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Nero Wolfe #1-2
Fer-de-Lance/The League of Frightened Men
A grand master of the form, Rex Stout is one of America’s greatest mystery writers, and his literary creation Nero Wolfe is one of fiction’s greatest detectives. Here, in Stout’s first two complete Wolfe mysteries, the arrogant, gourmandizing, sedentary sleuth and his trusty man-about-town Archie Goodwin solve their most baffling cases.
Fer-de-lance
The fer-de-lance is among the most deadly snakes known to man. When someone makes a present of one to Nero Wolfe, his partner, Archie Goodwin, suspects it means Wolfe is getting close to solving the devilishly clever murders of an immigrant and a college president. But this is a case with more twists than an angry rattler...and if Wolfe doesn’t handle it with extreme care, he’ll be the next one struck by a killer with poison in his heart.
The League of Frightened Men
Paul Chapin’s Harvard cronies never forgave themselves for the hazing prank that left their friend a cripple. Yet they believed that Paul himself had forgiven them—until a class reunion ends in death and a series of poems promising more of the same. Now this league of frightened men is desperate for Nero Wolfe’s help. But can even the great detective outwit a killer smart enough to commit an unseen murder…in plain sight?
Fer-de-lance
The fer-de-lance is among the most deadly snakes known to man. When someone makes a present of one to Nero Wolfe, his partner, Archie Goodwin, suspects it means Wolfe is getting close to solving the devilishly clever murders of an immigrant and a college president. But this is a case with more twists than an angry rattler...and if Wolfe doesn’t handle it with extreme care, he’ll be the next one struck by a killer with poison in his heart.
The League of Frightened Men
Paul Chapin’s Harvard cronies never forgave themselves for the hazing prank that left their friend a cripple. Yet they believed that Paul himself had forgiven them—until a class reunion ends in death and a series of poems promising more of the same. Now this league of frightened men is desperate for Nero Wolfe’s help. But can even the great detective outwit a killer smart enough to commit an unseen murder…in plain sight?
587 pages, Paperback
First published June 24, 2008
101 people are currently reading
248 people want to read
About the author
Rex Stout
833 books1,030 followersRex Todhunter Stout (1886–1975) was an American crime writer, best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the detective genius from 1934 (Fer-de-Lance) to 1975 (A Family Affair).
The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon 2000, the world's largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century.
The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon 2000, the world's largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
July 18, 2014
Nero Wolfe books are always a great pleasure to read, and the wonder is that it's taken me so long to get back to them. There were always a bunch around when I was growing up, but they aren't something I've returned to as an adult as much as I have to, say, John D. MacDonald. As mysteries, they're entertaining, but much of the pleasure lies in the world Rex Stout creates for his main character, the insular haven to which people must bring him problems, and which he rarely ever leaves.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
November 17, 2022
Two fun entertaining mysteries. The mysteries in the Nero Wolfe books are usually quite fun and clever but the biggest draw for me is the interplay between all the characters with Archie and Wolfe being the highlight. The first story has the outline for the rest of the series but the characters don't feel like the ones I know and love and while the second story comes much closer to the final form that the characters and stories will evolve into it has completely happened yet.
July 31, 2010
Rex Stout's Fer-de-Lance is the first of 40+ books (novels or short story collections) featuring the exploits of private investigator Archie Goodwin (2 parts Huck Finn, 1 part Philip Marlowe) and his eccentric employer, Nero Wolfe (1 part Sherlock Holmes, 1 part Mycroft Holmes)--yes, I am one of those who think that Archie's the main character in the mis-nomered Nero Wolfe Mysteries.
In reading about Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe (either by fans or professionals) there's an oft-quoted line from Walter D. Edmonds that you simply cannot avoid seeing, "I shall never forget my excitement on reading Fer-de-Lance, sprung like Athena perfect form the Jovian brow, fresh and new and at the same time with enough plain familiar things in scene and setting to put any reader at his ease." Aside from Oliver Wendell Holmes' margin note ("This fellow is the best of them all."), there's nothing that sums up Fer-de-Lance better, sprung like Athena indeed.
