The Maltese Falcon is generally considered Dashiell Hammett’s finest work. It originally appeared as a serial in Black Mask magazine in 1929 and was published in book form the next year. The novel’s sustained tension is created by vivid scenes and by the pace and spareness of the author’s style. The other major attraction of The Maltese Falcon is its colorful cast of characters; they include the antiheroic detective Sam Spade; Brigid O’Shaughnessy, a deceptive beauty; Joel Cairo, a man whose gun gives him courage; the fat and jovial but sinister Casper Gutman; and Gutman’s gunsel, Wilmer, who is eager to be feared. All of them are looking for the Maltese falcon, a fabulously valuable 16th-century artifact. Join Professor Larry Harred, Associate Lecturer at the UWRF and detective fiction scholar, for an in-depth perspective on the classic novel.