The provided text is comprised of excerpts from Dashiell Hammett's novel, Red Harvest, and includes its table of contents and publication information. The narrative excerpts follow an unnamed Continental Op, a private detective, as he investigates a series of murders and widespread corruption in the fictional city of Personville, also known as "Poisonville". The plot centers on the death of Donald Willsson, the son of the city's powerful patriarch, Elihu Willsson, leading the Op to systematically manipulate rival criminal factions against one another, resulting in numerous additional killings and the collapse of the city's corrupt power structure. Supporting materials confirm the book's classification as classic crime fiction and mention other works by Hammett featuring the Continental Op and other famous characters like Nick and Nora Charles.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.