It really doesn't matter how many times you've read it, but upon re-reading (and probably even initial reading if this isn't your first encounter with Wolfe and Archie--my initial read was more than 20 years ago, so I don't remember) you can't help be struck by how much Fer-de-Lance fits the model of a mature Wolfe novel--almost all the elements are there. These characters are introduced in practically their final format--a little tweak here and there over the course of the first few novels (off the top of my head I can't say how many) will get them in their final form, plus the addition of a few other characters will be necessary, but the cast of characters is already over 90% complete. In the first chapter we already have Wolfe, Archie, Fritz, Theodore, Fred and Saul presented in a manner fully recognizable to the familiar reader. The story follows a fairly typical route ('tho the identity of the murderer is revealed far earlier than is the norm), and the essential environmental elements are there--the beer, Wolfe's eccentric schedule, the orchids, a relapse, the food, a cocky scheme to land a client, an outrageous stratagem for getting that last essential piece of evidence (not that Wolfe needs it to solve the crime, merely to prove he was correct)--the only thing missing is the gathering of the witnesses/suspects/clients for Wolfe to reveal everything in his characteristically dramatic fashion. One recurring thought I had while reading it this time was that this could just as easily have been the fifteenth installment in the series as the first.
As I don't recall reading about Stout consulting notes--and he's known not to rewrite any part of these stories--the fact that he can keep all the idiosyncrasies he establishes here well-intact over the next 40 years is a testimony to his mental prowess as much as anything else could be. (Contrast Stout to contemporary authors who find themselves re-writing their own protagonist's biographies thanks to their refusal to check their facts/fix errors).
Enough of that--what about the book itself? Wolfe takes a small case as more of a favor/indulgence/get-him-off-my-back to one of his operatives and in doing so, stumbles upon a fact or two that leads him to conclude that a university president has been murdered in a preposterous manner. Seeing (and seizing) the opportunity to earn a large fee from this, Wolfe sends Archie to place a $10,000 bet with the District Attorney responsible for the area the president died in--wagering that an exhumation of the body will produce two particular evidences of homicide. No bet is made, but since it's Nero Wolfe suggesting it, the body's dug up, the evidence found and we're off...
A fun read, a decent mystery (Stout will get better at this), great characters, and a good introduction to a wonderful world fit for revisiting over and over again.
The second installment in Stout's Wolfe/Goodwin series is a great follow-up to Fer-de-Lance, following up the outlandish machinations of the killer in the first novel with s more subtle, psychological criminal. The main characters don't really develop (ever), but they are honed somewhat as Stout solidifies his vision for the series.
Wolfe is approached by a man carrying both a burden of fear and guilt--back in college, he was one of a group of students (associated only by place of residence) played a prank on an underclassman which resulted in a tragedy leaving the victim crippled. Years later, these students are mostly very successful in their various fields but are bound together by this incident, they have periodically helped their victim in various ways throughout the years until he has found his own measure of success. However, it now seems that he has also taken to exacting his revenge on those he holds responsible, and Wolfe's prospective client wants the detective to put an end to it. Wolfe sends him away, but is eventually provoked by circumstances, money and, of course, Archie to take up the case -- investigating a missing persons case, two deaths, and potentially preventing many others.
Stout's novels are filled with all sorts of characters--particularly when the clients are committees, as in this novel. Most of the characters (even, occasionally, the villains) are little more than a name and a near-stereotypical collection of behaviors/remarks. But most stories feature a character or two (beyond the regular cast of characters) that really stand out and are memorable. TLoFM features two of these: Paul and Dora Chapin. Paul Chapin is an author of some talent, who was left crippled (physically) after the prank mentioned above, but he seems to have been born with an emotional/psychiatric disability that's worse than that--the physical injury just makes him even more demented. Contemporary authors might do more with his character, might explore the depths of his depravity more than Stout did, but they wouldn't do so as effectively. (incidentally, he has to be played by Michael Emerson if they were ever to film this). I really can't describe his wife without getting into spoiler territory, but the pair are amongst the most memorable of all Stout's creations.
