Dashiell Hammett. The Return of the Continental Op (1945) 127 pp.
Contents: *The Whosis Kid; *The Gutting of Couffignal; Death and Company; *One Hour; *The Tenth Clue.
Four short stories of the adventures of San Francisco PI the Contiental Op. On a San Francisco street, the Op spots a known stick-up man called “The Whosis Kid;” he follows him and is led to a gang of jewel thieves. In “The Gutting of Couffignal,” the Op is assigned to guard the lavish wedding presents left behind by a wealthy woman and her bridegroom after they rush off from Couffignal—a small island north of San Francisco in San Pablo Bay—on their honeymoon; during the night a gang of robbers attack the island, attempting to plunder the wedding party. In “Death and Company,” the Op is asked to assist a man whose wife has been kidnapped (Note: this is the last Op story that Hammett wrote). In “The Tenth Clue” (originally published as “The Tenth Clew”), the Op follows a series of false clues to solve the murder of a wealthy San Francisco man.

*1st book publication

Baird & Greenwood 1040
Layman A13.1