Status
Available
Series
Genres
Publication
Bantam (1983), Paperback
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:When Marko Vukcic, one of Nero Wolfe's closest friends, is gunned down in cold blood, the great detective takes it personally, pledging to do everything in his considerable power to bring the killer to justice. But Wolfe's reckless vow draws him to the most lethal case of his career, propelling the portly P.I. and his faithful factotum, Archie Goodwin, four thousand miles across the ocean to the hazardous mountains of Montenegro. Communist cutthroats and Albanian thugs have already disposed of Wolfe's friend and Wolfe's adoptive daughter . . . now they're targeting the world-famous detective himself. Introduction by Max Allan Collins �??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 h… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member jburlinson
Probably not the best book with which to make Nero & Archie's acquaintances, as both of them are required to operate under most uncongenial circumstances. They go to the mountains of Montenegro, where Archie isn't able to speak a word of any useful language and Nero has to hike, climb and get into
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a knife fight! If Archie can't talk and Nero must walk, then you're really not seeing them at their best. In addition, the somber opening (one of Nero's best [only] buddies is murdered) is highly atypical; the police are even solicitous of Wolfe's feelings! Zero detection and little ratiocination, but reasonably compelling. Show Less
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Nero Wolfe becomes his own client when his lifelong friend, Marko Vukcic, is killed. Wolfe's search for Vukcic's killer takes him back to his native Montenegro and to Vukcic's connections in an underground political movement. Since it would be dangerous for Wolfe to appear in Montenegro as himself,
I am a huge fan of the Nero Wolfe series starring Maury Chaykin and Timothy Hutton, but I hadn't read any of the books until now. If one book is anything to judge by, the TV series captured the essence of the books. Archie Goodwin is the first-person narrator, and I heard Timothy Hutton's voice in my head as I read. In this book, Archie was dependent on Wolfe as a translator since he doesn't speak a language other than English. Archie's thoughts during conversations he couldn't understand provide comic relief in some tense situations.
It never occurred to Wolfe or Danilo to give a damn whether I had any notion of what they were talking about, which I hadn't, but Meta couldn't stand a guest at her table feeling out of it, so about once a minute she turned her black eyes to me just to include me in. I was reminded of a dinner party Lily Rowan had once thrown at Rusterman's where one of the guests was an Eskimo, and I tried to remember whether she had been as gracious to him as Meta Vukcic was being to me, but I couldn't, probably because I had completely ignored him myself. I resolved that if I ever got back to New York and was invited to a meal where someone like an Eskimo was present, I would smile at him or her at least every fifth bite.
This might have been my first Nero Wolfe novel, but it won't be my last!
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he and his assistant, Archie Goodwin, use assumed names and identities. Between the physically demanding terrain and the risk of discovery of their true purpose and identities, will Wolfe and Archie survive their adventure?I am a huge fan of the Nero Wolfe series starring Maury Chaykin and Timothy Hutton, but I hadn't read any of the books until now. If one book is anything to judge by, the TV series captured the essence of the books. Archie Goodwin is the first-person narrator, and I heard Timothy Hutton's voice in my head as I read. In this book, Archie was dependent on Wolfe as a translator since he doesn't speak a language other than English. Archie's thoughts during conversations he couldn't understand provide comic relief in some tense situations.
It never occurred to Wolfe or Danilo to give a damn whether I had any notion of what they were talking about, which I hadn't, but Meta couldn't stand a guest at her table feeling out of it, so about once a minute she turned her black eyes to me just to include me in. I was reminded of a dinner party Lily Rowan had once thrown at Rusterman's where one of the guests was an Eskimo, and I tried to remember whether she had been as gracious to him as Meta Vukcic was being to me, but I couldn't, probably because I had completely ignored him myself. I resolved that if I ever got back to New York and was invited to a meal where someone like an Eskimo was present, I would smile at him or her at least every fifth bite.
This might have been my first Nero Wolfe novel, but it won't be my last!
