Fer-de-lance

Fer-de-lance. A Nero Wolfe Mystery. Rex Stout. 1934/1997. Random House. 304 pages.

There was no reason why I shouldn't have been sent for the beer that day, for the last ends of the Fairmont National Bank case had been gathered in the week before and there was nothing for me to do but errands, and Wolfe never hesitated about me running down to Murray Street for a can of shoe polish if he happened to need one. But it was Fritz who was sent for the beer.  

Fer-de-lance is the first Nero Wolfe mystery. It introduces readers to two private detectives, Nero Wolfe, and Archie Goodwin. I'm tempted to add in two of the BEST DETECTIVES in the world. But, I suppose that's just my opinion!

In Fer-de-lance, Fred Durkin introduces a woman to Nero Wolfe, Maria Maffei. This woman is worried about her brother, Carlo Maffei, who has gone missing. Archie Goodwin is sent to investigate. First he interviews those in the boarding house where Carlo lived--those that overheard Carlo's phone conversation; he then looks at Carlo's room, goes through his room looking for clues. He learns from Miss Anna Fiore that Carlo often gave her his newspaper after he was finished with it. The newspaper she got that Monday afternoon had a big hole in it--an entire article had been cut out. Nero Wolfe wants to know what article it was Carlo took such an interest in. After discovering the article was about the death of a golfer, Peter Oliver Barstow, he becomes interested in that death. Soon after Carlo Maffei is no longer missing at all--his body has been found. Though there is no obvious reason to link the two deaths together, to investigate them at the same time--especially since Barstow's death has been accepted as natural--Wolfe is convinced that the two are related. That Barstow was murdered. That his body should be exhumed and tested for poison. He's convinced that finding the murderer of one will lead him to solving the other murder. Who killed Peter Oliver Barstow? Was it poison? Who had motive and opportunity? And did Carlo know it was murder? Did Carlo know who killed Mr. Barstow? Is that how he ended up dead?

So Archie and Nero have plenty of work to do, plenty of clues to follow!

I enjoyed Fer-de-lance. It was fun to read the first mystery in this series. Archie and Nero are great fun in this one. Their dialogue still satisfies me. It's just so delightful to spend time with these two!

Nero Wolfe:

"A pessimist gets nothing but pleasant surprises, an optimist nothing but unpleasant." (3)

Nero Wolfe:

"Some day, Archie, when I decide you are no longer worth tolerating, you will have to marry a woman of very modest mental capacity to get an appropriate audience for your wretched sarcasms." (54)

Nero Wolfe:

"People often find it difficult to think in my presence, I do not leave enough space." (96)

Archie Goodwin:

"Everything that the doctor could tell me I had read three days earlier in the newspapers except for a bunch of medical terms which the papers hadn't tried to print for fear of a typesetters' strike." (139)

Archie Goodwin:

"You know what my boss says? He says that skepticism is a good watchdog if you know when to take the leash off." (143)

Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin:

"Tell Fritz there will be guests at lunch. What do boys that age eat?"
"They eat everything."
"Tell Fritz to have that." (165)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1934 , adult fiction , adult mystery , book I bought , mystery , Rex Stout

Three At Wolfe's Door

Three at Wolfe's Door. Rex Stout. 1960. Viking. 186 pages.

First sentence from Poison a la Carte: I slanted my eyes down to meet her big brown ones, which were slanted up.
First sentence from Method Three for Murder: When I first set eyes on Mira Holt, as I opened the front door and she was coming up the seven steps to the stoop, she was a problem, though only a minor one compared to what followed.
First sentence from The Rodeo Murder: Cal Barrow was standing at the tail end of the horse with his arm extended and his fingers wrapped around the strands of the rope that was looped over the horn of the cowboy saddle.

Three At Wolfe's Door--a Nero Wolfe Threesome--contains three novellas: Poison A La Carte, Method Three for Murder, The Rodeo Murder. Two of the three entertained me: Poison A La Carte and Method Three For Murder. (The third, well, let's just say that Rex Stout's blending of cowboys and cowgirls into New York City wasn't quite to my liking.)

In Poison A La Carte, Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe set out to solve which one of the twelve waitresses (or servers) poisoned Vincent Pyle. The evening was supposed to be pure pleasure. A gourmet meal served by lovely young ladies. Each young woman assigned to a guest. But this evening turned deadly, and it is up to these detectives to find out which woman had the greatest motive to commit murder. It's quite a puzzle, but if anyone can solve it...you can trust Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin!

