So how would Nero Wolfe celebrate the Fourth of July? Well, on one occasion at least, he "celebrated" by getting himself dragged into a murder case, when a Fourth of July speaker got himself killed while Wolfe and Archie Goodwin were on hand on New York's Long Island. Wolfe and Archie immediately run afoul of the Long Island authorities, and Wolfe finds himself forced once again to find and deliver the killer before the police make his life totally miserable.
The novella is called "Fourth of July Picnic," and it's one of four in the collection "And Four to Go
I recently re-read all the Nero Wolfe short stories I have on hand, Les, and FOUR TO GO was one of the collections. I hadn't read the short stories in years. They do hold up. I'm not a big short story fan, but I like these a lot.
One good thing about having a faulty memory is that I can re-read these now and then almost as if I were reading them for the first time. Though once I get into the story, I usually remember parts of it. :)
Posted by: Yvette | July 08, 2012 at 03:28 PM
I lost a lot of Rex Stout Novel during hurricane Hugo. Novel my Grandmother left to my father. Hurricane Hugo took the house roof and my prize possession. I never got to read Curtains For Three,Three Doors To Death and The Final Deduction.
Posted by: John Roebuckj | July 08, 2012 at 04:22 PM
Yvette, I think many of the Wolfe short stories are as good as - or better than - the novels. And I know my own faulty memory is actually a plus when it comes to rereading these!
Posted by: Les Blatt | July 08, 2012 at 09:48 PM
John, I'm so sorry about your losses. Most of the books - collections and novels alike - are still pretty easy to find, and I think they are now all available in electronic editions. I hope you do get to read the ones you missed!
Posted by: Les Blatt | July 08, 2012 at 09:50 PM