Along with many of my visitors to this blog, I admire and enjoy all of Rex Stout's books about Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. I am particularly fond of Gambit, one of only two Nero Wolfe adventures* to have a single word as its title. But that word is really singularly appropriate, for it works in several different ways in the course of the story - including the gambit used by Wolfe to resolve the plot. I did an audio review of Gambit for the Classic Mysteries podcast several years back, and I hope it will convince you that you really would enjoy reading the book. Here's a transcript - as usual, slightly edited. And what is a gambit, you ask? Read on!
- 0 -
In the world of chess, the word “gambit” refers to the opening move by a player in which a pawn or other chess piece is sacrificed to gain a strategic advantage. It is an interesting concept – particularly when it becomes the central image in a mystery featuring chess, chocolate, poison – and one of the world’s great detectives, Nero Wolfe. Gambit is the title of one of Rex Stout’s mysteries featuring Wolfe and his assistant, Archie Goodwin.
Gambit, originally published in 1962, may not be Rex Stout’s most ingenious book, but it certainly has one of the best opening scenes of any story featuring Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. And, for that matter, it also has one of the best office confrontations – what Archie calls “one of the best charades Wolfe has ever staged.”
Let’s begin with that marvelous opening scene: Nero Wolfe is seated in front of the fire in the front room of his house on 35th street in New York City, tearing pages out of the new, third edition of Webster’s New International Dictionary, Unabridged – and feeding them to the fire. As a lover of the English language, Wolfe cannot stand what he sees as the heresies of the new dictionary. Among other things, it encourages the use of the words “imply” and “infer” interchangeably. If this seems petty to you, well remember that Wolfe is a genius, and presumably must be allowed some leeway in defining acceptable behavior, especially in his own home. I don’t know if that conclusion is inferred or implied. But that image, of Wolfe sitting in front of the fire, feeding the offending dictionary to the flames, page by page, is – to me, at any rate - one of the most memorable opening scenes in any of the Nero Wolfe books.
This touching scene of domestic tranquility – well, I don’t know what else to call it – is broken with the arrival of a would-be client. Sally Blount has a problem: her father has been arrested for murder, with all the evidence seemingly weighted against him. Matthew Blount is accused of murdering Paul Jerin, a genius at chess, who was playing a dozen games of chess simultaneously with a dozen different opponents when he was poisoned. Seems that Matthew Blount gave Jerin the poisoned hot chocolate…and took the chocolate away afterwards and washed out the cup as well. The police think they have an open and shut case. Blount’s daughter Sally wants Wolfe and Goodwin to investigate and find a way to clear her father – despite the fact that neither her father nor his lawyer wants Wolfe to be hired.
And we’re off and running on a case which provides Wolfe with remarkably few clues. Archie wisecracks his way through the narration, as usual, with lots of wonderful lines. Wolfe gathers some significant clues – including one from Inspector Cramer who, as usual, doesn’t see the significance of his own information. There is another murder. And, in the end, even when Wolfe and Archie know the identity of the killer…they realize they haven’t a shred of evidence.
And that’s when Wolfe sets up that wonderful charade, as Archie calls it. As usual, he calls all the suspects together in his office and…
Ah, but that would be telling. You’ll have to read it yourself to find out what happens – and why.
Gambit can be a little frustrating because there are so few clues to work with. One result of that, however, is that when Wolfe and Goodwin get the information they need to identify the killer, the astute reader ought to be able to follow their logic and reach the same conclusion. But Gambit is much more about relationships – between Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, between Wolfe and Inspector Cramer, between Sally Blount and her parents. In the end, Gambit is a very satisfying mystery.
Oh, by the way, both Webster’s Third International Dictionary – the one Wolfe found so offensive – and the earlier, Second Edition are both still available. Speaking as an old English major, I’d have to say – Wolfe was right. Go with the second edition.
- 0 -
*The other single-word title is Fer-de-Lance. If there are others I've missed, I'm sure I'll hear about it from someone!
You can listen to the complete audio version of this review by clicking here.
Next: The Girl in the Cellar, by Patricia Wentworth.
Comments