Method Three for Murder is perhaps my favorite of this threesome. For it begins with a heated argument of sorts between Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe. An argument that ends with Archie leaving Wolfe's employment! On his way out the door, Archie meets a young woman, Mira Holt, who wants to consult with him. She has this question. She tries to make it hypothetical. What if a woman cab driver came back to her cab and discovered a dead body? Of course, Archie, even before seeing the taxi parked in front had his suspicions. But. He takes the case anyway--rushed into a decision perhaps by the arrival of some cops! Can Archie--with the help of Nero Wolfe--solve this mystery?

Rodeo Murder is my least favorite not only of this collection but of all the novels I've read so far. I'm not sure it's worth mention at all.

I enjoyed this one. I'm not sure I loved any of the novellas. Not when comparing them with the other Nero Wolfe novels I've read. Like The Golden Spiders. Like Some Buried Caesar. But I am glad I read it!

My favorite quote from Method Three For Murder:

Over the years at least a thousand people have asked me what the police think, and I appreciate the compliment though I rarely deserve it. Life would be much simpler if I always knew what the police think at any given moment. It's hard enough to know what I think. (95)

My favorite quote from Poison A La Carte:

A young woman to Archie Goodwin:

"I've seen you and I've seen your picture. You like yourself. Don't you?"
"Certainly. I string along with the majority. We'll take a vote. How many of you like yourselves? Raise your hands." (7)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1960 , adult fiction , adult mystery , library book , mystery , novellas , Rex Stout

Death of a Doxy

Death of a Doxy. A Nero Wolfe Mystery. Rex Stout. 1966/1996. Chivers Press. 202 pages.

I stood and sent my eyes around. It's just routine, when leaving a place where you aren't supposed to be, to consider if and where you have touched things, but that time it went beyond mere routine. I made certain. 

Orrie Cather asked Archie Goodwin to 'sneak' into his mistress' apartment to see if he could 'find' certain items that she is holding against him. She is demanding marriage; he is refusing. He is not only in love with another woman, he is going to marry this other woman, a flight attendant named Jill Hardy. But when Archie Goodwin enters the apartment--using Cather's key--he discovers a body. Isabel Kerr has been murdered. Of course, Archie makes a hasty exit, not wanting to be 'the one' who discovered the body. For how could he justify being there without making a mess of things? (This isn't the first time Archie has let others be the one to take credit for finding a body he's already found.)

So a few days later when Orrie Cather is arrested, it is time for Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin (along with a few other associates) to make a decision. How likely is it that their friend, their associate, committed this murder? How likely is it that he is innocent? If they believe he is innocent, they must do what they can to help their friend. They must find enough evidence to stop their friend from being convicted or even from going to trial. The police have stopped looking for other suspects, but Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, well their search for other suspects is just beginning! And so it begins...

I enjoyed Death of a Doxy. The more of these Nero Wolfe mysteries I read, the more I love them. I am just loving these characters. And I am finding Rex Stout's writing style to be completely delightful and charming. A near-perfect cozy mystery.

Archie waiting to speak with Isabel's sister and brother-in-law:

There are a lot of interesting things to do while you're waiting in an upper hall of an apartment house for four hours and twenty minutes. You can count spots and decide which has more, the left wall or the right wall. You can try to sort out smells and decide how many different flavors there are in the over-all effect. You can listen to the wails coming through the door of 7B and decide whether the little lamb is male or female and how old it is, and what steps you would take if you were inside. When people arrive or leave you can look straight at them and notice which ones look back and which ones pretend they haven't seen you. When a hefty, broad-shouldered woman turns after inserting a key into the lock of 7C and asks, "Are you waiting for someone?" you can say pleasantly and distinctly, "Yes," and see how she reacts. On the whole, it was time well spent. My one regret was that I hadn't brought along a chocolate bar, five or six bananas, and a quart of milk. (49)

Archie contemplating the 'nothingness' of his searching:

Of course anything is possible. It was possible that one of the women had thought that Isabel had pinched her lipstick and had gone to get it and got mad and bopped her, or that one of the men hated Rudyard Kipling and couldn't stand a woman who had him bound in leather, but you need something better than ten billion possibles to get your teeth into. Any little piece of straw will do, but you have to have something. For instance, statistics. There are two kinds of statistics, the kind you look up and the kind you make up. (95-96)

Archie on Nero Wolfe's "battle" with the TV:

I had had a long walk. Wolfe had had the Times and a book, and probably, while I was out, his weekly battle with television. That may occur almost any evening, when he has got disgusted with a book, but usually it's a Sunday afternoon, because that's when TV is supposed to be dressed for company. He turns on one channel after another, getting grimmer and grimmer, until he is completely assured that it's getting worse instead of better, and quits. (168)

Other Nero Wolfe mysteries that I've enjoyed: Some Buried Caesar. The Silent Speaker.  The Black Orchid. The Golden Spiders. 

