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Publication
Pyramid (1977), Mass Market Paperback
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:Nero Wolfe has left his comfortable brownstone for the promise of a remarkably rare black orchid at a flower show�??but before Wolfe and his perennially hardy sidekick, Archie Goodwin, have a chance to stop and smell the roses, a diabolically daring murder takes place right under their noses and puts a blight on the proceedings. Now Wolfe's fancy turns to thoughts of weeding out a murderer�??one who's definitely not a garden-variety killer. Only then will Wolfe be ready to throw his weight into a second thorny case, involving a rich society widow bedeviled by poison-pen letters�??and a poisonous plot as black as Wolfe's orchids . . . with roots that are even more twisted. Introduction by Lawrence Block �??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… (more)
Language
Original language
English
User reviews
LibraryThing member christiguc
This book is Archie Goodwin's recounting of two different cases--one in which Nero Wolfe acquires the rare black orchids, the other one in which he sends cut flowers from his black orchids to a funeral.
In the first case, Wolfe leaves his house to go to the flower show to see the newly-bred black
In the second case, Archie and Wolfe are approached by a society lady who thinks someone is out to ruin her. Two of her aquaintances have received letters in which the writer claimed knowledge of certain damaging secrets and wrote that this lady (Wolfe's potential client) had told the writer about it. She wants to know who wrote the letters and she wants proof. Throw in one murder, tag with a chimpanzee, and pig chitlins, and you have the story.
Almost any Archie and Wolfe mystery is bound to be fun. Here was no different. Archie was charming and bright, Wolfe was obstinate and correct. Just as things should be.
In the first case, Wolfe leaves his house to go to the flower show to see the newly-bred black
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orchids. While he is there, someone gets murdered and Cramer won't release Archie from questioning to drive Wolfe home. While waiting, Wolfe gathers some evidence, gets a client, and even works the black orchids into a deal. Once safely home, the only thing he has to do is solve the case, within the client's limiting instructions.In the second case, Archie and Wolfe are approached by a society lady who thinks someone is out to ruin her. Two of her aquaintances have received letters in which the writer claimed knowledge of certain damaging secrets and wrote that this lady (Wolfe's potential client) had told the writer about it. She wants to know who wrote the letters and she wants proof. Throw in one murder, tag with a chimpanzee, and pig chitlins, and you have the story.
Almost any Archie and Wolfe mystery is bound to be fun. Here was no different. Archie was charming and bright, Wolfe was obstinate and correct. Just as things should be.
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LibraryThing member MeriJenBen
A remarkably rare black orchid at a flower show lures Nero Wolfe from his comfortable brownstone. But before the detective and his sidekick, Archie Goodwin, can stop and smell the roses, a diabolically daring murder puts a blight on the proceedings. The murderer to be weeded out is definitely not a
Wolfe must also throw his considerable weight into another thorny case, this one involving a rich society widow bedeviled by poison-pen letters -- and a poisonous plot as black as Wolfe's orchids with roots even more twisted.
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garden-variety killer. Wolfe must also throw his considerable weight into another thorny case, this one involving a rich society widow bedeviled by poison-pen letters -- and a poisonous plot as black as Wolfe's orchids with roots even more twisted.
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LibraryThing member DNWilliams
Actually two stories in one, Black Orchids details how Wolfe came to own the rare black orchids that give the novel its title. Of course, it all starts when Wolfe is skeptical about the black orchids reported at the flower show and sends Archie every day to inspect them; and of course, Archie gets
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distracted by a girl with pretty legs. And of course there is a murder which Wolfe agrees to solve in exchange for the black orchids. The second story in the novel, Cordially Invited to Meet Death, begins not with a murder, but with blackmail. But of course, as with any Nero Wolfe mystery, there is a murder and Wolfe has to solve it without acquiring a fee! As with all Nero Wolfe stories, Black Orchids combines wit, mystery and mayhem into a gripping tale that is difficult to put down. Show Less
LibraryThing member MusicMom41
Stout, Rex: Black Orchids (BC 271)
This book actually contains 2 novels. Black Orchids is the first story and tells how Wolfe came to possess the black orchids by solving a murder at a flower show. The second story, Cordially Invited to Meet Death, is about a series of poison pen letters that
This book actually contains 2 novels. Black Orchids is the first story and tells how Wolfe came to possess the black orchids by solving a murder at a flower show. The second story, Cordially Invited to Meet Death, is about a series of poison pen letters that
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result in murder. It is paired with the first story because those same black orchids play a small roll in this second story. Both stories were “satisfactory,” as Wolfe would say. Show Less
LibraryThing member markatread
Though Black Orchids is the ninth book that was published in the Nero Wolfe series it is the first of the short story/novella books that Rex Stout released about Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. It has the two novellas, Black Orchids and Cordially Invited to Meet Death, in this one. Both novellas are
Archie goes to visit the client at her home and encounters her chimpanzee whose name is Mister. Mister insists on playing tag and making a complete nuisance of himself , not just with Archie, but with everyone in the whole household. He torments the owner of the home by tickling her and then upsets the butler's tray of drinks that he is bringing for everyone. After cleaning up the mess the butler returns with a new tray of drinks and Archie observes,
".........and eventually we got back to normal, everybody with a drink, including Mister, only his was nonalcoholic, or I wouldn't have stayed. What that bird would have done with a couple of Martinis under his fur would have been something to watch from an airplane."
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excellent, especially the first one Black Orchids. Though my favorite character and favorite quote are from the second novella. Archie goes to visit the client at her home and encounters her chimpanzee whose name is Mister. Mister insists on playing tag and making a complete nuisance of himself , not just with Archie, but with everyone in the whole household. He torments the owner of the home by tickling her and then upsets the butler's tray of drinks that he is bringing for everyone. After cleaning up the mess the butler returns with a new tray of drinks and Archie observes,
".........and eventually we got back to normal, everybody with a drink, including Mister, only his was nonalcoholic, or I wouldn't have stayed. What that bird would have done with a couple of Martinis under his fur would have been something to watch from an airplane."
