Hammett Unwritten -- Owen Fitzstephen (Gordon McAlpine)

Dashiell Hammett was a writer.  And then he wasn't.  We don't know what happened, and we never will, but we can always speculate.  That's what Gordon McAlpine does in this short novel, written as "Owen Fitzstephen," a name that's very much like the name of one of Hammett's characters.

Hammett Unwritten is a "What If" novel.  What if the Maltese Falcon were based on an actual case that Hammett worked on when he was a Pinkerton?  What if all the people in it were real people.  And what if the Falcon was real, and if not encrusted with jewels nevertheless a bird of legend?  And what if Hammett wanted to get his hands on it in 1959?  If you'd like to know the answer to those questions, this is the book for you.  All the old characters are back, some more briefly than others, and the model for Brigid O'Shaughnessy is the trickiest of the bunch.

McAlpine knows his Hammett, and it shows.   Hammett Unwritten is a real tour de force.  Highly recommended.