A review by jbleyle63
Black Orchids by Lawrence Block, Rex Stout

5.0

This is the fourth or fifth time I've read this collection of two novellas loosely connected by the titled Black Orchids. Though plotting is generally not Stout's strong suit, this book features two of his most entertainingly conceived murders. But the banter between Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe is the major reason I continue to read and reread this series. Nero's verbal exchange with one of his operatives about whether "contact" can be used as a verb pleasantly stood out in this reading with Nero dropping the mic by saying, "Contact is not a verb under this roof." Indeed a pleasure!