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in adult fiction , adult mystery , library book , mystery , Rex Stout

Too Many Cooks

Too Many Cooks. A Nero Wolfe Mystery. Rex Stout. 1938/1993. Bantam. 240 pages.

Walking up and down the platform alongside the train in the Pennsylvania Station, having wiped the sweat from my brow, I lit a cigarette with the feeling that after it had calmed my nerves a little I would be prepared to move the Pyramid of Cheops from Egypt to the top of the Empire State Building with my bare hands, in a swimming suit; after what I had just gone through. But as I was drawing in the third puff I was stopped by a tapping on the window I was passing, and, leaning to peer through the glass, I was confronted by a desperate glare from Nero Wolfe, from his seat in the bedroom which we had engaged in one of the new-style Pullmans, where I had at last got him deposited intact. He shouted at me through the closed window: "Archie! Confound you! Get in here! They're going to start the train! You have the tickets!"
I yelled back at him, "You said it was too close to smoke in there! It's only 9:32! I've decided not to go! Pleasant dreams!"
I sauntered on. Tickets my eye. It wasn't tickets that bothered him; he was frantic with fear because he was alone on the train and it might begin to move. He hated things that moved, and was fond of arguing that nine times out of ten the places that people were on their way to were no improvement whatever on those they were coming from. (1-2)

Too Many Cooks starts off great. The first chapter provides so many laughs! As readers witness Archie and Nero Wolfe at their absolute best. Nero being made so vulnerable through his fear of the train ride ahead. Nero being so pathetic as he pleads for the recipe of his favorite-and-best sausage. And, of course, readers witness Archie's weakness as well--as he meets a beautiful young woman. (The daughter of a famous chef, the chef Nero is pleading with so enthusiastically!) Both Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin are on their way to a West Virginian spa. Nero Wolfe is even the guest of honor. He'll have the privilege of making a speech on American cuisine.

Ten of the world's greatest chefs will be gathering at Kanawha Spa. These chefs are elected members of Les Quinze Maitres. Among the celebrating, the speech-making, the tasting, the drinking, the dancing, the gossiping, they'll be electing three new members to replace those that have died since the last big gathering. (I believe they meet every five years?) There is much jesting, much teasing, much quarreling between members. And this leads to one making a boast and setting up a game--a test. It seems to be all in fun.

But then, this chef ends up dead.

Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin are on vacation. And at first Nero has no interest at all in 'helping' solve this one. But when this investigation complicates his plans to return to New York, his return to routine, he becomes more cooperative. Can Archie and Nero solve this one before anyone else gets hurt?

I liked this one. I just LOVED the first chapter or two. But this one has its squirmy moments, its awkward moments. You could say it shows its age in race relations. The use of the n-word, for example. The way African Americans are treated with hostility, disrespect, and mistrust by the local police and with condescension and kindness by Nero Wolfe. The way Archie is shocked or startled by the appearance of fourteen African-Americans outside Wolfe's door, they are there to be "questioned" by Wolfe as he tries to solve this one. He doesn't trust the police to do it right. And the way the murderer uses blackface as a disguise when he commits the crime. But it isn't only the treatment of one race or ethnicity that makes this one squirmy. The matter-of-fact way they speak about the Chinese wife of one of the chefs, an eyewitness to the crime. (The police may or may not believe her story. She is Chinese after all.)

There are many things about Too Many Cooks that I did enjoy. There were many things that made it a pleasant read, a satisfying read. It's a good mystery. And the dialogue between Archie and Nero is not to be missed. These two are so much fun! They are two of my favorite characters ever created. But I can't say that it's a perfect read.

