::AMAZON REVIEWS::

Maybe Stout's best Archie Action Scene....
"Golden Spiders", first published in 1953, now in print both as a single and as combined with "Some Buried Ceasar" (Some Buried Caesar/The Golden Spiders (Nero Wolfe Mysteries), has one of Wolfe's best chuckle-producing introductions, which I give because it won't spoil any surprises. As always, it's in Archie's storytelling voice:

"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.

"Fritz's mood should be explained. Each year around the middle of May, by arrangement, a farmer who lives up near Brewster shoots eighteen or twenty starlings, puts them in a bag, and gets in his car and drives to New York. It is understood that they are to be delivered to our door within two hours after they were winged. Fritz dresses them and sprinkles them with salt, and, at the proper moment, brushes them with melted butter, wraps them in sage leaves, grills them, and arranges them on a platter of hot polenta, which is thick porridge of fine-ground yellow cornmeal with butter, grated cheese, and salt and pepper.

"It is an expensive meal and a happy one, and Wolfe always looks forward to it, but that day he put on an exhibition. 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."

"Fritz, knowing Wolfe as well as I did, aware that this was a stroke of discipline that hurt Wolfe more than it did him and that it would be useless to try to parley, reached for the platter, but I put in, "I'll take some if you don't mind. If the smell won't keep you from enjoying your eggs?"

"Wolfe glared at me.

"That was how Fritz acquired the mood that made me think it advisable for me to answer the door. When the bell rang Wolfe had finished his eggs and was drinking coffee, really a pitiful sight, and I was toward the end of a second helping of the starlings and polenta, which was certainly edible. Going to the hall and the front, I didn't bother to snap the light switch because there was still enough twilight for me to see, through the one-way glass panel, that the customer on the stoop was not our ship coming in.

"I pulled the door open and told him politely, "Wrong number." I was polite by policy, my established policy of promoting the idea of peace on earth with the neighborhood kids. It made life smoother in that street, where there was a fair amount of ball throwing and other activities.
"Guess again," he told me in a low nervous alto, not too rude. "You're Archie Goodwin. I've gotta see Nero Wolfe."
"What's your name?"
"Pete."
"What's the rest of it?"
"Drossos. Pete Drossos."
"What do you want to see Mr. Wolfe about?"
"I gotta case. I'll tell him."

"He as a wiry little specimen with black hair that needed a trim and sharp black eyes, the top of his head coming about level with the knot of my four-in-hand. I had seen him around the neighborhood but had nothing either for or against him. The thing was to ease him off without starting a feud, and ordinarily I would have gone at it, but after Wolfe's childish performance with Fritz I thought it would do him good to have another child to play with."

Other plot highlights include a touching & ironic (never sentimental) scene around a death, some good New York hoodlum scenes - Stout draws these characters well -- and perhaps the best Archie action scene in Wolfedom, exciting and, as always, with some grins, including Archie self-grins. If you want a plot summary - and I wouldn't recommend it; why spoil the surprises? - go to Wikipedia, which has all the summaries of Stout's Wolfe novels.

I've given this extended quote mainly for the newcomers and for those who may have forgotten just how good Stout's writing can be. He delights not only in reading, but also in re-reading, even when I know what's next. If this quote entices or even just intrigues, buy this book and give it a read. You may become a Wolfe fan, or as we say, a member of the Wolfe Pack!

One of my least favorite in the series
A young boy offers to split a case to Wolfe and is murdered for his troubles. Archie, the man responsible for bringing the boy to see Wolfe in a fit of pique, is deeply troubled and forces Wolfe to pursue the matter. THE GOLDEN SPIDERS touches home with this beginning, but sadly loses focus with a more traditional approach when other elements enter the story. Even though the case is solved, it always struck me as irritating that the boy's mother who is used so well by Stout earlier in the story, is totally ignored by its end. I always found this emotional distance a bit off-putting about this book; it's almost like Stout was afraid of allowing his characters more than one human moment. For this reason this is one of my least favorite of the Wolfe series.

A Great Mystery Novel
What make the Nero Wolfe mysteries so great, in my opinion, is that they not only provide a neat, perplexing problem for the reader to try to solve, but they also feature interesting characters, unexpected plot twists, superb dialogue, and more.

I particually like Golden Spiders because the premise is so unique.

Also recommended:The Long Goodbye--another great mystery--the kind they just don't write anymore.

Even Rex Stout wasn't perfect every time
The Golden Spiders starts out a bit unusually for a Nero Wolfe mystery. A young boy comes to Wolfe's office to tell him that he saw a woman wearing earrings that looked like golden spiders ask for the police while cleaning her windshield. Normally, a child would never even be admitted to Wolfe's presence but due to a bit of sniping between Archie and Wolfe, things are allowed to proceed. As is usually the case when someone comes to see Nero, a death ensues. In this case, the boy dies and two more people involved in the case quickly follow him to the great beyond. Wolfe puts Archie on the case as well as his entire cast of freelance detectives.

The Golden Spiders is one of the shorter Nero Wolfe novels but it didn't feel that way to me. Somehow it felt much more like a paint-by-the-numbers formula Nero Wolfe novel and it is the first I've read that felt lifeless and wooden. The humor that is such a mainstay of the series is lacking to the point that I only chuckled once or twice where I would usually find quite a lot to laugh at. The mystery also plods along after the unusual setup and none of the suspects is particularly interesting or lively. I have certainly read worse novels than The Golden Spiders but if you're looking for a good Nero Wolfe novel I would say that you could do far far better. Some Buried Caesar and Over My Dead Body are just two that come to mind that are much more entertaining.

Wolfe's Morality
In every Nero Wolfe book you get some exposition to Nero's moral code. Here, since a young boy ate at his table, Nero feels compelled to investigate his death.

It leads to a great story. On the morality point, though, Inspector Cramer gets something of a last word in: Of all the homicides Cramer has to investigate, the victim's class, status or dining at Wolfe's table plays no role. In so many stories, Cramer is intently curious about who Wolfe's client is; when he hears these circumstances, he gets even more angry than usual.

Which seems backwards, in a way: Wolfe appears to be acting altruistically, and Cramer gets mad at him for it. But, actually, Cramer's right: his job involves seeing a constant parade of injustice and depravity, and he does not have the luxury of picking his cases.

You gotta love Inspector Cramer for that...