This is a fabulous example of a Nero Wolfe story, and one of my favorites. However, this would also be a terrible book to start with to introduce Nero.Part of what makes this book so terrific is Rex Stout has spent the last 20 some odd stories (including those books with more than one story) setting the rules and habits of Nero's house and habitation. He is nearly religiously devoted to his daily periods with his orchids, and meal times are strictly non-business situations. Additionally, he rare...

In both And Be a Villain and The Second Confession, Nero Wolfe's Moriarty analog, crime boss, Arnold Zeck had sharp but long-distance encounters with Wolfe. These episodes hinted that in some future book Zeck would play a leading role -- and now he does.It all begins when a lonely, wealthy and self-described "homely" woman comes to Wolfe's office wishing to discover the source of her husbands' new income. She had cut him off, but somehow he was suddenly rolling in it. She suspects her younger an...

I began this book a month back ( read a chapter and could not continue ) . Read it at a stretch over last couple of days. One of the best Nero wolfe mysteries by Rex stout. Wolfe escaping from his home for a few months, Archie as a free lancing detective , a gripping plot.... Need I say more ?

As is usually true of trilogies and denouements of the Moriarty Gambit this book didn’t quite deliver all that was promised in the lead up. Warnings: many spoilers to follow.On the purely “I figured things out before Wolfe/Goodwin revealed it” front I nailed Leeds as at least involved with Zeck by the time Zeck called the house post sausage warning. After the detailed description of the dogs and their reactions to Goodwin my first question after the murder itself was “how did the murderer get so...

It has been several months since I listened to Michael Pritchard narrate one of the Nero Wolfe stories. I really missed listening to his voice.What a shock that Wolfe could walk out and disappear and leave Archie to establish a business of his own. For the details, sorry, you need to find out for yourself! This is one of the best of them.

You heard the beginning of this story often enough: a wealthy plain looking woman married a handsome younger guy (would "bought him" be a better term?) The only two things the latter has are exactly the ones I already mentioned: youth and good looks; the money comes from his wife. At one point he increased his demands for money; the wife refused him and - to her complete surprise - he continued his lavish lifestyle without visible means of supporting it. Nero Wolfe avoids divorce cases like a pl...

The third in the Arnold Zeck series of Nero Wolfe novels. I read this one years ago, but I had forgotten just how good it is. There are two plots, each related to the other: one involving criminal genius Arnold Zeck who has Wolfe so frightened? determined? that he abruptly leaves his beloved brownstone and disappears, leaving Archie with nothing but a note saying "Don't try to find me." The other is a more-or-less standard mystery involving a body discovered by Archie early in the book, and his

In the Best Families open as a traditional Nero Wolfe mystery with Wolfe being asked to investigate the secret source of money a wealthy woman’s husband has come into, but things take an unexpected twist when Stout’s Moriarity, Arnold Zeck, warns Wolfe off the case. Wolfe, of course, doesn’t listen and his client ends up dead the same night triggering the most bizarre of Nero Wolfe mysteries as Wolfe flees his home and goes underground to plot the downfall of Zeck—a criminal so influential that

This was a great book throughout it's 2nd act. The most fascinating part of the book is when Wolfe disappears, leaving Archie and the rest to fend for themselves.For Archie, there's the question of how to deal with feeling being abandoned by someone who was almost a father figure to him. The complexity of the Wolfe-Archie relationship is in full force here. One thing that stands out in this book with Archie on his own is that Archie is, in many ways, as eccentric as Wolfe. However, Archie's ecce...

This Wolfe mystery went off the rails, but I won't tell you how.It was a very interesting story with a lot of unexpected twists all the way to very end.

As good as I hoped it would be - think reading the three Zeck books after the first book in the series was a great way to get an intro to Nero Wolfe, even though it goes against my usual rule of reading series in order. This one was the best yet and a bit different as Nero Wolfe goes into hiding so Archie has a more prominent role. A very satisfactory ending as well. Might read a few more of these now as they are a great light read although the whole series is 47 books so I'll perhaps not attemp...

Aging millionairess Mrs. Rackham asks Nero Wolfe to find out where her penniless husband has suddenly been obtaining mysteriously large sums of money, a request that leads to murder and to threats against the master detective himself.Review:Dear readers,I am a big fan of Niro Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, I think I have read most of the novels Rex Stout wrote about them in Russian and English, some - more than once. Recently I discovered some audiobooks of those novels in Russian and even though I a...

Another wonderful entry in the series featuring great upheaval in the lives of all involved with Nero Wolfe. Great snarky remarks from Archie, and a central role for him. Highly recommended, these books always make me smile.

4.5*The final book involving Arnold Zeck. (view spoiler)[When, after ignoring another warning from Zeck, Archie discovers Wolfe's client's murdered body, he enters the strangest case of his career. Returning to the NY brownstone, he finds that Wolfe has disappeared and arrangements made for new jobs for Fritz and Theodore with the only message for Archie himself a command to not look for Wolfe. (hide spoiler)]It was nice to see a brief reappearance of Lily Rowan in this book.

Nero Wolfe is a private detective with a moral sense of earning his pay, dislike for women, an obession with orchirds and food, a devoted assistant Archie Goodwin, and a healthy regard for money. He has been hired to find out where Mrs. Sarah Rackham husband is receiving his money. Mrs. Rackham has not given her husband any money for months. The next day Mrs. Rackham is murdered and this set's the stage for Nero Wolfe. The facade starts to crack when it is discovered that Mr. Barry Rackham is in...

I listened to this audiobook. Reclusive, eccentric, enigmatic Nero Wolfe is a genius private detective who never leaves his Manhattan brownstone. Archie Goodwin is his personal assistant and acts as Nero’s eyes and legs. We hear of their cases through Archie’s witty narrative. A wealthy woman hires Nero to uncover how her unemployed husband is suddenly getting money to spend. Nero sends Archie to the woman’s home under the pretense of investigating the poisoning of a dog belonging to the woman’s...

In the Best Families (1950) tells of Nero Wolfe's battle to the death with Arnold Zeck (his Professor Moriarty) in which the great detective goes underground--leaving Archie in the dark and in the lurch--to prepare for their final confrontation.This is the third and final volume of the so-called Arnold Zeck Trilogy. The other two are And Be a Villain (1948) and The Second Confession (1949) It is a fine end to the series, and a satisfying adventure in itself. These three books are among Stout's b...

This is the best out of the first 20 or so Nero Wolfe books, which are all good. Wolfe finally is forced to address a threat which has repeated itself several times previously, and the result is a story which has to deviate from the formula while still retaining all that is wonderful about Stout's creations.

Sherlock Holmes had Professor Moriarty. For Nero Wolfe his nemesis is Arnold Zeck. Twice before they have squared off (see And Be a Villain and The Second Confession). Now they will meet in a final battle. If you are familiar with Nero Wolfe you know he rarely leaves his brownstone on West 35th Street in New York. He spends two hours twice a day with his orchids. His meals are prepared by his personal chef, Fritz Brenner. He likes beer. In this story he leaves all of that and goes underground.It...

The final installment of the Zeck trilogy, this is one of my favorite Nero Wolfe mysteries. Master criminal Arnold Zeck is Wolfe's counterpart to Sherlock Holmes' Moriarty. This book is unusual in that homebody Wolfe actually leaves home for almost five months to prepare for a showdown with Zeck. Archie Goodwin doesn't know where he is and has to carry on by himself. If you're familiar with the Sherlock Holmes canon, you'll notice parallels between this novel and Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Final