The Glass Key
I was excited to read another book from the man that brought me 'The Maltese Falcon' but there was little fun to be had here.
I should have paid attention to the reviews before reading this, but it seemed so fitting to keep me occupied on the long train ride to NYC. Thankfully though 'The Glass Key' is short and, despite being dull, reads briskly enough. And, good for overpacking me, 'Dancer from the Dance', the only other book on my shelves that I hadn't read yet with New York City as a major setting, was there for the mornings and the ride back home.
'The Glass Key' doesn't follow your typical private investigator, but instead a corrupt small-time politician's brains: Ned Beaumont. The son of a Senator that Beaumont's friend, the bluff and blunt Paul Madvig, has supported is dead, and it appears to everyone (thanks to an anonymous note-writer) that Madvig did it. Evidence piles up against Madivg as his enemies and rivals and erstwhile allies circle in. The only person who appears to believe in Madvig's innocence (or, at least, wants to get him out of trouble) is Beaumont.
The plot is confusing and the characters are unlikable. Beaumont's wit falls flat and the other characters fail to come off as more than props that snarl or whimper on cue. In 'The Maltese Falcon' one was kept guessing at the motives of characters and left unbalanced at each revelation, Spade had a grey moral code himself, but it could be respected. Beaumont just seemed like a sleazeball, and any sort of selfless action he made (such as taking that beating) made little sense. Hammett failed to keep me interested in guessing. The final chapter was captivating, or could have been, but lost all effect because Hammett never gave out any reasons for the characters to feel the way they appeared to be feeling.
I still might pick up 'The Thin Man', but I'm not too interested anymore.
