razor-blade into his vest-pocket. Putting it in, his fingers touched his lighter. He took the lighter out and looked at it. A cunning gleam came into his one open eye as he looked at the lighter. The gleam was not sane.” — 2 people liked it

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