The Thin Man

The Thin Man is a detective novel by the American writer Dashiell Hammett, published in 1934. It first appeared in a condensed version in the magazine Redbook in 1933 and in book form the following month.

Nick Charles gave up detective work when he married Nora's money, and the couple are in New York for the holiday season when a murder lands in his lap. He would rather drink and trade jokes with the people around him than take the case seriously, and Nora rather enjoys watching him work.

The investigation moves through bars, hotels and parties, and it is conducted by a man who refuses to look as though he is doing anything of the kind. The killing is bound up with a missing man, and the puzzle is worked out among the drinks and the talk rather than in an office.

The book was followed by a film series in which William Powell and Myrna Loy played Nick and Nora, and Hammett was hired to write the scripts for the first two films. It is a standalone novel.