The House in Turk Street

"The House in Turk Street" is an early short story by Dashiell Hammett,^[1] featuring the Continental Op.^[2] It was first published in Black Mask in April 1924.^[3] This story indicates Hammett was turning towards themes of increasing violence in his stories,^[4] and its savagery has been commented upon,^[5] particularly the massacre which occurs at the end.^[6]

The story was loosely adapted into the film No Good Deed, directed by Bob Rafelson.^[7]

Plot

On a routine canvass of Turk Street in San Francisco, the Continental Op is invited into the home of the Quarres, an elderly couple. The Op is given a cup of tea and a cigar, but his interview of the Quarres is suddenly interrupted by a man with a gun, who believes he is the target of the Op's search. The Op is bound and gagged, but overhears the aftermath of a plot to steal $100,000 in bonds, as the conspirators try to decide what to do with him.

References

1. "Hard-Boiled Heaven - The New York Sun".
2. LeRoy Lad Panek (8 September 2004). Reading Early Hammett: A Critical Study of the Fiction Prior to The Maltese Falcon. McFarland. pp. 117–. ISBN 978-0-7864-1962-3.
3. Mitzi M. Brunsdale (26 July 2010). Icons of Mystery and Crime Detection: From Sleuths to Superheroes. ABC-CLIO. pp. 643–. ISBN 978-0-313-34530-2.
4. LeRoy Lad Panek (8 September 2004). Reading Early Hammett: A Critical Study of the Fiction Prior to The Maltese Falcon. McFarland. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-7864-1962-3.
5. Robert Sampson (January 1987). Yesterday's Faces: The Solvers. Popular Press. pp. 229–. ISBN 978-0-87972-415-3.
6. Yan Zi-Ling (9 March 2016). Economic Investigations in Twentieth-Century Detective Fiction: Expenditure, Labor, Value. Routledge. pp. 77–. ISBN 978-1-317-14617-9.
7. John Grant (September 2005). Noir Movies Facts, Figures & Fun. AAPPL. pp. 13–. ISBN 978-1-904332-39-8.

External links