::AMAZON REVIEWS::

Always a good read!
"Age doth not wither nor custom stale" our friends at the brownstone on West 35th Street, New York. Literally. Part of Rex Stout's genius in his Nero Wolfe mysteries is that the seventh-of-a-ton sleuth and his indispensible agent (and our narrator) Archie Goodwin truly are ageless. No forced retirement to beekeeping (or in Nero's case, orchid-keeping) for these two. Lucky for us! If you haven't made their acquaintance, this novel is perfectly good place to start and should keep you coming back for more. Indeed, as Wolfe might (and, as Archie tells us, does) say, it's "subdolous."

Just As Described
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Kidnapping and mayhem!
If you are not familiar with the rotund armchair detective Nero Wolfe, here would be a good place to start. Nero is a gourmand who grows orchids, and happens to solve mysteries for a living. He and his wonderful sidekick Archie Goodwin are always in on the best cases! The setting is early sixties New York City, and the nostalgia alone makes each book worth it. In this book a very rich woman comes to Wolfe to have help getting her husband back who was kidnapped. Of course Wolfe does not understand women, but he makes his own deductions anyway. Archie and Wolfe find there is murder running alongside this kidnapping, and Wolfe needs to figure out what is going on. These books are great. They are intelligent mysteries with a lot of black humour to help them go down.

Oh what a tangled web we weave
Althea Vail is used to getting her own way, after all she usually got it. When she arrived on the doorstep of the brownstone though she found that she would not be catered to just because she was attractive and rich. Archie let her in only to annoy Wolfe. When the allure of both a large check and an intriguing problem was dangled in front of him even Nero Wolfe fell to the temptation. Althea's husband had been kidnapped and although she was determined to follow the kidnappers' instructions and deliver the ransom she wanted Wolfe to expose the kidnappers if her husband is not returned unharmed. Lured by the prospect of remaining at leisure for most of the year Wolfe agreed to take on the task. Little did he realize that he would soon be put to a great deal of inconvenience and acquire far more clients - and retainers - than he ever imagined.

The Nero Wolfe series bridges the gap between a straight detective story and the cozy genre. The problems are complex and intriguing, laid out fairly so the reader has as much chance as Archie to beat Wolfe to the solution while incorporating the cozy elements of recurring secondary characters, ongoing subplots and humor.

This is a usual Nero Wolfe adventure, we are treated to several rounds of verbal sparring between Archie and Wolfe, witness Orrie, Saul and Fred in action and even to see Wolfe forced to leave his house on a moment's notice. Fans of the series will delight in Wolfe forced out of his routine as much, if not more, than the intriguing problems that Wolfe and Archie are faced with in this one. Those who are new to the series would be able to enjoy this one but those who have at least a passing familiarity with this series will enjoy it more.

With Kidnapping Comes Murder
When Archie Goodwin ushers former stage actress Althea Vail into Nero Wolfe's office, he assumes she will be dismissed in just a few minutes. Instead, Althea lays out a tale of kidnapping that Nero can't resist.

It seems that Althea's current husband, Jimmy Vail, has been kidnapped. Althea is more then willing to pay the ransom, but she wants to hire Nero in case something goes wrong.

The ransom payment goes fine and Jimmy returns. In fact, everything seems to be going well. Until the police call and ask Althea to identify a body. Nero has put his reputation on the line for this case, so he can't let it go. But what is really going on? Meanwhile, Nero is also hired to find the missing ransom money. Can he do that without leaving home?

This is only my second outing with Nero Wolfe, but I really enjoyed it. Nero is an interesting character. I must admit I tend to like him in spite of his harsh demeanor. I'm sure that Archie really helps in that regard. The plot moves swiftly from one event to another. The solution was obvious yet so covered with red herrings I never saw it coming.

The book was written in the 60's, so that makes the occasional reference dated. On the whole, this is a strong mystery that will please any fan of the genre.