Of Spade, Scarlet, and Spies

• Back in July, San Francisco Bay-area author Mark Coggins published a short story in Eclectica magazine titled “Mockingbird,” which revitalized Dashiell Hammett’s best-recognized shamus, Sam Spade, and sent him chasing once more after the elusive bejeweled Maltese falcon. Now, Coggins is back with “The Russian Egg,” appearing in the October/November edition of Eclectica. Picking up where “Mockingbird” left off, it finds the “hard and shifty” Spade being employed by Rhea Gutman, supposedly the daughter of the late and corpulent criminal Casper Gutman, one of the principal antagonists in Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon (1930). She wants him to find a different missing treasure: a Fabergé egg, once the property of Russian Dowager Empress Maria, which, like the falcon, may also have been smuggled into California, and may have drawn the covetous notice of real-life former U.S. senator James D. Phelan. Coggins’ two yarns—best read back to back—have Spade being threatened and shot at by guns; taking what turns out to be a deadly ferry ride; dining on broiled sturgeon steak with mushroom sauce at the now-famous Tadich Grill; and rolling far too many cigarettes to ensure his continued health. They provide a welcome opportunity to renew our acquaintance with a private eye who made a scant four appearances in Hammett’s fiction—in Falcon and three subsequent short stories.

• By the way, note that the “pale and petite” Rhea Gutman makes an early appearance, too, in Max Allan Collins’ Return of the Maltese Falcon, due out from Hard Case Crime in January 2026. I already have a copy of that 224-page novel, but haven’t yet read it, preferring to wait until one day (soon) when I can truly savor the experience. Meanwhile, I’m thinking it might be fun to re-read Joe Gores’ Spade & Archer, his 2009 prequel to The Maltese Falcon.

• One more Spade-related item: In his blog, Davy Crockett’s Almanack of Mystery, Adventure, and the Wild West, Evan Lewis features a program guide by one Elizabeth McLeod that recounts how Hammett’s “blond Satan” of a gumshoe became an old-time radio star.

• Season 6 of the Victorian-era sleuth series Miss Scarlet—formerly Miss Scarlet and the Duke—starring Kate Phillips and Tom Durant-Pritchard, will make its broadcast debut as part of PBS-TV’s Masterpiece Mystery! lineup on Sunday, January 11, 2026 (though PBS Passport members can begin streaming its half-dozen episodes on December 7). The Masterpiece Web site offers a few “first-look images” to tantalize the show’s longtime fans.

• From now through April 6, 2026, Oxford, England’s Bodleian Libraries are hosting “Tradecraft,” an exhibition based on the late author John le Carré’s private archive that “offers unique insights into the working methods of the writer who shaped the modern spy novel. ‘Tradecraft’ is a word le Carré used to describe the techniques of espionage, but it might also be applied to his own skilled craft as a writer and social commentator.” Among the materials spanning le Carré’s life are “research, drafts, and corrections for his novels, non-fiction, and adaptations, as well as personal correspondence. Highlights include annotated manuscripts of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Constant Gardener, and The Little Drummer Girl; previously unseen family photographs; original sketches and watercolour paintings; and letters to fans and friends.”

• For Spybrary, Shane Whaley interviews professor Federico Varese and Dr. Jessica Douthwaite, who co-curated “Tradecraft.” A write-up on the Web site explains that “They explore how the exhibit reveals le Carré’s working methods, personal life, and research habits. From manuscript drafts and scribbles on hotel stationery to his mother’s abandoned suitcase, the conversation explores how le Carré meticulously researched his books, how he conceives characters like George Smiley, and what the curators hope visitors take away.”

• Author talks worth checking out: Sarah DiVello fires questions at Walter Mosley about his latest book, Gray Dawn; Jeffrey James Higgins chats with Reed Farrel Coleman (Sleepless City); Chicago Review of Books’ Lori Rader-Day quizzes Jake Hinkson on the subject of his brand-new novel of “dirtbag decisions,” You Will Never See Me; and with Crimespree Magazine’s Elise Cooper, Julia Kelly discusses her Evelyne Redfern series (A Dark and Deadly Journey, etc.).

• Finally, congratulations are in order for two blogs prominent on my radar. “Puzzle Doctor” Steve Barge celebrates 15 years of helming In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel, while Peter Hanson counts the same number of years writing Every ’70s Movie.