This book presents stories from two classic collections by Dashiell Hammett - “The Big Raid” and “The Continental Agency” - stories that have been repeatedly filmed and included in the golden fund of action-packed prose. Their hero is traditional for the “black” detective in general and Hammett’s work in particular, is a real “hard-boiled” detective, stern and cynical. Human nature holds no secrets for him, and it is precisely his not too high opinion of humanity that allows him to accurately solve the mysteries of the most complex and intricate crimes.