34. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

This is a great dramatized version of this book! I was hooked from the beginning! This version has won all sorts of awards. Here is a summary with a review:

Winner of the Audie Award for Best Audiobook Adaptation 

Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award

A 2009 Grammy Award Nominee for Best Spoken Word Album for Adults
 
“Don’t be too sure I’m as crooked as I’m supposed to be. That kind of reputation might be good business.”—Samuel Spade, private investigator
 
 
Believing the book’s vividly drawn characters and memorable dialogue cry out for theatrical treatment, Blackstone Audio commissioned this faithful dramatization by the award-winning Hollywood Theater of the Ear, in which a brilliant cast brings to life all the excitement and suspense of Hammett’s original in the playhouse of the mind. 

© 1929, 1930 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. © renewed 1956, 1957 by Dashiell Hammett 

“Wow! Whether or not you’ve read Hammett’s classic noir detective novel or seen the 1941 movie, you will be entranced by this magnificent adaptation, which is a solid reminder of the power of audio…In this mystery rich in characters, the actors show an impeccable understanding of their roles…Voices and sounds combine with a dramatically fashioned script to create a stellar listening experience with a you-are-there feel. Those who have never experienced the pleasures of radio theater are in for a tremendous treat, as are all who experience this amazing production.”
Booklist (starred review)

A 2009 AudioFile Best Audiobook of the Year for Mystery

“Spade…is what most of the private detectives I worked with would like to have been and in their cockier moments thought they approached.”—Dashiell Hammett

The Maltese Falcon first appeared in the pages of Black Mask magazine in 1929. Almost immediately it was acknowledged as not only a great crime novel but an enduring masterpiece of American fiction. Sam Spade, its protagonist, is the archetypal tough, cynical PI, “able,” as his creator explained, “to take care of himself in any situation, able to get the best of anybody he comes in contact with, whether criminal, innocent bystander or client.” And what a client!—the irresistible and treacherous femme fatale Brigid O’Shaughnessy. (from http://www.downpour.com/the-maltese-falcon-1)