Collections
Publication
Bantam (1995), Mass Market Paperback, 256 pages
Description
When a millionaire businessman hires Nero Wolfe to probe the background of his daughter's boyfriend, it seems like just another case of an overprotective father. But when a powerful gangland boss "counsels" the detective to drop the matter, Wolfe receives a warning: a burst of machine-gun fire through the windows of his orchid room. Then the lawyer boyfriend turns up dead, leaving Archie the number one suspect. Throw in drugged drinks, two man-killing debutantes, and officials of a highly un-American party and Wolfe finds himself involved in a case where he must quickly solve one murder to prevent another: his own. Introduction by William G. Tapply "It is always a treat to read a Nero Wolfe mystery. The man has entered our folklore."--The New York Times Book Review A grand master of the form, Rex Stout is one of America's greatest mystery writers, and his literary creation Nero Wolfe is one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time. Together, Stout and Wolfe have entertained--and puzzled--millions of mystery fans around the world. Now, with his perambulatory man-about-town, Archie Goodwin, the arrogant, gourmandizing, sedentary sleuth is back in the original seventy-three cases of crime and detection written by the inimitable master himself, Rex Stout.… (more)
Language
Original language
English
User reviews
LibraryThing member christiguc
In this installment, Nero Wolfe is hired by a concerned father to investigate his younger daughter's boyfriend. The father thinks the boyfriend is a communist but will accept any evidence that Wolfe can amass that will change his daughter's feelings towards the man. While Archie is away at the
While the series can be read in any order, the master criminal in this book was introduced in an earlier installment (And Be A Villain) that I haven't read. Not having read the earlier book, I cannot say whether it would be better to read it first, but I can say that I didn't feel like I was missing any important background for the case at hand.
And although I love the Archie character, in this book, he was a bit too dim-witted at times, even for me. What I find best about Archie is that he can joke and make a game of things, but he is quick on his feet and observant. I think there was less of that here. He could still joke and come up with retorts like the best of them, but at moments, his memory and observation seemed more akin to Watson's in a Sherlock Holmes story. That's not what I look for in Archie.
That's not to say I didn't like it, but I am just comparing it to what I have come to expect after reading the others. It wasn't as good as the previous two I've read, but I still enjoyed it immensely.
Show More
client's estate investigating, Wolfe gets information that links the boyfriend to a powerful criminal. Wolfe and Archie take their suspicions to the daughter at the estate, but before they can convince her to give them her word that she will end the relationship, the boyfriend ends up dead. Their client, his two daughters, his wife, his son, the three house guests, even Archie and Wolfe--all are suspects. This book finds Nero Wolfe out of his element, and he has to break almost every one of his rules in his attempt to avoid running afoul of this criminal master, X. His orchid room has already been shattered with gun fire as a warning, and he doesn't want Archie, any of his footmen, or himself to be next.While the series can be read in any order, the master criminal in this book was introduced in an earlier installment (And Be A Villain) that I haven't read. Not having read the earlier book, I cannot say whether it would be better to read it first, but I can say that I didn't feel like I was missing any important background for the case at hand.
And although I love the Archie character, in this book, he was a bit too dim-witted at times, even for me. What I find best about Archie is that he can joke and make a game of things, but he is quick on his feet and observant. I think there was less of that here. He could still joke and come up with retorts like the best of them, but at moments, his memory and observation seemed more akin to Watson's in a Sherlock Holmes story. That's not what I look for in Archie.
That's not to say I didn't like it, but I am just comparing it to what I have come to expect after reading the others. It wasn't as good as the previous two I've read, but I still enjoyed it immensely.
Show Less
LibraryThing member MrsLee
I just read this with The Black Orchid group on LT. It's lots of fun reading and hearing others ideas and thoughts about Stout and his writing. We read this as part of the dread Zeck trilogy.
LibraryThing member MusicMom41
Number 14 in the series, this novel is a good example of Nero Wolfe. The characters are well drawn and his continuing characters now seem to be the ones we will recognize as the series continues. This was first published in 1949 when the Cold War was developing and the American Communist Party
Show More
figures in the plot of this story. I remember the 1950s well when we were very aware of the “Communist threat” so I found this aspect of the story interesting. I was reminded of one of my favorite shows in my youth, “I Led Three Lives” about a double agent. Inspector Cramer does not appear in this story because the crime takes place outside his jurisdiction but we do get a brief glimpse of Purley Stebbins. One of the things I am discovering reading these novel in the order written is that my impression of most of them having Nero Wolfe never leave his premises has been not accurate. Of the fourteen I’ve read so far Wolfe has left his brownstone more often than not. I think I’d better start keeping track of that statistic. I was wrong in my selection of the guilty party even though I had reasoned correctly from the clues. However, I didn’t pay attention to the most obvious clue of all! I’ll be careful not to make that mistake again. Show Less
LibraryThing member mmyoung
Mystery writers who create a genius detective/protagonist face the problem of how to keep things interesting as their series extend over time. The first few mysteries are not a problem since the writer still has a full chest of ideas to work with and the reader is still learning about the
Different writers deal with this problem in different ways. Some, like P.D. James, focus on painting a detailed portrait of the places and people the crime involves. Others focus on developing crimes so complicated that, for the reader, the mystery becomes not who committed the crime rather who would take this much time and effort to commit a crime? The drawback of this approach isn’t just that the crimes become almost tediously involved but also that it is the elaborate details of such crimes which are almost always the source of the downfall of the criminals. Some authors turn to decade long story arcs in which the crimes only serve as a reason to check in on the lives of the series regulars. And some, taking their cue from Conan Doyle, attempt the Moriarty Gambit.
