I've always been a huge fan of Dashiell Hammett's. He is a true master of the hard-boiled crime novel. No other mystery/crime author, besides perhaps Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Raymond Chandler, has inspired so many future writers, readers and filmmakers. Many of my favorite films have been based on and adapted from his works. From Kurosawa's Yojimbo to Eastwood's and Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (both based on Red Harvest), to Bogey's The Maltese Falcon and to one of the greatest film screen couplings, Powell's and Loy's the Thin Man series. I can not even begin to explain how important the movies based on his novels were to me growing up as a child.
The Glass Key is another of Hammett's novels that was adapted into 3 films: The Glass Key was remade twice, my favorite version of the 2 being the 1942 film starring the beautiful Veronica Lake and stoic Alan Ladd, and the fascinating Coen brothers movie, Millers Crossing . One of his more minor works, it nevertheless is quite good. It tells the story of a gambler who is sent to investigate the murder of a local politicians son. The themes here deal with friendship, forbidden love, and honor and loyalty in a lawless world.
The Glass Key is a bleaker and more cynical novel than most of Hammett's works, detailing the fall and further fall of a decent man in an unforgiving and corrupt world. This is some gritty and hard-nosed stuff. You may not find much happiness in the world of this novel, but you will find one hell of a story. Highly recommended.