Some of my favorite quotes:

Archie Goodwin to Nero Wolfe:

"I am not deaf, sir. And while you can beef as much as you want to, because it's your own breath if you want to waste it, I do object to your implying either in word or tone that I am in any way responsible for your misery. I made this speech up last night, knowing that I would need it. This is your idea, this trip. You wanted to come--at least, you wanted to be at Kanawha Spa. Six months ago you told Vukcic that you would go there on April 6th. Now you regret it. So do I. As far as our engine is concerned, they use only the newest and best on these crack trains, and not even a child--" (3)

Archie on love at first sight:

It takes a long time to know people. How are you going to tell about anyone until you know them? Take love at first sight, for instance, it's ridiculous. That's not love, it's just an acute desire to get acquainted. (23)

Archie being surprised by Nero:

For ten years I had been accustomed to being as sure of finding Nero Wolfe where I had left him as if he had been the Statue of Liberty, unless his house had burned down, and it was upsetting, not to mention humiliating, to find him flitting around like a humming bird for a chance to lick the boots of a dago sausage cook. (34)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1938 , adult fiction , adult mystery , book I bought , classics , mystery , Rex Stout

The Golden Spiders

The Golden Spiders. Rex Stout. 1953. Random House. 206 pages.

When the doorbell rings while Nero Wolfe and I are at dinner, in the old brownstone house on West Thirty-fifth Street, ordinarily it is left to Fritz to answer it. But that evening I went myself, knowing that Fritz was in no mood to handle a caller, no matter who it was.

I loved The Golden Spiders very much! Is it because I am absolutely loving Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin? Is it because I have found Rex Stout's books to be so charming, so satisfying? Perhaps! Since I seem to be loving each new book I read a little bit more than those I've read before. (Though I'm not sure I could *really* choose between Some Buried Caesar and The Golden Spiders.) I love the characters. I love the writing--the style of it. I love the mystery too. I love how Goodwin and Wolfe *solve* their cases.

In this mystery, Archie Goodwin interrupts Nero Wolfe's dinner to tell him that there is a child at the door--Pete Drossos. This Pete has a case to present to Wolfe. He has witnessed something--a possible crime--and he wants Wolfe to team up with him. While he was washing the windows of stopped cars in traffic--he saw (not heard) a woman ask him to get the police. She had a scratch on her face. And her earrings were quite unique--golden spiders. There was a man with her in the car--and the boy believed (though he didn't see with his own eyes) the man had a gun and was threatening the woman. Being distrustful of cops, the boy sought this famous man's help. Wolfe is interested--mainly because he knows that his interest will annoy Archie--and offers his advice on how to be a good private investigator. He also promises to call the police and let them know about the alleged crime leaving the boy's name out of it. A few days later, well, Goodwin and Wolfe learn that this boy has been the victim of another crime--a murder. The boy's mother insists on fulfilling her son's last request--to give all his money--four dollars and some change--to Wolfe. Wolfe then feels obligated to do something for the boy. True, that amount of money isn't his usual rate for clients, but this is a special case. Archie then suggests they place an ad in the paper looking for the woman with golden spider earrings...

This mystery is compelling! I enjoyed it very much. I would definitely recommend this one.

Nero Wolfe to Fritz on the matter of his starlings:

When the platter was brought in steaming, and placed before him, he sniffed, ducked his head and sniffed again, and straightened to look up at Fritz.
"The sage?"
"No, sir."
"What do you mean, no, sir?"
"I thought you might like it once in a style I have suggested, with saffron and tarragon. Much fresh tarragon, with just a touch of saffron, which is the way--"
"Remove it!"
Fritz went rigid and his lips tightened.
"You did not consult me," Wolfe said coldly. "To find that without warning one of my favorite dishes has been radically altered is an unpleasant shock. It may possibly be edible, but I am in no humor to risk it. Please dispose of it and bring me four coddled eggs and a piece of toast." (2)

Archie on Nero Wolfe:

As I went across to the office, to my desk, and dialed the number of Manhattan Homicide West, I was reflecting that of all Wolfe's thousand techniques for making himself obnoxious the worst was when he thought he was being funny. (9)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1953 , adult fiction , adult mystery , classics , library book , mystery , Rex Stout

Some Buried Caesar

Some Buried Caesar. Nero Wolfe Mystery. Rex Stout. 1938. Random House. 288 pages.

That sunny September day was full of surprises. 

Some Buried Caesar is my third Rex Stout mystery. And I am just LOVING Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. I am. I can officially call it love now. For Some Buried Caesar may just be my favorite yet. (The other two that I've read are The Silent Speaker and The Black Orchid.)

So Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe are "on vacation" you might say. They've taken some of Wolfe's orchids to an exhibition or fair where there will be judged. Many, many things are being judged--including livestock. So on their way, Archie has a car accident. The two decide--after some disagreement--that together they will walk to the nearest house to phone for help. But there's one little problem that becomes a big problem--the two decide to take a short cut through a pasture. Turns out the fence was there for a very good reason. A bull. A bull who sees Nero and Archie as threats? Or maybe just good fun? Anyway, Archie manages to reach the other side of the fence--in time. But Nero is stuck on a big rock--safe enough for the moment. But. Not safe enough to be *really* relaxed. He gets a GOOD LOOK at the bull while he's waiting to be rescued.

Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin just happen to stumble into a controversial mess. The bull in question is a prize bull destined--if all goes according to plan, the plan of his new owner--to be barbecued for a big, big party. An advertising scheme perhaps for this rich restaurant owner? Regardless, there are a handful of people that are very angry--violently angry perhaps?--about the fate of Hickory Caesar Grindon. How far will they go to "protect" this bull?

This may not sound like a great mystery--like a great book. But it is. It really is. I just loved so many things about this one! I loved the narrative voice. I loved the detail. How everything in this story comes together. I loved seeing Nero Wolfe become more involved in this case. We get to see him play  more of a questioning role perhaps? Though Archie Goodwin is still plenty busy! Anyway, I loved seeing the relationship between Archie and Nero. There was just something so delightful, so charming, so satisfying about this one!

I would definitely recommend this one! I think it would be a great place to start!

Archie Goodwin:

No man was ever taken to hell by a woman unless he already had a ticket in his pocket, or at least had been fooling around with timetables. (47)

Lily Rowan to Archie Goodwin:

Lily Rowan said, "Two chicken fricasee with dumplings."
"Wait a minute," I protested. "It says there they have beef pot roast and veal--"
"No." Lily was firm. "The fricassee with dumplings is made by a Mrs. Miller whose husband has left her four times on account of her disposition and returned four times on account of her cooking and is still there. So I was told yesterday by Jimmy Pratt. (79)

Nero Wolfe:

"There is no other form of human activity quite so impertinent as a competent murder investigation, and I fear you're not equipped to tolerate. Abandon the idea. You can mail me a check at your convenience--" 

"I'm going on with it.""Then prepare yourself for annoyance, intrusion, plague, the insolence of publicity--" (95)

Archie Goodwin:

In all ordinary circumstances Wolfe's cocky and unlimited conceit prevents the development of any of the tender sentiments, such as compassion for instance, but that afternoon I felt sorry for him. He was being compelled to break some of his most ironclad rules. He was riding behind strange drivers, walking in crowds, obeying a summons from a prospective client, and calling upon a public official, urged on by his desperate desire to find a decent place to sit down. (96)

Nero Wolfe:

"I am careful with my opinions, sir; they are my bread and butter and the main source of my self-esteem." (105)

Nero Wolfe:

"Tell me anyway. Of course I'm impertinent, but I'll have to decide if I'm also irrelevant." (120)

Lily Rowan to Archie Goodwin:

"Kiss me."
"I can't until I wash my face. Anyway, I told you that wasn't a precedent. I have to be careful. I kissed a girl once in the subway and when she came to she was on top of the Empire State Building. She had floated out through a grating and right on up."
"Goodness. Did you ever send one clear to heaven?"
"The place is full of them." (226)

Archie Goodwin to the local police (or perhaps the district attorney?):

"You have no judgment. It's perfectly true that there are people who can be opened up by making faces at them and talking loud, but if I was one of them how long do you think I'd last as Nero Wolfe's favorite employee, eating with him at his table?" (234)

Barrow to Nero Wolfe:

"Look here, Wolfe," he said in a nasty tone. "I've concluded you're no better than a waste of time, and probably worse." (236)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1938 , adult fiction , adult mystery , library book , Rex Stout

The Silent Speaker

The Silent Speaker. Rex Stout. 1946/1994. Random House. 288 pages.  