This is closer to the fully-formed Wolfe novel than Fer-de-Lance, but it's not all the way there yet. For example, Inspector Cramer was smoking a pipe, not chewing a cigar; the chairs used in the office for the guests are non-descript (now that I'm looking for its first appearance, I'm really missing the red leather chair); and Wolfe uses a top-of-the-line atlas instead of his giant globe to take his fantasy trips away from a complicated case. But we are introduced to what will be mainstays of the series: large crowds assembled in Wolfe's office a time or two; his very dramatic revealing of the solution to the case; and best of all, the introduction of Wolfe's rival, foil, colleague, champion, and almost friend--Inspector Lionel Cramer of Homicide.
As with any Stout, there are a few handfuls of lines that deserve quoting and requoting, I really should've kept a notebook or something handy to jot them down. As it was, I only got three of them noted:
...with the quarry within reach, the purpose fixed, and the weapon in hand, it will often require up to eight or ten minutes to kill a fly, whereas the average murder, I would guess, consumes ten or fifteen seconds at the outside. - NW
She was following what Wolfe called the Anglo-Saxon theory of the treatment of emotions and desserts: freeze them and hide them in your belly. - AG
I felt uncertain too, when I saw her. They don't come any uglier...At that she wasn't really ugly, I mean she wasn't hideous. Wolfe said it right the next day: it was more subtle than plain ugliness, to look at her made you despair of ever seeing a pretty woman again. - AG
In reading about Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe (either by fans or professionals) there's an oft-quoted line from Walter D. Edmonds that you simply cannot avoid seeing, "I shall never forget my excitement on reading Fer-de-Lance, sprung like Athena perfect form the Jovian brow, fresh and new and at the same time with enough plain familiar things in scene and setting to put any reader at his ease." Aside from Oliver Wendell Holmes' margin note ("This fellow is the best of them all."), there's nothing that sums up Fer-de-Lance better, sprung like Athena indeed.
It really doesn't matter how many times you've read it, but upon re-reading (and probably even initial reading if this isn't your first encounter with Wolfe and Archie--my initial read was more than 20 years ago, so I don't remember) you can't help be struck by how much Fer-de-Lance fits the model of a mature Wolfe novel--almost all the elements are there. These characters are introduced in practically their final format--a little tweak here and there over the course of the first few novels (off the top of my head I can't say how many) will get them in their final form, plus the addition of a few other characters will be necessary, but the cast of characters is already over 90% complete. In the first chapter we already have Wolfe, Archie, Fritz, Theodore, Fred and Saul presented in a manner fully recognizable to the familiar reader. The story follows a fairly typical route ('tho the identity of the murderer is revealed far earlier than is the norm), and the essential environmental elements are there--the beer, Wolfe's eccentric schedule, the orchids, a relapse, the food, a cocky scheme to land a client, an outrageous stratagem for getting that last essential piece of evidence (not that Wolfe needs it to solve the crime, merely to prove he was correct)--the only thing missing is the gathering of the witnesses/suspects/clients for Wolfe to reveal everything in his characteristically dramatic fashion. One recurring thought I had while reading it this time was that this could just as easily have been the fifteenth installment in the series as the first.
As I don't recall reading about Stout consulting notes--and he's known not to rewrite any part of these stories--the fact that he can keep all the idiosyncrasies he establishes here well-intact over the next 40 years is a testimony to his mental prowess as much as anything else could be. (Contrast Stout to contemporary authors who find themselves re-writing their own protagonist's biographies thanks to their refusal to check their facts/fix errors).
Enough of that--what about the book itself? Wolfe takes a small case as more of a favor/indulgence/get-him-off-my-back to one of his operatives and in doing so, stumbles upon a fact or two that leads him to conclude that a university president has been murdered in a preposterous manner. Seeing (and seizing) the opportunity to earn a large fee from this, Wolfe sends Archie to place a $10,000 bet with the District Attorney responsible for the area the president died in--wagering that an exhumation of the body will produce two particular evidences of homicide. No bet is made, but since it's Nero Wolfe suggesting it, the body's dug up, the evidence found and we're off...
