SPADE & ARCHER: The Prequel to Dashiell Hammett's THE MALTESE FALCON, by Joe Gores
Only Gores, the former private eye whose 16 fine novels include HAMMETT, would have the guts to write this prequel to THE MALTESE FALCON - a feat akin to writing a new first volume of the Book of Genesis. And it works, showing how the San Francisco firm came together, what Miles Archer was really like, and many snazzy plot twists.
