The Maltese Falcon is a mystery novel classic- a 1929 knot on the detective fiction string that extends from Wilkie Collins through to Jo Nesbo and Ian Rankin.  It features all the things we’ve come to expect from the ‘hard-boiled’ sub-genre: a hard-drinking loner detective, a handful of quirky criminal thugs, some pushy cops, a beautiful but possibly duplicitous femme fatale.  Sam Spade is that detective, and he is trying to solve a mystery that builds around him with minimal clues but increasingly plentiful bodies. […]