liliales's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second of eleven Nero Wolfe books I'm gathering this season in order to complete my collection. It was written about 15 years after the one I read a few days ago, The League of Frightened Men, and is quite different in style and tone. It's the style most people think of when they think of a Rex Stout book, that is, if they do at all. Much less prosey, much more Archie's story. In a way, this is a strength, because if Archie is telling us a story, despite his near-perfect memory, he's going to share more "goddammits" and fewer retellings of Wolfe's theories on life and the meaning of it all. And it's almost endearingly sexist in a way a book just couldn't be these days.
As to the story itself. It's a pretty good one. I could easily imagine it adapted for the screen, which for me means an organized story with good pacing, good characterizations, and just enough action to break up all the dialogue these stories are built on. The only passage I take real issue with is a nine page letter shared in full in the second half of the story. I'd have handled that in another way if I were laying out the plot myself.
If anyone reads this series of reviews, you'll notice I don't go into much or any specific detail about the plots. That's because to me, a series like this is much more about the characters than about the story. But I will say that if you have never read a Nero Wolfe story before, this one would be a fair one to begin with, keeping the time period in mind for context.
As to the story itself. It's a pretty good one. I could easily imagine it adapted for the screen, which for me means an organized story with good pacing, good characterizations, and just enough action to break up all the dialogue these stories are built on. The only passage I take real issue with is a nine page letter shared in full in the second half of the story. I'd have handled that in another way if I were laying out the plot myself.
If anyone reads this series of reviews, you'll notice I don't go into much or any specific detail about the plots. That's because to me, a series like this is much more about the characters than about the story. But I will say that if you have never read a Nero Wolfe story before, this one would be a fair one to begin with, keeping the time period in mind for context.
judyward's review against another edition
3.0
This book was published in 1951 and it is the 19th book in the Nero Wolfe series. While I often find this series to be a bit uneven, I have to admit that this particular book kept me guessing up until the very end. Two seemingly unrelated events come to Nero Wolfe's attention. First, Inspector Cramer shows up at Wolfe's office with a list of names found at the residence of a murdered man wanting to know if any of the names seems familiar to Wolfe. And then a wealthy businessman from the Midwest wants to hire Wolfe to discover who murdered his only daughter in an apparent hit-and-run. Leave it to Nero Wolfe to uncover the links between the two events and unmask the killer.
zeroiv's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
naluju's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
sjbanner's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
jviscosi's review against another edition
5.0
One of my favorite Rex Stout books (along with "Some Buried Caesar" and "Too Many Women"), with a killer who never makes a single stupid mistake and is (almost) as smart as Wolfe is.
hotsake's review against another edition
4.0
This was the most P.I. of any of the books in the series thus far and while I prefer the more mystery-heavy stories this was still a blast. Also, I noticed while doing this chronological read-through that although it is often stated and I had always agreed that Wolfe rarely if ever left his home, he leaves his home in an awful lot of these stories.
jennyrpotter's review against another edition
4.0
Another good Rex Stout mystery! I'd put this in my top favorite few.
slferg's review against another edition
4.0
Good mystery. A clerk in a law office turns up dead in a river. About three weeks later, a young woman who works in a publishing office is found run over - and the letter states she was meeting an author whose name was found on a list in one of the law clerk's books. The girl's father comes to Nero Wolfe for help in finding her murderer. The father does not feel that Joan's death was an accident - there is a bump on her head the police and coroner really can't account for. This is a difficult case for Wolfe. He puts all hands on deck looking everywhere for a clue and eventually sends Archie out to California to try to come up with something. Archie seeks help from a friend of Wolfe's in California with the errand and trap laid there.
Entertaining story and a deep mystery.
Entertaining story and a deep mystery.