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LibraryThing member mmyoung
Black Orchids is a collection of two novelettes; Black Orchids and Cordially Invited to Meet Death. I found both to be below Stout's standard. Archie states that the only thing these two cases have in common is the black orchids that appear in both. He is wrong for they have another commonality. In
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both cases Wolfe is disinterested in the murders. In BO he gets involved only to get three rare orchids in return for shielding their original owner from negative entanglements with the murder. In the latter case it is unclear why Wolfe ever gets involved. Archie himself does not make a good case for Wolfe's motivations. Indeed, 'Cordially' at times reads less like a minor Wolfe and more like a piece of fan fiction with every regular character acting 'like themselves only more' and two kitchen escapades that seem Mary Sue-ish. Show Less
LibraryThing member blatherlikeme
This is a two story book. The first story is about how Wolfe acquired black orchids and the second is about a client to whom he sent black orchids.
The first one, in particular, is wonderful. It's Archie at his best. He has breezily decided he is in love with one of the models at a flower show. And
The first one, in particular, is wonderful. It's Archie at his best. He has breezily decided he is in love with one of the models at a flower show. And
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his descriptions and behavior are quintessential. Also, the moment he gives her up and his reasons for it are so Archie. Show Less
LibraryThing member Marmie7
This was my first Nero Wolfe mystery. Unfortunately I just didn't like it very much. The characters were forgettable, I esp didn't care for Nero. The stories were just ok. I did like the setting though. I was hoping this would have been better.
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
This is a twofer as it includes the title novella as well as a second novella, Cordially Invited to Meet Death. Black orchids form the connection between the two novellas. In the first story, Nero Wolfe sends Archie to visit a flower show on successive days. On the final day, Wolfe himself is
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present when Archie discovers a murdered man in one of the displays. In the second story, a party planner consults Wolfe regarding a series of poison pen letters. It soon turns into a murder investigation. While Archie does the leg work, Wolfe and Fritz receive instruction on the proper way to make corned beef hash…from a woman! The novella format works well for this series with Archie Goodwin as its narrator. Archie is quick-witted and quick-tongued, and the novella length seems like a natural fit. Show Less
LibraryThing member rosalita
This isn't a novel but rather a pair of novellas. In the first story, Black Orchids, Archie is sent by the sedentary Wolfe to the Manhattan Flower Show to spy on an exhibition of extremely rare black orchids. Wolfe is miffed because the breeder refused to sell one to Wolfe. Along the way Archie
The second novella, Cordially Invited to Meet Death finds Wolfe and Archie trying to solve the murder of a fancy party planner, who is deliberately dosed with tetanus. She had originally consulted Wolfe about some anonymous letters that were sent to some of her clients, so Wolfe is motivated to find her killer since he wasn't able to prevent her murder. The black orchids show up on the coffin at the funeral, which is framed by Archie as a mystery — why did Wolfe send one of his precious on someone he barely knew? That mystery isn't solved, but since I couldn't see the point of it other than to provide a tenuous thread between the two novellas, I'm not bothered by the dangling plot point.
This isn't one of my favorites, but it's fine. I probably wouldn't have re-read it without prompting but I'm not sorry to have done so.
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falls in love with a pretty girl inhabiting one of the diorama-like scenes set up by a nursery, which leads him to be on the spot when a murder occurs. Wolfe manages to solve the murder and snag a black orchid plant all in one afternoon, which is pretty good.The second novella, Cordially Invited to Meet Death finds Wolfe and Archie trying to solve the murder of a fancy party planner, who is deliberately dosed with tetanus. She had originally consulted Wolfe about some anonymous letters that were sent to some of her clients, so Wolfe is motivated to find her killer since he wasn't able to prevent her murder. The black orchids show up on the coffin at the funeral, which is framed by Archie as a mystery — why did Wolfe send one of his precious on someone he barely knew? That mystery isn't solved, but since I couldn't see the point of it other than to provide a tenuous thread between the two novellas, I'm not bothered by the dangling plot point.
This isn't one of my favorites, but it's fine. I probably wouldn't have re-read it without prompting but I'm not sorry to have done so.
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LibraryThing member tuckerresearch
I was introduced to Nero Wolfe through the amazing Nero Wolfe A&E series, so I see Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin, et al. So, after a hiatus of several years, I got a hold of And Be a Villain and liked it, so I decided to get them all so I could read them in order
This one is number 9, from 1941 and 1942, two stories collected together as Black Orchids: "Black Orchids" and "Cordially Invited to Meet Death." Two shorter stories, which makes it easier to read them, but some of the character development is lost. The world war in Europe has begun, but there is no hint of rationing or America at war (which makes me think the latter story was written in 1941, but published only in early 1942). Archie is a wonderful narrator and fun to read. Wolfe, once again in one story, leaves the brownstone. Wolfe stories always have these odd characters and situations. A flower show. A party planner and "orangutan." Two decent mystery stories; a good diversion.
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(from 1934 to 1975).This one is number 9, from 1941 and 1942, two stories collected together as Black Orchids: "Black Orchids" and "Cordially Invited to Meet Death." Two shorter stories, which makes it easier to read them, but some of the character development is lost. The world war in Europe has begun, but there is no hint of rationing or America at war (which makes me think the latter story was written in 1941, but published only in early 1942). Archie is a wonderful narrator and fun to read. Wolfe, once again in one story, leaves the brownstone. Wolfe stories always have these odd characters and situations. A flower show. A party planner and "orangutan." Two decent mystery stories; a good diversion.
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