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Portrait image of Dashiell Hammett Photo: AP / TT

Sample of authors

Hammett, Dashiell

American detective writer, born in St. Mary's County in Maryland. He grew up in Baltimore where his family moved when he was seven years old. Dashiell Hammett dropped out of school when thirteen and got on with odd jobs before ending up a private detective at Pinkertons. He worked as a detective primarily in San Francisco and then used his experiences in his novels. During the First World War,...

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Literary figures

Alex McKnight

Gender: Male

When working as a policeman in Detroit he was shot and he still has a bullet in his body so he has to live a quiet life. He has inherited a holiday camp in the small town of Paradise in Michigan and sometimes reluctantly acts as a private detective in Steve Hamilton’s novels. Alex McKnight is of middle age, his hair is going grey and he lives alone. He is divorced, and his brief relationship w...

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