Red Harvest:
I enjoyed Red Harvest very much. It was a real throwback story and had all the Detective Noir elements: a hero detective who didn't mind bending the rules to get things done but whose heart is in the right place; gangsters who stopped at nothing to get what they wanted; a woman who may or may not have interested him personally; a Mr. Big money-man; bent coppers; guns; knives; shady streets; etc...

While the beginning of the story was relatively low in its humour it did warm up in this regard with fun and sarcasm making more appearances as time went on.

I was warned that the title was a reference to the body count in this story. I can vouch for the validity of that, but unlike some more recent books, and like many films of today, there is no gore. Someone gets shot and they are down. No gruesome descriptions of injuries. I prefer it this way. Gruesome descriptions of injuries or graphic movie scenes showing how clever the special effects people can be, are like broken pencils: pointless.

Has this book encouraged me to read more Dashiell Hammett stories?
Yes!

Would I recommend this book?
Yes!

Who would I consider recommending this book to?
Anyone who likes murder mysteries. ( )