The Moriarty Gambit is basically an attempt to validate the brilliance of the genius detective by pitting him (and it is usually him) against a genius criminal. The genius criminal can succeed in eluding the genius detective because the criminal is not limited by the hindrance of having to stick to legal means of tracking and landing criminal prey. At the same time even mundane crimes are elevated in their importance because they are part of a larger criminal enterprise. In Conan Doyle’s case, as is true of many other writers who attempt the Moriarty Gambit, there is little to suggest in early works that this criminal mastermind exists.
SPOILER WARNING
is not the first Wolfe book in which we find out that there is a criminal mastermind functioning in the environs of New York. Stout, unlike many authors, first has this figure appear in shadows of other stories. Instead of being told that this master criminal is deeply involved in numerous apparently mundane crimes we are shown some of those crimes. The reason why the police are generally unaware of the existence of this New York Moriarty are convincing as are the reasons why Wolfe does not immediately move against him. As a result when (in a later book) this figure finally comes into direct conflict with Wolfe it seems like an inevitable drama rather than an authorial ruse.
As for this book itself, it has none of the uncharacteristic behaviours that were so evident of Stout’s writing during WWII. Though Wolfe leaves his home/office his actions seem to arise out of the plot rather than the plot arising out of Stout’s desire to get Wolfe in a different environment. The murder itself is simple and believable. What is unbelievable is is Wolfe’s mysterious person inside the Communist party. When an author makes such an effort to make their genius an armchair detective the reader has to wonder just how the detective managed to make all these contacts without the knowledge of his leg man.
A few closing observations. First, the question of Archie’s age becomes more and more difficult to ignore as the decades pass and the birthdays don’t. Second, it is fortunate for Wolfe and Stout that Wolfe is functioning at a time when most businesses were controlled by men. We are told repeatedly in this book and others that Wolfe does not understand women. One wonders how long any detective who was incapable of understanding over half of the human race would be able to function.
Show More
detective. As the series continue, however, the writer is not only faced with the problem of devising new mysteries to be solve she/he is also faced with a larger problem. Given that most (real life) crimes are not intricately plotted and that most crimes are solved due to routine police procedures how does the writer continue to maintain the continued interest of the reader. Even in a city as large as New York or London how many crimes a year can one expect that baffle the police and are not immediately, or at least very quickly, unraveled by the genius detective? Different writers deal with this problem in different ways. Some, like P.D. James, focus on painting a detailed portrait of the places and people the crime involves. Others focus on developing crimes so complicated that, for the reader, the mystery becomes not who committed the crime rather who would take this much time and effort to commit a crime? The drawback of this approach isn’t just that the crimes become almost tediously involved but also that it is the elaborate details of such crimes which are almost always the source of the downfall of the criminals. Some authors turn to decade long story arcs in which the crimes only serve as a reason to check in on the lives of the series regulars. And some, taking their cue from Conan Doyle, attempt the Moriarty Gambit.
The Moriarty Gambit is basically an attempt to validate the brilliance of the genius detective by pitting him (and it is usually him) against a genius criminal. The genius criminal can succeed in eluding the genius detective because the criminal is not limited by the hindrance of having to stick to legal means of tracking and landing criminal prey. At the same time even mundane crimes are elevated in their importance because they are part of a larger criminal enterprise. In Conan Doyle’s case, as is true of many other writers who attempt the Moriarty Gambit, there is little to suggest in early works that this criminal mastermind exists.
SPOILER WARNING
is not the first Wolfe book in which we find out that there is a criminal mastermind functioning in the environs of New York. Stout, unlike many authors, first has this figure appear in shadows of other stories. Instead of being told that this master criminal is deeply involved in numerous apparently mundane crimes we are shown some of those crimes. The reason why the police are generally unaware of the existence of this New York Moriarty are convincing as are the reasons why Wolfe does not immediately move against him. As a result when (in a later book) this figure finally comes into direct conflict with Wolfe it seems like an inevitable drama rather than an authorial ruse.
