Dashiell Hammett revamps the mystery genre by popularizing hard-boiled detective fiction like never before. Serializing his works through 1920s literary magazines like The Black Mask, Hammett shares his unsentimental tales of mystery, violence, and promiscuity. What was initially a surveillance assignment carried out by protagonist Sam Spade and partner Miles Archer turns into a murder investigation, as Archer is found dead that evening. Spade is a suspect, as Archer's wife, Iva, and Spade are having an affair. The reader learns that the woman who first requested the surveillance, Brigid O'Shaughnessy, lied to the partners. The relationship Brigid forms with Spade strengthens when Brigid presents a plan to sell a jewel-encrusted gold falcon to her former partners Joel Cairo, Wilmer Cook, and Casper Gutman. The meeting with Cairo takes a turn for the worse when these men seeking information on the falcon nearly kill Spade. The LAPD conducts further investigation into Archer's death and Spade's relationship with his wife. At the Cairo hotel, Spade realizes that the falcon is probably aboard the ship La Paloma. Later, the ship's captain Jacobi staggers into Spade's office and dies holding a package containing the falcon. Meanwhile, Spade receives a fake call from Brigid informing her that she's in trouble. Spade takes the falcon and heads for Gutman's suite. There, Spade receives partial payment and later gives Gutman the falcon. Gutman removes the protective enamel coating only to discover that the falcon is made of lead rather than gold. Spade finally contacts the authorities about the hawk and the murders. She also reveals to Brigid that she knows she killed her partner, Archer, and reports her to the police. The novel c......middle of paper......Falcon. New York: Random House, 1957. Print.Kelly, David. "Critical essay on the Maltese falcon." Novels for students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne and Timothy Sisler. vol. 21. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 198-201. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Network. October 14, 2011.Marling, William. "Critical essay on the Maltese falcon." Novels for students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne and Timothy Sisler. vol. 21. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 201-209. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Network. October 14, 2011. Symons, Julian. Dashiell Hammett. Np: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1985. 66-72. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne and Timothy Sisler. vol. 21. Detriot: Gale, 2006. 209-212. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Network. 14 October 2011. "The Maltese Falcon". Novels for students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne and Timothy Sisler. vol. 21. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 187-192. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Network. October 14. 2011.