Ex-detective Nick Charles plans to spend a quiet Christmas holed up in a hotel suite with his glamorous wife Nora, their pet Schnauzer and a case of good Scotch. But then a bullet-riddled corpse and a missing inventor (not to mention the attentions of a beautiful young woman) force him out of retirement and back into business.Publisher: Penguin Books LtdAuthor(s): Dashiell HammettNumber of pages: 240Collection: Penguin Modern ClassicsPublication date: 2011Dimensions: 196 x 131 x 16Cover type: Paperback / softback