The Scorched Face by Dashiell Hammett

Originally published May 1925 in Black Mask; this edition 1995

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Collected in: Hard-Boiled: An Anthology of American Crime Stories (ed. Bill Pronzini & Jack Adrian)

MA15+

(V, S, L, D)

Violence (MA15+) {Mostly obscured, too frequent and in some places I think too nasty to get away with M)

Sexual References (M) {Sexual activity implied}

Coarse Language (PG) {Mild, infrequent, only in instances of strong emotion}

Drug References (PG) {Qualifications for this don't change between PG and MA}

Representations

Gender:

Narration is first-person from a male perspective. Other characters almost exclusively male, except interviewees.

Sex:

Sexuality is hetero male oriented, any implication of sexual interaction between women in context of male-centred group sex. Said orgies being depicted as sufficiently shameful to ruin the participants' lives.

Race & Ethnicity:

West-coast US, almost entirely white. Some characters referred to by ethnicities of European origin, e.g. Italian. Small number of black characters appear in servant / bodyguard role, referred to alternately as 'black' or 'Negroes'.

Disability, Physical Diversity and Health:

None noticed.

Awards

Unknown, presumed none.

Notes

I started reading this story on a short break during my one of my shifts. Even reading just a few pages I was impressed by Hammett's technique. Feels like I could learn a lot about brevity in mystery construction. Very taught, effectively written. Can see why he would have been such an influential figure.