Seated in his giant's chair behind his desk in his office, leaning back with his eyes half closed, Nero Wolfe muttered at me:
"It is an interesting fact that the members of the National Industrial Association who were at that dinner last evening represent, in the aggregate, assets of something like thirty billion dollars."
I slid the checkbook into place on top of the stack, closed the door of the safe, twirled the knob, and yawned on the way back to my desk.
"Yes, sir," I agreed with him. "It is also an interesting fact that the prehistoric Mound Builders left more traces of their work in Ohio than in any other state. In my boyhood days--"
"Shut up," Wolfe muttered.
I let it pass without any feeling of resentment, first because it was going on  midnight and I was sleepy, and second because it was conceivable that there might be some connection between his interesting fact and our previous conversation, and that was not true of mine. We had been discussing the bank balance, the reserve against taxes, expectations as to bills and burdens, one of which was my salary, and related matters. The exchequer had not swung for the third strike, but neither had it knocked the ball out of the park. After I yawned three more times Wolfe spoke suddenly and decisively. 
"Archie. Your notebook. Here are directions for tomorrow."
In two minutes he had me wide awake. When he had finished and I went upstairs to bed, the program for the morning was so active in my head that I tossed and turned for a full thirty seconds before sleep came. (1-2)

I enjoyed The Black Orchid, but I really enjoyed The Silent Speaker. I just love, love, love Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. Archie makes for a GREAT narrator! There's just something so delicious, so satisfying, so fun about these Nero Wolfe books. (I can't wait to read all the ones my library has!)

So in The Silent Speaker, Archie and Nero Wolfe are trying to find a way to make some money. I guess you could say they are in between detecting jobs at the moment. There's just been a high profile murder. And though they've not been hired--by any one--Archie is going around town acting like he's on the case. He's interviewing people, writing down clues, making people nervous etc. Soon he's got a handful of people thinking that Nero Wolfe is just days away from solving the crime. So Archie's acting pays off. The NIA hires Nero Wolfe to solve this murder for them. Even though several NIA employees are on the suspect list. But the truth is, Nero Wolfe isn't exactly sure WHO committed this crime. (Or is he?!) You see, there's been a reward offered--a BIG, BIG, BIG reward. And Nero Wolfe may just be out to collect it! If he can outwit the police and everyone else.


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1946 , adult fiction , adult mystery , library book , Rex Stout

Black Orchids

Black Orchids. A Nero Wolfe Mystery. Rex Stout. 1941/1942. Random House. 208 pages.

First sentence of Black Orchids: "Monday at the Flower Show, Tuesday at the Flower Show, Wednesday at the Flower Show. Me, Archie Goodwin. How's that? I do not deny that flowers are pretty, but a million flowers are not a million times prettier than one flower. Oysters are good to eat, but who wants to eat a carload?"

First sentence of Cordially Invited to Meet Death: "That wasn't the first time I ever saw Bess Huddleston."

Black Orchids was my first introduction to Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. And oh how I loved them! The book was narrated by Archie Goodwin, and he had me practically at hello! (While I wouldn't say I loved him *more* than Miss Marple or Lord Peter Wimsey, I can definitely say that I love, love, love him as a narrator!)

So in this book, readers have two novellas. The first, Black Orchids, concerns a murder at a flower show. Archie has been made to go to this flower show day after day after day by his boss who is a little obsessed with orchids. And on the final day (or one of the final days of the show) they go together. And it just so happens that that is the day a dead body is found in one of the exhibits! Archie is the one who makes this discovery--that the "sleeping" man is REALLY not going to be waking up. The police are on the case, of course, as they usually are in detective stories. But Nero Wolfe with some help from Archie and a few others in his employ--may just solve the case first. This botany-themed mystery didn't wow me for its subject--but I did enjoy meeting Nero and Archie.

The second novella, Cordially Invited to Meet Death, is my favorite of the two. In this mystery, we meet Bess Huddleston, a snobbish party planner for the wealthy elite of society. She comes to Nero Wolfe looking for help. Someone is sending out nasty letters--in her name, on her stationary. This "poison-pen" must be stopped! But who is the one behind this unpleasantness? And do they want merely to embarrass her--or is her life at risk?! Archie, our narrator, begins to investigate the case by trying to get close to those who are closest to her, namely: two female assistants, a nephew, a brother, and a local doctor. Can Archie and Nero solve this one before it turns deadly?

Black Orchids is an enjoyable read! I found it very satisfying! I'm not sure how Black Orchids compares with others in the series--so I'm not going to say that this is my favorite or best, it's just too soon to say. But. I enjoyed it and would recommend it!


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1941 , 1942 , adult mystery , library book , mystery , Rex Stout