The Dain Curse
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 First edition cover |
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| Author | Dashiell Hammett |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Mystery, Crime, Novel |
| Publisher | Grosset & Dunlap (first edition) |
| Released | 1929 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| ISBN | NA |
| Preceded by | Red Harvest |
The Dain Curse is a novel written by Dashiell Hammett and published in 1929. It is structured as a fix-up, a series of separate short stories linked by new material.
[edit] Plot summary
The detective known only as The Continental Op investigates a diamond heist that looks like an inside job. He is told of a supposed curse on the Dain family, said to inflict sudden and violent deaths upon those in their vicinity. Young Gabrielle Leggett (whose mother was a Dain), equally involved in a mysterious cult and a morphine addiction, soon turns up missing -- making her the most likely culprit. But her father has some skeletons in the closet, and nothing is what it seems in this strange, occultish family. The detective untangles a web of robberies, spells, and human sacrifices on his way to a solution to the puzzle.
[edit] Characters in "The Dain Curse"
- The Continental Op – Private Detective (called in the miniseries "Hamilton Nash")
- Gabrielle Leggett
- Edgar Leggett – Gabrielle's father
- Owen Fitzstephan
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novel was adapted into a TV miniseries in 1978 by director E.W. Swackhamer starring James Coburn, Hector Elizondo
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