The Maltese Falcon vs Ticktock: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: California, Private investigators, Fiction

The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett · 1929 ★★★★☆ 3.9 256 pages · ≈ 4 h 44 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

Ticktock Dean Koontz · 1996 ★★★★☆ 3.8 318 pages · ≈ 5 h 53 m · Moderate Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 3.9 vs 3.8 — either is a safe pick by score.
Ticktock is the easier read (Moderate), The Maltese Falcon more demanding (Challenging).