Publisher, Blackstone Audio (November 2008)

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2010 Audie Award-Winner in the 'Audiobook Adaptation' Category

Grammy Nominee—Best Spoken Word Album for Adults

Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award

One of AudioFile Best Mystery Audiobooks of 2009

One of Booklist’s Top 10 Crime Fiction Audiobooks

A Booklist Editor’s Pick for 2009 in Adult Audio

An Audible Winner: Best All-Star Cast

“Wow! Whether or not you’ve read Hammett’s classic noir detective novel or seen the 1941 movie, you will be entranced by this magnificent adaptation, which is a solid reminder of the power of audio....In this mystery rich in characters, the actors show an impeccable understanding of their roles. Madsen’s gravelly voice gives Spade a hard edge, a tough-guy image to match the slang of the mean streets. As the affably sinister Gutman, Edward Herrmann excels, playing the part to the hilt. And Sandra Oh, as the heartless O’Shaughnessy, alternates between scheming enchantress and helpless beauty. As one would expect in a radio drama, the sound effects masterfully underline the story—from traffic and street sounds to the clinking ice cubes, ticking clocks, ringing phones, and flicking cigarette lighters. The musical interludes (swing, jazz, and other period music) also heighten the mood. Voices and sounds combine with a dramatically fashioned script to create a stellar listening experience with a you-are-there feel. Those who have never experienced the pleasures of radio theater are in for a tremendous treat, as are all who experience this amazing production.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Few novels have been more 'noir'—or more influential. With fine talents like Michael Madsen, Sandra Oh, and Edward Herrmann, Blackstone Audio and the Hollywood Theater of the Ear have created a taut, well-paced audio production, drawn directly from the novel, first serialized in Black Mask magazine in 1929. All of Hammett's signature descriptions and stylish dialogue are at the forefront. Sexy, darkly comic, and broodingly moral, The Maltese Falcon is like a jolt of bourbon—it wakes you up and keeps you listening. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.” —AudioFile

"The Maltese Falcon is not only probably the best detective story we have ever read, it is an exceedingly well written novel." —Times Literary Supplement (London)

“As edge-of-one’s-seat captivating today as it was eighty years ago, Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon is a classic that hard-boiled mystery buffs everywhere are sure to enjoy.” —Midwest Book Review

The Maltese Falcon first appeared in the pages of Black Mask magazine in 1929. Almost immediately it was acknowledged as not only a great crime novel but an enduring masterpiece of American fiction. Sam Spade, its protagonist, is the archetypal tough, cynical P.I., “able,” as his creator explained, “to take care of himself in any situation, able to get the best of anybody he comes in contact with, whether criminal, innocent by-stander or client.” And what a client!—the irresistible and treacherous femme fatale Brigid O’Shaughnessy.

Believing the book’s vividly drawn characters and memorable dialogue cry out for theatrical treatment, Blackstone Audio commissioned this faithful dramatization by the award-winning Hollywood Theater of the Ear, in which a brilliant cast brings to life all the excitement and suspense of Hammett’s original in the playhouse of the mind.

About the Author: Samuel Dashiell Hammett (1894–1961) is widely regarded as one of the finest mystery writers of all time. In addition to The Maltese Falcon, his pioneering novels include Red Harvest (1929), The Dain Curse (1929), The Glass Key (1931), and The Thin Man (1934).