Dashiell Hammett 
Dain Curse 

‚Not just the first of the tough school of crime-writing but the best‘ THE TIMESMiss Gabriel Dain Leggett is young and wealthy, with a penchant for morphine and religious cults. She also has an unfortunate effect on the people around her. They die – violently. Is she the victim of a family curse? The short, squat, utterly unsentimental Continental Op, the best private detective around, has his doubts and finds himself confronting something infinitely more dangerous.This is the Continental Op’s most bizarre case and a tautly crafted masterpiece of suspense.