Series
Publication
Crimeline (2010), Edition: Reissue, 240 p.
Original publication date
1958-07
1958
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Description
"It is always a treat to read a Nero Wolfe mystery. The man has entered our folklore."--The New York Times Book Review Embark on a year of murder and mystery. It begins at Christmas with a party and a poisoning, then blossoms into spring with sudden death at the Easter Parade. With a killer in the crowd, the Fourth of July is no picnic, and the calendar is overbooked with corpses when death is in season. Here are four cunning cases that leave everyone guessing. When it comes to sleuthing out a clever solution, only Nero Wolfe has a clue.
User reviews
LibraryThing member rosalita
Here we've got a set of four short stories, three of which revolve around holidays:
Christmas Party finds Archie trying to teach Wolfe a lesson about making assumptions, which embroils them both in murder when a textile designer (and former client) is poisoned at his firm's holiday fête.
Wolfe goes
Fourth of July Picnic takes Wolfe out of the brownstone and into the wilds of Long Island when he reluctantly agrees to be the keynote speaker at a gathering of food-service union members. When a union official is killed, it's up to the big man and his sassy sidekick to finger the culprit before the law fingers them.
And finally, in Murder Is No Joke Wolfe uses a clever (and now obsolete) telephone trick first to prove that a murder occurred and then to solve it.
Generally speaking, I don't love the Wolfe shorts as much as I do the full-length novels. They put an emphasis on plot that Stout's abilities can't always carry off, his strength to me lying in his well-drawn characters and ear for dialogue. But there's nothing really wrong with any of these, other than they leave me wanting more.
Christmas Party finds Archie trying to teach Wolfe a lesson about making assumptions, which embroils them both in murder when a textile designer (and former client) is poisoned at his firm's holiday fête.
Wolfe goes
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to drastic lengths to secure a sample of a rare orchid hybrid in Easter Parade, once again landing Archie in hot water when a wealthy woman is killed right in front of him on Fifth Avenue.Fourth of July Picnic takes Wolfe out of the brownstone and into the wilds of Long Island when he reluctantly agrees to be the keynote speaker at a gathering of food-service union members. When a union official is killed, it's up to the big man and his sassy sidekick to finger the culprit before the law fingers them.
And finally, in Murder Is No Joke Wolfe uses a clever (and now obsolete) telephone trick first to prove that a murder occurred and then to solve it.
Generally speaking, I don't love the Wolfe shorts as much as I do the full-length novels. They put an emphasis on plot that Stout's abilities can't always carry off, his strength to me lying in his well-drawn characters and ear for dialogue. But there's nothing really wrong with any of these, other than they leave me wanting more.
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LibraryThing member MrsLee
The Black Orchid is in this, and for some reason, that is one of my favorites.
LibraryThing member antiquary
I like just about all the Nero Wolfe stories, and these have some interesting twists. The first one has Archie announcing he has a marriage license and has to appear at his fiancee's office Christmas party. Nero Wolfe is so desperate he attends the party disguised as Santa Claus, only to see the
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owner of the business poisoned. Then Archie hires a man to steal a unique orchid from a woman's dress as she leaves church at Easter --not knowing she will be dying as it is stolen. Then Wolfe is asked to address to a restaurant workers Fourth of July picnic, and a union leader gets stabbed to death. Finally, the one non-holiday case involves an unpleasant woman who has installed herself at a high fashion designer's company with the designer's (reluctant) support, and the designer's sister hires Wolfe to remove her, but she is murdered first. The actual detecting in some of these cases is trivial, but the settings add interest. Show Less
LibraryThing member MusicMom41
These four novellas, “Easter Parade”, “Christmas Party”, “Fourth of July” and “Murder Is No Joke” are typical Nero Wolfe fare and a pleasure for fans. I'm a fan and consider Stout's stories with a glass of wine to be the perfect way to wind down after a stressful day.
LibraryThing member antiquary
This is the original hardback version of the stories I reviewed in the pb version. The only significant difference is that the hardback includes 4 photos which are supposed to be the photos taken by Archie Goodwin during the story "Easter Parade." One of these photos contained the clue which
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enabled Nero Wolfe to solve the murder. These photos are not in the pb version. Show Less
LibraryThing member Sheila1957
Four short stories with Nero Wolf and Archie Goodwin. I like the longer books rather than the short stories. These four stories did not give me the satisfaction of watching Nero and Archie outwit the police and solve the murders. Three of the stories revolve around holidays and the last is based on
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Cramer's quote. I liked Murder is No Joke the best because it showed more of Archie and Nero figuring out what was wrong with a series of events in the story Show Less
LibraryThing member tgraettinger
Always solid - easy to read and enjoyable when you're looking for a little escape.
LibraryThing member EricCostello
Four solid, interesting short stories featuring Wolfe and Goodwin
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9780553249859
Pages
240