Graham Greene used to divide his novels into “serious” and “entertaining,” but such a division is quite conditional: he was always—and remains—the Master. In his detective novel “The Quiet American” (actually, “The Hireling Killer”/“The Contractor” depending on translation), there is an exciting plot, an unusual hero whose life is tied to deadly risk, the convincing and precise detailing—qualities that place the novel alongside his world-famous works such as “The Power and the Glory,” “The Quiet American,” and “The Ministry of Fear.”