The League of Frightened Men

by Rex Stout

Ebook, 2010

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Library's review

Paul Chapin was crippled during a college hazing incident, and the men who were responsible have had an uneasy relationship with him in the intervening decades, providing monetary support to him while also keeping him at arm's length. After one of them dies at a reunion gathering, all of the

surviving members receive a copy of a poem claiming responsibility for the man's death and promising that the rest of the self-styled "League of Atonement" will suffer the same fate. All of the men believe that Chapin both killed their friend and wrote the poem, but they can't agree on what to do about it, even as more members turn up dead. Eventually they land on Wolfe's doorstep, who agrees to undertake to rid them of the menace, whatever its origins.

This is just the second book in Stout's stellar series (published in 1935) and as such lacks the smooth and assured tone and pacing of latter entries. Because Stout was still trying to establish Wolfe's and Archie's personalities, the dialogue seems stilted and overly mannered. In later books Stout often provided a refreshing counterpoint to the prejudices of the day, but here the characters make free with disparaging epithets for the disabled that, although absolutely of the time period, are jarring to a modern reader's sensibilities. In short, a well-plotted psychological thriller more than a mystery, but the flaws are glaring enough to make it far from a favorite.

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Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:Paul Chapin�??s college cronies never quite forgave themselves for instigating the tragic prank that left their friend a twisted cripple. Yet with their hazing days at Harvard far behind them, they had every reason to believe that Paul himself had forgiven them�??until a class reunion ends in a fatal fall, and the poems, swearing deadly retribution, begin to arrive. Now this league of frightened men is desperate for Nero Wolfe�??s help. But are Wolfe�??s brilliance and Archie�??s tenacity enough to outwit a killer so cunning he can plot and execute in plain sight? Introduction by Robert Goldsborough �??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 inim… (more)