A hard-boiled murder mystery about occultism and greed. Dashiell Hammett’s The Dain Curse is a classic detective novel that established the hard-boiled crime genre. First published in the United States in 1929, it is now, at long last, in the public domain . Synopsis Set in Prohibition-era California, The Dain Curse follows the Continental Op, a shrewd anti-hero , as he unravels a web of murder, deceit, and mysterious cult activity surrounding the enigmatic woman Gabrielle Leggett. Cursed by a string of deaths that plague her life, Gabrielle’s fate seems intertwined with the sins of her ancestors, creating a narrative thick with intergenerational trauma, betrayal, and the search for redemption. The story moves swiftly through a series of dark and atmospheric settings—from the eerie opulence of a San Francisco mansion to a secluded religious cult compound on the California coast. At its heart is the question of whether Gabrielle is the victim of her family’s cursed legacy or an active participant in the chaos. The Continental Op's relentless pursuit of the truth unveils secrets that challenge notions of morality, justice, and the weight of inherited guilt. Hammett’s trademark style—sharp dialogue, gritty realism, and unflinching exploration of human motives—established The Dain Curse as one of the foundational works of detective fiction. Its labyrinthine plot and vivid cast of characters continue to captivate readers, drawing them into a world where truth is elusive, and survival comes at a cost. Sneak Peek Not more than three feet away, there in the black room, a pale bright thing like a body, but not like flesh, stood writhing before me. It was tall, yet not so tall as it seemed, because it didn't stand on the floor, but hovered with its feet a foot or more above the floor. Its feet--it had feet, but I don't know what their shape was. They had no shape, just as the thing's legs and torso, arms and hands, head and face, had no shape, no fixed form. They writhed, swelling and contracting, stretching and shrinking, not greatly, but without pause. An arm drifted into the body, was swallowed by the body, came out again as if poured out. The nose stretched down over the gaping shapeless mouth, shrank back up into the face till it was flush with the pulpy cheeks, grew out again. Eyes spread until they were one gigantic eye that blotted out the whole upper face, diminished until there was no eye, and opened in their places again. The legs were now one leg like a twisting, living pedestal, and then three, and then two. No feature or member ever stopped twisting, quivering, writhing long enough for its average outline, its proper shape, to be seen. The thing was a thing like a man who floated above the floor, with a horrible grimacing greenish face and pale flesh that was not flesh, that was visible in the dark, and that was as fluid and as unresting and as transparent as tidal water. A Stunning Reprint At NarrativeWorks , we’re committed to preserving the original integrity of this genre-defining work while introducing it to a new generation of readers. This edition features the unaltered text from the original 1929 publication, bringing Hammett’s hard-boiled style to life in all its gripping detail. From its intricate plotting to its unflinching portrayal of human flaws, The Dain Curse is a must-have for lovers of noir , detective fiction, and classic 20th-century literature. Title Details Original 1929 Text - Foreword by Jack “Iron” Carlisle - 5 x 8 Inches - Matte Cover - Cream Paper