Speaking as a fan of Rex Stout's mysteries about Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, I am delighted to find that every time I write about one of those mysteries in the Classic Mysteries vault, I get a good response from my visitors. That being the case, let me call your attention to the fourth of those mysteries which appeared in book format in 1937. It's called The Red Box, and I recorded an audio review several for the Classic Mysteries podcast years ago. I thought you'd be interested - and, if you haven't read The Red Box, or read it some time ago, I think you may enjoy the review; you'll certainly enjoy the book. Here's a transcript of that review:
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The story begins with a two-pound box of chocolates – and a murder. The box itself was fairly nondescript, a brown box with an assortment of candies inside. A young woman, a fashion model for an exclusive clothing designer, ate just one of the candies – and died of cyanide poisoning. Unfortunately, that was all anybody could discover. Nobody claimed to have any knowledge of the box, or where it came from, or who put it where it was found; nobody had seen anyone leave it or even touch it, for that matter. The police were getting absolutely nowhere.
That’s when Nero Wolfe was persuaded to get involved in the case. And he discovered that the story of that brown box of chocolates would only make sense when it was connected with another box – a red box that belonged to a dead man. And nobody knew where that box might be hidden. It proved to be a difficult and very tricky case for Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin (not to mention Inspector Cramer of homicide). You can read all about it in The Red Box, by Rex Stout.
First published in the American Magazine in 1936, and in book form in 1937, The Red Box was only the fourth of Rex Stout’s novels featuring Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. It is well-known that Wolfe never leaves the house on business (or at least hardly ever), but he is inveigled into doing so in the case of the young model who ate a piece of candy and died.
It becomes fairly evident quite quickly that the wrong victim may have died – in other words, that the poison was intended for someone else. And while Wolfe has fairly good reason to think, early in his investigation, that he knows the murderer’s name, he admits that he has not a shred of evidence. Quite clearly, the killer’s motive is going to be very important in establishing identity – but what could that motive have been? The answer may lie in that mysterious red box which belonged to one of the murder victims – for there will be more deaths. And nobody knows exactly where that red box is hidden – or the nature of its contents.
Wolfe’s investigation, of course, runs parallel to the official police investigation headed up by Inspector Cramer. It’s worth noting that in this early entry in the Wolfe canon, Cramer seems much mellower than he does in later books. In The Red Box, Cramer regards himself much more as Wolfe’s partner than as a rival investigator, and though the two spar regularly about how much Wolfe knows and whether he is withholding vital evidence – such as that red box, for example – Cramer still allows Wolfe a great deal of leeway, even bringing the suspects together at the end for one of Wolfe’s office confrontations where the killer’s identity will be revealed.
As always, the story is narrated by the irrepressible Archie Goodwin, which guarantees a fast, funny delivery, full of wisecracks, with plenty of first rate quotes from Nero Wolfe as well, who is, as always, irascible and sharp. At one point, for example, while talking to a wealthy client, he observes, “Nothing is more admirable than the fortitude with which millionaires tolerate the disadvantages of their wealth.”
The Red Box is really quite good, and it’s fun to watch how the regular series characters are being developed by Rex Stout. Inspector Cramer, as I’ve noted, seems much more tolerant of Wolfe’ taste for dramatic confrontations than he is in later books. It’s also worth noting that he actually does smoke a couple of cigars here; in later books, he never seems to do more than chew on an unlit cigar. As a "born-in-New-Yorker," I'd also point out that the address for Wolfe’s brownstone on West 35th Street in New York City is given here as 918 West 35th Street, which would put it smack in the middle of the Hudson River.
The Nero Wolfe books do not have to be read in order, although there are a couple of references in this one to earlier books in the series. If you haven’t met Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin, Fritz Brenner, Saul Panzer, Inspector Cramer and the others, The Red Box is an ideal place to start making their acquaintance. They are very good company.
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If you want to listen to the complete audio review of The Red Box, please click here.
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