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LibraryThing member MrsLee
Another of my favorites, Wolfe travels to his homeland in the Caucasus mountains.
LibraryThing member ostrom
Not only does Wolfe have to leave the brownstone (the horror!) and change his iron-clad schedule, but he also has to leave the country!
LibraryThing member MusicMom41
This was another road trip book. Jim liked this one better than most of the Nero Wolf series, probably because this one has more action as Wolf travels to Montenegro (Yugoslavia) to avenge the murder of his best friend Marko who owned Rusterman’s Restaurant and to discover who murdered his
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(Wolf’'s) adopted daughter. It's a good tale but I like the traditional ones where all Wolf has to exercise is his brain. When I read the book a couplle of years ago I gave it 5 stars so I kept the same rating. I remember it as one of my favorites--I prefer to read books rather than to listen. Show Less
LibraryThing member tzelman
Ambler-like Nero Wolfe in Montenegro--very out of character
LibraryThing member thornton37814
Wolfe's investigation into the death of his friend Marko Vukcic in New York City leads him back to his native Montenegro to search for the killer. He and Archie travel under a false identities since it would be dangerous to go as themselves. I started this book in audio format and finished it in
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print as the audio version just wasn't working for me. I did not watch the television program regularly and have not read other books in the series. I feel that I probably missed a lot of back story jumping into the series at book 23. Show Less
LibraryThing member Maya47Bob46
One of the best, if most improbable, Nero Wolfe books. Filled with details on 1950's Eastern European politics and the only story I can recall where Wolfe gets shot.
LibraryThing member sonofcarc
In several of the Nero Wolfe books, the great detective is able to solve the crime because he gets a lot of help from Rex Stout. In this one, he gets an ENORMOUS amount of help. However, I find improbability to be a minor issue when Stout's narrative skills are firing on all cylinders -- which they
What I want to know is what Stout relied on for his research. The physical and cultural depictions of Montenegro are highly convincing, although the author never went anywhere near the place AFAIK. (His wife Pola was from somewhere in Yugoslavia -- that may have had something to do with it.
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mostly are in this one.What I want to know is what Stout relied on for his research. The physical and cultural depictions of Montenegro are highly convincing, although the author never went anywhere near the place AFAIK. (His wife Pola was from somewhere in Yugoslavia -- that may have had something to do with it.
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LibraryThing member Leischen
One of the Best of Wolfe's series, relying heavily on his backstory. When his friend Marko Vukcic is murdered, Nero Wolfe, who hates to travel, is forced to go overseas to his homeland to track the killer.
LibraryThing member dbsovereign
Nero Wolfe forces himself to lose weight, go in disguise, and travel! This book breaks almost all of the Wolfe rules and stands out as a result.
LibraryThing member antiquary
I have mixed feeling about this book. It begins with the murder of one of my favorite characters in the Wolfe series, his old friend Marko Vukcic, and includes the death of his adopted daughter, another favorite character though n not such a major fixture in the series (a beautiful woman who is
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also a superb fencer --what's not to like?). It develops that the deaths are due to their involvement with an anti-Tito Montenegrin movement , the Spirit of the Black Mountain, and as Marko's killer has gone back to Yugoslavia, Wolfe follows him there, accompanied by Archie Goodwin disguised as his son. The rest of the book is more like a Cold War thriller than a normal Wolfe mystery -- Wolfe giving an exhibition of knife fighting is one highlight -- but Wolfe and Archie do manage to return with the killer and get him properly arrested in New York harbor. Show Less
LibraryThing member leslie.98
While this entry in the Nero Wolfe series is more of a thriller than a mystery, it also features Wolfe voluntarily leaving his New York brownstone to return to his native Montenegro in order to find the killer of his close friend Marko Vukcic. As Archie comments, he and Wolfe end up exchanging
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positions (primarily because Archie doesn't speak Italian or Serbian or any other foreign language). Show Less
LibraryThing member TomDonaghey
The Black Mountain (1954) (Nero Wolfe #24) by Rex Stout. When the closest friend that Nero Wolfe ever had is murdered, the detective vows to find the killer. That it would involve sending Archie to Montenegro, where Wolfe was born, would seem extreme. But Wolfe himself leaves his favorite chair,
The seemingly impossible happens. Wolfe, loyal to his friends, deadly to his enemies, takes on this mission of retribution seeking the killer no matter the cost to himself.
Fans of Wolfe and Goodwin are used to the latter doing all the footwork. Here, despite his massive size and lack of conditioning, Wolfe is compelled to face all odds and all enemies in an undercover operation in the torn world of Yugoslavia and the Balkans.
It is wonderful to read about true loyalty.
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travels about New York on the night the body was discovered, and ends up climbing mountains and fighting Russians in Albania.The seemingly impossible happens. Wolfe, loyal to his friends, deadly to his enemies, takes on this mission of retribution seeking the killer no matter the cost to himself.
Fans of Wolfe and Goodwin are used to the latter doing all the footwork. Here, despite his massive size and lack of conditioning, Wolfe is compelled to face all odds and all enemies in an undercover operation in the torn world of Yugoslavia and the Balkans.
It is wonderful to read about true loyalty.
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LibraryThing member AnnieMod
In most Nero Wolfe stories and novels, Nero does not leave his house. When he does, it is usually either because of his orchids, food or Archie - and even then, he goes somewhere, finds a place to sit and just does what he usually does in his office. And then there is this novel.
Marko Vukcic, the
It is a frustrating novel in more than one way - from Archie belly-aching every second page about how he cannot understand a word and needs Nero to translate or how unusually Wolfe behaves to characters which reads more like caricatures than real people. Traipsing around the mountains of Albania and Montenegro is not what you expect in this series - and the solution of the mystery almost falls into out laps (and Nero's) out of nowhere. We get to learn a lot more about Nero's past but that does not really help the novel much.
Maybe if the narration had shifted to Nero, it would have worked a lot better - the novel is upside down on who does what - with Archie not speaking anything but English (and he even has issues with the announcements in London where he asks what language they were in just to be told that it was English) but the narration stays with Archie and his reports based on what Nero translates (or does not). With Archie narrating, things just get annoying - his style works in New York but here his cleverness and puns misfire more often than not and the constant grumbling starts to get on one's nerves.
Definitely not my favorite book from the series.
Marko Vukcic, the
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restaurant owner and Wolfe's best friend since they were boys in Montenegro, is killed. Once Nero Wolfe gets the news, he surprises everyone by showing up at the scene and then even going to the morgue for the first time in his life. Unfortunately, none allows him to even start figuring out what happened so he returns home - to a visit of a woman he had not seen for a long time - his adopted daughter. Before long it starts looking very likely that the murder is tied to Marko's work with an illegal organization back in Montenegro. Once a second death is reported, Nero is off, with Archie of course, to Italy and from there illegally into Montenegro. It is a frustrating novel in more than one way - from Archie belly-aching every second page about how he cannot understand a word and needs Nero to translate or how unusually Wolfe behaves to characters which reads more like caricatures than real people. Traipsing around the mountains of Albania and Montenegro is not what you expect in this series - and the solution of the mystery almost falls into out laps (and Nero's) out of nowhere. We get to learn a lot more about Nero's past but that does not really help the novel much.
Maybe if the narration had shifted to Nero, it would have worked a lot better - the novel is upside down on who does what - with Archie not speaking anything but English (and he even has issues with the announcements in London where he asks what language they were in just to be told that it was English) but the narration stays with Archie and his reports based on what Nero translates (or does not). With Archie narrating, things just get annoying - his style works in New York but here his cleverness and puns misfire more often than not and the constant grumbling starts to get on one's nerves.
Definitely not my favorite book from the series.
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Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1954
Physical description
143 p.; 6.8 inches
ISBN
0553234528 / 9780553234527