A fun read, a decent mystery (Stout will get better at this), great characters, and a good introduction to a wonderful world fit for revisiting over and over again.
The second installment in Stout's Wolfe/Goodwin series is a great follow-up to Fer-de-Lance, following up the outlandish machinations of the killer in the first novel with s more subtle, psychological criminal. The main characters don't really develop (ever), but they are honed somewhat as Stout solidifies his vision for the series.
Wolfe is approached by a man carrying both a burden of fear and guilt--back in college, he was one of a group of students (associated only by place of residence) played a prank on an underclassman which resulted in a tragedy leaving the victim crippled. Years later, these students are mostly very successful in their various fields but are bound together by this incident, they have periodically helped their victim in various ways throughout the years until he has found his own measure of success. However, it now seems that he has also taken to exacting his revenge on those he holds responsible, and Wolfe's prospective client wants the detective to put an end to it. Wolfe sends him away, but is eventually provoked by circumstances, money and, of course, Archie to take up the case -- investigating a missing persons case, two deaths, and potentially preventing many others.
Stout's novels are filled with all sorts of characters--particularly when the clients are committees, as in this novel. Most of the characters (even, occasionally, the villains) are little more than a name and a near-stereotypical collection of behaviors/remarks. But most stories feature a character or two (beyond the regular cast of characters) that really stand out and are memorable. TLoFM features two of these: Paul and Dora Chapin. Paul Chapin is an author of some talent, who was left crippled (physically) after the prank mentioned above, but he seems to have been born with an emotional/psychiatric disability that's worse than that--the physical injury just makes him even more demented. Contemporary authors might do more with his character, might explore the depths of his depravity more than Stout did, but they wouldn't do so as effectively. (incidentally, he has to be played by Michael Emerson if they were ever to film this). I really can't describe his wife without getting into spoiler territory, but the pair are amongst the most memorable of all Stout's creations.
This is closer to the fully-formed Wolfe novel than Fer-de-Lance, but it's not all the way there yet. For example, Inspector Cramer was smoking a pipe, not chewing a cigar; the chairs used in the office for the guests are non-descript (now that I'm looking for its first appearance, I'm really missing the red leather chair); and Wolfe uses a top-of-the-line atlas instead of his giant globe to take his fantasy trips away from a complicated case. But we are introduced to what will be mainstays of the series: large crowds assembled in Wolfe's office a time or two; his very dramatic revealing of the solution to the case; and best of all, the introduction of Wolfe's rival, foil, colleague, champion, and almost friend--Inspector Lionel Cramer of Homicide.
As with any Stout, there are a few handfuls of lines that deserve quoting and requoting, I really should've kept a notebook or something handy to jot them down. As it was, I only got three of them noted:
...with the quarry within reach, the purpose fixed, and the weapon in hand, it will often require up to eight or ten minutes to kill a fly, whereas the average murder, I would guess, consumes ten or fifteen seconds at the outside. - NW
She was following what Wolfe called the Anglo-Saxon theory of the treatment of emotions and desserts: freeze them and hide them in your belly. - AG
I felt uncertain too, when I saw her. They don't come any uglier...At that she wasn't really ugly, I mean she wasn't hideous. Wolfe said it right the next day: it was more subtle than plain ugliness, to look at her made you despair of ever seeing a pretty woman again. - AG
December 6, 2024
Early Nero Wolfe, quite entertaining, although the characters, particularly Archie, will be tuned up as the series continues. In "Frightened Men" he's downright obnoxious!
As I enter my dotage, Stout is shaping up as my Designated Comfort Read. I'll be hitting another twofer shortly.
As I enter my dotage, Stout is shaping up as my Designated Comfort Read. I'll be hitting another twofer shortly.
July 15, 2023
These two novels are the first two of the long-running (73 novels!) Nero Wolfe series. Archie Goodwin, who has more brains and action in him than Dr Watson, is rougher here, and his relationship with Nero Wolfe, who resembles Mycroft Holmes more than Sherlock, is not quite fully fleshed out. Fritz isn't more than a walk-on; whereas, he'll become an important player later in the series. The orchids are barely mentioned. I like the series better when it's better established.
