"Three at Wolfe's Door"

Who's that knocking at my door?

Why it's three nasty little murder cases!

First, there's the problem of the gourmet who found that the arsenic sprinkled on his appetizer really didn't agree with him at all.

Then there was the female cab driver who pulled up outside the door...with a dead body in the back seat.

And finally, there was a party for some visiting rodeo stars where a visitor died rather suddenly when somebody decided to practice a fancy rope toss that wound up around the guest's neck.

We're talking about three interesting cases for Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin in "Three at Wolfe's Door," by Rex Stout. The 1960 collection of three novellas is the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the full review by clicking here.

It's worth pointing out that none of these cases which landed at Wolfe's door made Nero Wolfe particularly happy - but he wound up having to solve all of them, for a variety of reasons. After all, that deadly gourmet dinner was prepared by his own personal chef, Fritz Brenner. That cab driver showed up just as Archie had walked off the job, so Wolfe really had to get involved as well. And that deadly little party for the rodeo stars took place in the apartment of Archie's close friend, Lily Rowan, who promptly hired Wolfe to find out who had abused her hospitality.

I would argue that many of Rex Stout's novella-length mysteries are better than many of his full-length books, and I think that's the case with these three novellas. Yes, there are some better ones in other collections, but this is a thoroughly enjoyable collection displaying the talents of Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin and Rex Stout quite nicely. It seems to be available both in paper and as an e-book, and you should add it to your To Be Read pile.

 

Comments

[Margot Kinberg]

Les - You make an interesting point about Stout's novellas. I think more than many authors, he was a master of that length story. And although you're right that people differ about which is the best, I like this collection too and was delighted to see you highlighted it here. One of the things these stories make me think of is how often Wolfe gets involved in cases unwillingly. It's such a frequent theme and yet Wolfe does it well enough that it doesn't get 'tired' in my opinion.

[Les Blatt]

Agreed, Margot. Wolfe usually is dragged into a case kicking and screaming, more often than not by Archie (as in the case of the cab driver with the dead body). It's great fun to see how Archie is going to manage it.

[TracyK]

I was just looking at that book on my shelf, thinking about reading it soon. I have been wanting to re-read some of the collections of novellas, because I think maybe I don't have those memorized. I have read the Nero Wolfe series so often I know every line practically. Maybe I should try rereading the non-Wolfe mysteries by Stout.

[Les Blatt]

The non-Wolfe mysteries are fun, Tracy, although I miss Archie's voice in all of them. But Tecumseh Fox, Alphabet Hicks, Dol Bonner and even Inspector Cramer, on their own, are still pretty good company.

[Brokenbullhorn.wordpress.com]

This is a good collection and certainly deserving of the praise you give it. I'd have to disagree on the non-Wolfe books as being nearly as good, as I classify them as Not nearly as good. A point of personal preference, certainly, but a caveat as well.

- Richard

[Les Blatt]

Nothing wrong with personal taste, Richard, and - overall - the Wolfe books and novellas are much better than the non-Wolfe ones, although the latter still can be very enjoyable IMHO. In one case, certainly, Rex Stout rewrote a Tecumseh Fox novel, "Bad for Business," as a Wolfe novella, "Bitter End," which was MUCH better than the original, again IMHO.

[Yvette]

I re-read the shorts all the time, Les. I have a bunch of 'em in my Stout Stash. Rex Stout's novellas and/or short stories are wonderful. I'm not a big short story reader, but for Stout I break my own rules.

The only short story I don't like is the one that takes place at the baseball park where the star player is murdered. Know the one I mean? I can't remember what collection it is part of. But I don't like the whole idea of it. Maybe cause I like baseball too much.

[Les Blatt]

Yvette, I'm guessing you mean "This Won't Kill You," set at the World Series, which was part of the collection "Three Men Out." I haven't read it in a while, but I trust your judgment!