Because I just couldn’t stay away from Hammett…
Length of sentences in the first paragraph of each chapter:
The Body in China Street: 14, 12, 21
The Hat Trick: 33, 27, 19
The Cyclone Shot: 20, 11, 8, 6, 40
The Dog House: 20 (dialogue)
The Hospital: 9 (dialogue)
The Observer: 12, 14 (dialogue)
The Henchmen: 11, 9, 14, 49, 19
The Kiss-Off: 49, 32
The Heels: 35 (dialogue)
The Shattered Key: 4, 13, 12, 6, 6
I also decided to look at Hammett’s initial descriptions of each character. (Do whatever you like with this data. It’s too early in the morning …