THE LEAGUE OF FRIGHTENED MEN is an odd duck of a mystery, which I managed to solve both for who and why, a rarity for me, but it is falling over itself with red herrings and misdirections, enough to be genuinely irritating. The key to any Golden Age mystery--when you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains is likely the truth, AKA one half of Occam's Razor. Well, the other half is KISS (Keep it simple, stupid), and Stout violated that part to the point of annoyance.
(I tried reading FER-DE-LANCE once and got nowhere with it.) As I wrote above, I prefer the later offerings in the series.
THE LEAGUE OF FRIGHTENED MEN is an odd duck of a mystery, which I managed to solve both for who and why, a rarity for me, but it is falling over itself with red herrings and misdirections, enough to be genuinely irritating. The key to any Golden Age mystery--when you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains is likely the truth, AKA one half of Occam's Razor. Well, the other half is KISS (Keep it simple, stupid), and Stout violated that part to the point of annoyance.
(I tried reading FER-DE-LANCE once and got nowhere with it.) As I wrote above, I prefer the later offerings in the series.
May 16, 2019
More like 3-1/2 stars, but a pair of enjoyable tales. Having just read three very early Perry Mason novels—which were pretty bad, I'm afraid; maybe Erle Stanley Gardner got better over time—these were both fun and a relief that Rex Stout knew what he was doing.
January 15, 2013
I've read the first book before, but could only find the 2nd book in the series in a combo book. The League is a really complicated story, all sorts of twists and turns, and I think in this book Archie's voice starts to really get set. Lots of action and danger here. And the character of Paul Chapin is very interesting as well.
March 10, 2010
These books are a total pleasure. Not only are the characters rock solid, but the prose is highly entertaining and the puzzles are never along the same lines. A great ride that keeps you guessing, enthralled and thoroughly engaged to the very last sentence. I love Nero Wolfe!
June 8, 2009
Finally some Stout turns up at the NYPL! This is the ne plus ultra of detective fiction, no matter what the print size.
March 10, 2010
I love Nero Wolfe, but the editor of this edition is really bad. I especially liked The League of Frightened Men. Strangely enough the women in the story were not frightened at all.
March 7, 2012
I want to live in a lovely brownstone with a fabulous Swiss chef and 10,000 orchids.
October 28, 2019
Fer-de-lance review, finished Sept 26, 2019: Truth be told, I was expecting more of the first Nero Wolfe novel. I wanted backstory. How did Archie and Wolfe meet? What was their first case like? How did Nero settle into his rigid schedule of tending orchids, and how did that obsession begin and how did he amass his collection? Even in this first novel allusions to other cases and characters abound, leaving you feeling still as though you walked into a room in the middle of a conversation. Grasping. At this point, Archie has already been in Wolfe's employ for seven years. In the introduction, Loren Estleman heralds the consistency of Stout's approach: the benefit is that it doesn't matter where in the series you decide to start reading, the characters are ever-constant. Some see that as a pro, but I do enjoy watching characters evolve and grow over the course of a series and it seems like a missed opportunity.
The mystery is interesting, but Stout gives it away about 2/3 of the way through and we watch Wolfe and Archie muddle through trying to find enough evidence to make a case against the murderer. My biggest complaints: 1. The main characters in the murder mystery were not as compelling this time around. 2. The story dragged on too long, as this could have been tightened considerably and be all the better for the effort. Of the other Stout mysteries I have read in the series, the writing zips along. It's concise, and the plot is action packed. Not in this case. 3. The morality of the ending. I'm still struggling with Wolfe's decision on how/when to time his grand reveal, when to involve the police, and the outcome that plays out as Wolfe predicted it would. A couple of Christie's later Poirot novels wrestled with morality, and the worth of a human life. Is it relative, based on the person's actions in their lifetime? Or is it absolute? Is a human life a human life regardless of context? Christie/Poirot has several perspectives on this in the later stories. Still trying to discern Wolfe's rationalization/philosophy here, as Stout only gives us about 1.5 paragraphs during Wolfe's patronizing and impatient explanation to Archie - if you can even call it an explanation, as Wolfe doesn't seem to think he owes anybody any explanations, ever. Still struggling with that, very unsatisfied. Will read the #2 story in this volume, the League of Frightened Men eventually, but putting this aside for now to simmer on the back burner. Need a break from Wolfe. (Though Archie's sarcasm still wins me over every time...)
