Arson Plus

Raymond Chandler said of Dashiell Hammett that he “took murder out of the Venetian vase and dropped it into the alley”. Hammett transformed the genres of mystery and crime fiction, replacing exotic locales with sleazy city streets and the oddball detective with the hard boiled private eye. Drawing inspiration from his own life, he brought a gritty verisimilitude to the mystery genre, and his influence has scarcely faded since.

“Arson Plus” was originally published in 1923 in the pulp magazine Black Mask, and was the world’s introduction to the Continental Op—the anonymous hero who helped to launch a thousand hardboiled followers. The Thornwillow edition of “Arson Plus” was included in the Thornwillow Dispatch in September 2020. To join the community of ideas and subscribe to future publications like this one, visit www.thornwillow.com/thornwillow-dispatch