Return of the Maltese Falcon

By: Max Allan Collins

Narrated by: Dan John Miller

THE GREATEST PRIVATE EYE OF ALL TIME RETURNS TO FINISH THE JOB

Legendary mystery writer Dashiell Hammett only wrote one novel about detective Sam Spade: The Maltese Falcon, the most famous private eye story ever told. But the case was never really solved—the priceless golden, bejeweled bird that men and women had been dying to possess turned out to be a fake.

Now, Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Max Allan Collins (author of Road to Perdition) brings closure to this crime classic, reuniting all the surviving members of the original cast alongside femme fatales, crooked collectors, and greedy gangsters for one more thrilling, deadly chase through the streets, wharves, morgues, bars, and back alleys of 1920s San Francisco—and finally answers the question, Whatever became of the Maltese falcon…?

©2026 Max Allan Collins (P)2026 Recorded Books

A phenomenal sequel to the classic hard boiled novel

The writing was spot on- a bit modernized but purposefully and perfectly so- only MAC could have achieved this balance. Likewise, the narration by Dan John Miller was icing on the cake. Hopefully this will not be the last time they bring Sam Spade back to life!

True to the original

I thought the writing was true to the original form and I enjoyed the extension of the original story

A Well Done Love Letter to Hammett and Spade

Full disclosure; I'm a long time fan of the work of Max Allan Collins. As one who also loves Dashiell Hammett and the Maltese Falcon, I went into this with excitement (because Collins has long delivered work I love, both of his own creation and continuations of other writers posthumously) and a touch of trepidation because anytime an original creation is continued by a different author, you never know what the result might be. In my opinion, The Return of the Maltese Falcon is such a well done continuation of the original work. It easily stands next to Hammett's original novel as a great, logical follow-up. It maintains much of Hammett's creative sensibility and still manages to allow Collins's own sensibility to fit in so well. In the afterword, Collins mentions that he intended this continuation as a love letter to Dashiell Hammett, Samuel Spade, and the PI genre as a whole. And this work exhibits that love in such a wonderful manner. I highly recommend The Return of the Maltese Falcon.

The plotline.

kept me riveted the entire story. i hope it gets turned into a movie. i truly enjoyed it!

Uninspired & ultimately nonsensical

Very lightweight & uninspired attempt. Wrong author for an attempt like this; maybe just leave the Maltese Icon alone. Not to mention a plot mistake that’s destroys entire logic of the story. (Think about British museum man & the ID on package at train station). Researching San Fran & throwing in name checks occasionally creates no sense of reality. No attempt at noir stylistically with some rather clunky writing. And if you a want a game: count number of times Spade & others cigarettes & cigars are mentioned; & count number of times Spade’s V facial elements are filtered in—it’s as if Collins took opening description from original Falcon & decided he was going to overuse it to point of parody, like the cigarettes.