Detective story discussion The Gatewood Caper by Dashiell Hammett. :: English Literature

Detective account statement discussion The Gatewood legerdemain by Dashiell Hammett. The Gatewood Caper--------------------- The Gatewood Caper by Dashiell Hammett is not just an exciting police detective story its characters are real and fascinating people whoare just as thinkable now as when they were first created.------------------------------------------------------------------- The Gatewood Caper is a detective story written by the writerDashiell Hammett. It was written and set during the 1920s in SanFrancisco, Los Angeles, in an aristocratic setting. Harvey Gatewood isa rich businessman who finds out, his daughter Audrey has beenkidnapped. He calls and hires a detective, the detective tells MrGatewood to pay the ransom. However Audrey doesnt return after themoney has been paid and the detective grows suspicious that somethingis not quite right. He then goes in search of Audrey and finds her inan apartment with a man. Audrey begins to shoot at the detectivethrough the door, alone in the end both her and the man give up.---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Gatewood Caper certainly is an exciting detective story. Thewriter has us guessing all through the story about who has kidnappedAudrey and wondering whom the villain could be. The detective in thisstory was only in the detective business for the money but he still employ his observations and cunning to track Audrey atomic reactor.---------------------------------------------------------------------Good and evil were not easy to spot in this story as the theme was notas expected, the writer unploughed you guessing from beginning to end, not atypical detective story. I found that the story moved very fast andgot to the point quicker than most, which held my busy as I knewit wouldnt be long till the conclusion.----------------------------------------------------------------------Some parts of the story were unconvincing. I would have expected avillain, a heroine, and someone to hitch their just desserts in anyother detective story but I found the ending a bit of a let down whenI found out Audrey had kidnapped herself to punish her father.Although I did feel sorry for Audrey as her father was a bully asHammett writes He was a gigantic bruiser of a man, something over 200pounds of hard red flesh and a czar from the top of his bullet to thetoes of his shoes. From this description we can understand wherefore Audreyhas a problem with her father, especially when he lost his temper whatcould she do with a man with that physique. Audrey was both victim andvillain in this story, which was unexpected.----------------------------------------------------------------------However, Hammett puts as more than skill into characterisation as he doesinto plot and suspense.