The Maltese Falcon vs The Man Who Was Thursday: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Novela de misterio, Long Now Manual for Civilization, Ficción, Fiction

Cover of The Maltese Falcon

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

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Cover of The Man Who Was Thursday

The Man Who Was Thursday Gilbert Keith Chesterton · 1908 ★★★★☆ 3.8 114 pages · ≈ 2 h 07 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 3.9 vs 3.8 — either is a safe pick by score.
The Man Who Was Thursday is the quicker read — about 2 hours vs 4 for The Maltese Falcon.

Side by side