As for this book itself, it has none of the uncharacteristic behaviours that were so evident of Stout’s writing during WWII. Though Wolfe leaves his home/office his actions seem to arise out of the plot rather than the plot arising out of Stout’s desire to get Wolfe in a different environment. The murder itself is simple and believable. What is unbelievable is is Wolfe’s mysterious person inside the Communist party. When an author makes such an effort to make their genius an armchair detective the reader has to wonder just how the detective managed to make all these contacts without the knowledge of his leg man.
A few closing observations. First, the question of Archie’s age becomes more and more difficult to ignore as the decades pass and the birthdays don’t. Second, it is fortunate for Wolfe and Stout that Wolfe is functioning at a time when most businesses were controlled by men. We are told repeatedly in this book and others that Wolfe does not understand women. One wonders how long any detective who was incapable of understanding over half of the human race would be able to function.
Show Less
LibraryThing member wildbill
This is a well written thoroughly entertaining entry in the Nero Wolfe series. There is, however, a feature that is central to the plot that greatly detracted from my enjoyment of the book.
The story begins with Wolfe being hired to prove that a young man who is seeking to marry his client's
I have always found the stereotype of the evil Communists threatening the American way of life to be silly at best. Using this idea as a central theme of the book lowered my estimate of Nero Wolfe's genius.
The primary characters in the book are Mr. Wolfe's client and his family. It is decided that Archie will worm his way into the graces of the client's daughter and deflect her attraction from Lony Rony the would be Communist. This ends up with Archie developing an interesting relationship with the client's other daughter which we are led to believe continues after the mystery is solved. Archie gets more than his usual share of good lines in this book and bolsters the importance of his character to the series.
This book also brings back the appearance of Mr. Zeck. He first tries to scare Wolfe off of the case and then pays him a substantial fee to solve the murder of Mr. Rony.
Wolfe engages the help of top members of the Communist party to solve the mystery. Their appearance at the final meeting where the murderer is named has a touch of irony. The bad guys helping the good guys to catch the bad guy.
It is a good series with lots of volumes and I look forward to reading the further adventures of our heroes.
The story begins with Wolfe being hired to prove that a young man who is seeking to marry his client's
Show More
daughter is a Communist. At the time the book was written being a Communist was slightly less worse than being a rapist and the father is sure that this information will end any thoughts of romance in his daughter.I have always found the stereotype of the evil Communists threatening the American way of life to be silly at best. Using this idea as a central theme of the book lowered my estimate of Nero Wolfe's genius.
The primary characters in the book are Mr. Wolfe's client and his family. It is decided that Archie will worm his way into the graces of the client's daughter and deflect her attraction from Lony Rony the would be Communist. This ends up with Archie developing an interesting relationship with the client's other daughter which we are led to believe continues after the mystery is solved. Archie gets more than his usual share of good lines in this book and bolsters the importance of his character to the series.
This book also brings back the appearance of Mr. Zeck. He first tries to scare Wolfe off of the case and then pays him a substantial fee to solve the murder of Mr. Rony.
Wolfe engages the help of top members of the Communist party to solve the mystery. Their appearance at the final meeting where the murderer is named has a touch of irony. The bad guys helping the good guys to catch the bad guy.
It is a good series with lots of volumes and I look forward to reading the further adventures of our heroes.
Show Less
LibraryThing member addunn3
Nero and Archie track down a suspected commie (1946) and end up solving a complex murder. The best of the Stout series I have read to date. Archie was as good humored as usual.
LibraryThing member Sheila1957
Wolfe is hired to discover if a man is a member of the Communist Party to break up a romance with a rich man's daughter. Archie is sent undercover to the family's estate to get in good with the young woman. It's discovered that the man is involved with a syndicate then he turns up dead. The father
I love Nero Wolfe stories. He is pompous but I like Archie. Wolfe will not allow his pride in his abilities to be compromised so he continues his investigation. Even when Wolfe is threatened and his orchids injured, he keeps on investigating. I did not figure it out. I was surprised by how Wolfe found the murderer and who it was.
I look forward to more Nero Wolfe stories.
Show More
wants Wolfe to find the murderer than when it looks like he has, the father no longer wants Wolfe to investigate but Wolfe won't be called off especially when it looks like Archie may be the murderer.I love Nero Wolfe stories. He is pompous but I like Archie. Wolfe will not allow his pride in his abilities to be compromised so he continues his investigation. Even when Wolfe is threatened and his orchids injured, he keeps on investigating. I did not figure it out. I was surprised by how Wolfe found the murderer and who it was.
I look forward to more Nero Wolfe stories.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Fiddleback_
By Nero Wolfe standards: average.