I started The Thin Man because I was waiting around to read another book: a friend had promised to mail me a book and it hadn’t arrived yet, and when I’d sought to buy The Maltese Falcon the month previous I’d ended up actually getting a collection of three of Hammett’s stories including The Thin Man and Red Harvest, so I figured I’d read The Thin Man because it was sitting on my shelves. I’m so happy I read it! I enjoyed it MUCH more than The Maltese Falcon. Where the Falcon’s Sam Spade is a bit of a shithead and a womanizer, Thin Man’s Nick Charles is an all around swell guy who just wants to get drunk and have fun, and who deals with the mystery foisted upon him simply because he must. I adored his relationship with his wife, who is a much stronger female character than we got in Falcon, and I found the pacing of this story to be much more consistent. The resolution felt much cleaner too, and Hammett’s sharp dialogue and crisp description of the world delivered satisfaction throughout. I’d definitely recommend this quick read.