A Nero Wolfe Mystery

Review of The Red Box by Rex Stout

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The Red Box
A Nero Wolf Mystery (4)
By Rex Stout

Star Rating: 
Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Number of Pages: 454

Date Started: December 27, 2016
Date Finished: January 4, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon)the-rubber-band-red-box
Murder by chocolate? That’s the premise Nero Wolfe must operate from when a beautiful woman is poisoned after indulging in a box of candy. It’s a case that the great detective—no stranger himself to overindulgence—is loath to take for a variety of reasons, including that it may require that he leave his comfortable brownstone. But he and Archie are compelled by a mystery that mixes high fashion and low motives…and a killer who may have made the deadliest mistake.

Review:
How can you not love the crazy characters in this novel? This story showcases many characters with different personalities and they are all quite in depth. Starting with a trick to get Mr. Wolfe interested, it is impossible not to want to learn more as the story progresses and we learn more about the Frost family.

Once again, I saw the characters as they were on the show A Nero Wolfe Mystery, and again I had an inkling what the end result would be– though I had no idea who the murderer was. Wolfe was absolutely genius in this one, and I didn’t see the ending coming.

rexAuthor Biography:
Rex Todhunter Stout (/staʊt/; December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction, particularly the 33 novels and about 40 novellas that featured the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin between 1934 and 1975.

In 1959, Stout received the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award. The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon XXXI, the world’s largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century.

In addition to writing fiction, Stout was a prominent public intellectual for decades. Stout was active in the early years of the American Civil Liberties Union and a founder of the Vanguard Press. He served as head of the Writers’ War Board during World War II, became a radio celebrity through his numerous broadcasts, and was later active in promoting world federalism. He was the long-time president of the Authors Guild, during which he sought to benefit authors by lobbying for reform of the domestic and international copyright laws,[specify] and served a term as president of the Mystery Writers of America.
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by CBS Radio and photographer uncredited [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Review of The Rubber Band by Rex Stout

/ authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

The Rubber Band
A Nero Wolf Mystery (3)
By Rex Stout

Star Rating: 
Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Number of Pages: 454

Date Started: December 26, 2016
Date Finished: December 27, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon)the-rubber-band-red-box
What do a Wild West lynching and a respected English nobleman have in common? On the surface, absolutely nothing. But when a young woman hires his services, it becomes Nero Wolfe’s job to look deeper and find the connection. A forty-year-old pact, a five-thousand-mile search, and a million-dollar murder are all linked to an international scandal that could rebound on the great detective and his partner, Archie, with fatal abruptness.

Review:
Having recently binge watched all of A Nero Wolfe Mystery I have to say, it’s quite easy to picture the characters as the actors– and that’s the only good way to picture them, in my book.

There is very little that can be said without giving away a plot. All of the characters were well done. Mr. Wolfe does an excellent job of protecting his client, and offering help but not forcing it on others. I was pleasantly surprised that I figured out the mystery before Mr. Wolfe revealed it, though I didn’t know as fast as he did, and I hadn’t known for sure which individual it was before he revealed it. Quite well done! I can’t wait to read more!

rexAuthor Biography:
Rex Todhunter Stout (/staʊt/; December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction, particularly the 33 novels and about 40 novellas that featured the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin between 1934 and 1975.

In 1959, Stout received the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award. The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon XXXI, the world’s largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century.

In addition to writing fiction, Stout was a prominent public intellectual for decades. Stout was active in the early years of the American Civil Liberties Union and a founder of the Vanguard Press. He served as head of the Writers’ War Board during World War II, became a radio celebrity through his numerous broadcasts, and was later active in promoting world federalism. He was the long-time president of the Authors Guild, during which he sought to benefit authors by lobbying for reform of the domestic and international copyright laws,[specify] and served a term as president of the Mystery Writers of America.
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by CBS Radio and photographer uncredited [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons