Five Continental Op Stories

Five Continental Op Stories, written by Dashiell Hammett and published in 1923, features the early adventures of the Continental Op, a detective for the Continental Detective Agency in San Francisco. Drawing from his experiences as a Pinkerton operative, Hammett infused these stories with realistic detail and gritty atmosphere. These tales, originally published in Black Mask magazine, are notable for their influence on the hard-boiled detective genre and set the stage for Hammett's later works, including The Maltese Falcon.