July 2010 The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett. This was a pretty quick and entertaining read. The dialogue is brisk and the characters are interesting. But I think I like The Maltese Falcon better. The book is about a retired private investigator, Nick Charles, on vacation in NYC with his wife, Nora, in the early 1930's (the book was originally published in 1934). NYC is Nick's old stomping ground so he is drawn in to a murder investigation by old acquaintances. Between parties and occasional moments of not drinking, Nick helps solve the crime.