Join Psycho Bob the Cat and Shaner as they rediscover Dashiell Hammett and discuss the Continental Op, one of the first major hardboiled detectives later developed in such characters as Hammett's own Sam Spade, Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, and others. 

The Dain Curse was published in 1929, but before its publication in book form, it was serialized in Black Mask magazine in 1928 and 1929. The novel is composed of three parts, each concerning different mysteries — Part One, The Dains; Part Two, The Temple; and Part Three, Quesada.