Welcome to Litsy!

Tonight I drank this excellent beer and finished my first novel-length Nero Wolfe mystery. It‘s from 1939, so expect some sexism & racial slurs, but the character dynamics are tops and the narrative voice is gold. I love how Archie Goodwin notices people‘s clothes, too. Suits are important.

Also of note: Rex Stout waged a personal campaign against Nazism during the war, and you can see the seeds of that here with how he handles the German agent.

Despite a few snarky remarks about women, I liked this one. It‘s my first time reading a Nero Wolfe mystery, so I was not quite prepared for the man himself and his gruff manner. Told from the perspective of his assistant, Goodwin, Wolfe has to sort out a puzzle connected to a death.

I‘d consider reading another in the series! #192025 #1955

This is an okay series. The mysteries are okay, but not spectacular. Meh.

I‘m really into these older mysteries. Some things do not age well but it‘s cool to see where the inspiration came from.

“that ten cent Clark Gable that thinks he‘s so slick he can slide uphill.” Is just a beautiful insult.

(1938) Nero Wolfe leaves the shelter of his NY brownstone for Jim Crow West Virginia and a gathering of master chefs. One of the chefs is murdered and when suspicion falls on one of his friends, Wolfe reluctantly takes the case. The mystery is pretty good, and Stout works in a pointed critique of the racial caste system, which reads a little awkwardly today but has aged better than you'd expect.

(1936) A theatrical producer begs Nero Wolfe to investigate the death of a model by poisoned chocolate -- but when Wolfe's investigation raises suspicions about the producer's niece, the producer orders him off the case. Pfft. As if. A dance of new clients and more bodies begins, to the tune of Wolfe's & Goodwin's trademark banter. The solution this time seems to emerge from nowhere, but I continue to enjoy this series.

#ArtfulAugust #IncludesAMap from left Rex Stout tagged book . Other title Appointment With Death , Agatha Christie.The Dell Mapbacks were published in the 1940s some collectors specialize in these.I adore them .

(1936) Third in Stout's mystery series featuring eccentric orchidist Nero Wolfe and his two-fisted assistant Archie Goodwin. In this one, Wolfe agrees to help a young woman recover an old debt owed to her late father. But Wolfe and Goodwin are soon protecting their client from charges of larceny and suspicion of murder. The plot is twisty, and the snappy narrative is entertaining. It's fun, and I'll soon read the next.

(1935) Second in Stout's mystery series featuring detective Nero Wolfe. In this one, Wolfe contracts with a group of men who were once involved in a college prank gone wrong. The victim was crippled for life -- and now appears to be picking off his old enemies one by one. I love the banter in this series between Wolfe and his partner Archie Goodwin; less of a fan of its thirties misogyny; but the setup and solution are clever.