I am happy to report that the reviews for Return of the Maltese Falcon thus far have been overwhelmingly positive. While proud of the book, and delighted to have had the chance to write it, I have braced myself (at my smart wife’s instructions) for what might be reviews in the “who do you think you are?” category.
That reaction is understandable.
My only justification is that the novel was written out of love and respect for Dashiell Hammett and his great novel. I was writing it essentially for the adolescent I’d been who desperately wanted to read another Sam Spade novel.
When I began reading mystery fiction, and became obsessed with Mickey Spillane and Mike Hammer, I knew that Mickey hadn’t written a Hammer novel in almost ten years. Imagine my delight and astonishment when in 1961 (nine years after Kiss Me, Deadly) Mickey gave his readers The Girl Hunters.
I knew, with The Maltese Falcon coming into the public domain, that Sam Spade would inevitably be subjected to the kind of nonsense that Winnie the Pooh, Popeye the Sailor and Steamboat Willie have, by way of “inspiring” bottom-feeding horror features. Higher up the food chain, but not necessarily involving writers who understood and respected the material they were drawing upon, new Sam Spade stories would almost certainly emerge. Paging James Patterson.
I wanted to be first and (at least try to) do it right.
Here is a review at Book Reporter that I particularly liked seeing, as the reviewer seemed to understand and appreciate what I was up to.
You may be interested in checking out this interview from Alex Dueben at CrimeReads, which is different from most of the many other interviews I’ve given over the years. Frankly, I usually request questions in writing and will respond accordingly – e-mail interviews. I can control what gets out there.
This interview, however, was actually transcribed and presented as spoken. It is long, and I thought pretty good, if exposing my loquaciousness (like that needed exposure). I was given the opportunity to go over it, and corrected a couple of things, but mostly got out of Alex’s way. I wasn’t happy with how long-winded I was, but relieved I spoke in actual sentences…a novelty these days.
There is a quite gratifying post on Linked-in from a longtime fan (he used to write into the Ms. Tree letters column, SWAK, frequently) – Wylie Wong. I love that name. It has music.
Anyway, I’m going to share his nice write-up with you.
As a teen, I devoured his
Ms. Tree comic books and mystery novels. I loved his work so much that I wrote him a 12-page fan letter. Somewhere in my gushing praise, I mentioned I couldn’t find two of his out-of-print novels. A month later, Collins responded with the coolest Christmas gift: those two books – autographed.Later, I met him at San Diego Comic-Con and went full geek with a backpack full of his books to sign. He graciously spent 20 minutes chatting and signing, then told me he was publishing a condensed version of my letter in
Ms. Tree. That fan letter became the first thing I ever had published.When I went to college, I double-majored in creative writing and journalism, curious about a career in either fiction or non-fiction. Collins influenced my writing in unexpected ways – I even fell in love with the em dash because of him – and I’ve used it ever since. (So screw you, AI. I used it first.) But I enjoyed journalism too much, so I dropped creative writing and focused on telling true stories instead. No regrets.
Fast forward to 2024: Collins announced he was writing a sequel to Dashiell Hammett’s
The Maltese Falcon. I loved the original book. I loved the movie. A sequel from my favorite author? I’m all in.When the book came out this week, Collins offered free copies to the first 20 people who promised to write an Amazon review. I wrote to him saying I’d already pre-ordered a copy but would love to be included. I told him I was still a big fan and shared that after college, I lived on Leavenworth Street in San Francisco, two blocks from where Hammett lived and supposedly finished the
Falcon. On cold, foggy nights, like SF Chronicle columnist Herb Caen, I’d imagine Sam Spade tromping up and down the hills.Collins responded saying it was a “terrific email” and he’d send me the book and to “feel free to read the hell out of your other copy.”
I don’t know if he even remembers me. But receiving this book brings me right back to my teenage years, reading voraciously and learning good storytelling.
Oh, and for the record: I have the real Maltese Falcon in my home office. Photo as proof.
Thank you for this, Wylie. Good reviews, and particularly rave reviews, feel great – but a piece like yours goes way beyond anything of those.
M.A.C.