The League of Frightened Men review, finished Oct 24, 2019:
This one took awhile to finish. I kept leaving it for a day or two, then reluctantly coming back to it, little by little, trying to make progress. The setup was quite dark. A Harvard student is crippled in a hazing accident, and the 20+ students involved form The League of Atonement to ease their guilt. Some are more sincere than others, but then the "victim" doesn't inspire much sympathy. The crippled man is Paul Chapin, an acidic gentleman who found success late in life writing gruesome murder mysteries. Years later, two members of The League of Atonement die unexpectedly and then not so cryptic poems are delivered to the rest of the league, claiming credit for the deaths and threatening more to come... and then another member disappears and his niece appeals to Wolfe. Archie reports that the coffers are low, and Wolfe denies the entreaties of the niece to instead pursue a larger commission of his own devising. He assembles the members of the league and submits a proposition to resolve the problem and dissipate their fears, for a price - a calculated rate based on each man's ability to pay.
The trouble with this story, as with the first novel in my opinion, is that it's less a mystery and more a suspense novel without much suspense, at least for 80% of the book. There are some psychological elements to be sure, but it's more a game of cat and mouse, in this case with Wolfe and Chapin. The members of the League are for the most part window dressing, aside from a few that get time on the page, and then the efforts to develop them as true characters are half-hearted at best. I still enjoyed the banter with Wolfe and Archie, but frankly once again I was hoping for more of a robust cast of suspects with personalities, motives, intentions, flaws, and most importantly, messy relationships with one another and the deceased. Thinking I may have done myself and the series a disservice by starting with books further in Stout's writing career, when he had developed a better rhythm and tightened his writing. Will give the series a few more chances - from what I understand the characters don't develop significantly over the course of the series, but hoping the plot lines and casts of suspects do!
The mystery is interesting, but Stout gives it away about 2/3 of the way through and we watch Wolfe and Archie muddle through trying to find enough evidence to make a case against the murderer. My biggest complaints: 1. The main characters in the murder mystery were not as compelling this time around. 2. The story dragged on too long, as this could have been tightened considerably and be all the better for the effort. Of the other Stout mysteries I have read in the series, the writing zips along. It's concise, and the plot is action packed. Not in this case. 3. The morality of the ending. I'm still struggling with Wolfe's decision on how/when to time his grand reveal, when to involve the police, and the outcome that plays out as Wolfe predicted it would. A couple of Christie's later Poirot novels wrestled with morality, and the worth of a human life. Is it relative, based on the person's actions in their lifetime? Or is it absolute? Is a human life a human life regardless of context? Christie/Poirot has several perspectives on this in the later stories. Still trying to discern Wolfe's rationalization/philosophy here, as Stout only gives us about 1.5 paragraphs during Wolfe's patronizing and impatient explanation to Archie - if you can even call it an explanation, as Wolfe doesn't seem to think he owes anybody any explanations, ever. Still struggling with that, very unsatisfied. Will read the #2 story in this volume, the League of Frightened Men eventually, but putting this aside for now to simmer on the back burner. Need a break from Wolfe. (Though Archie's sarcasm still wins me over every time...)
The League of Frightened Men review, finished Oct 24, 2019:
This one took awhile to finish. I kept leaving it for a day or two, then reluctantly coming back to it, little by little, trying to make progress. The setup was quite dark. A Harvard student is crippled in a hazing accident, and the 20+ students involved form The League of Atonement to ease their guilt. Some are more sincere than others, but then the "victim" doesn't inspire much sympathy. The crippled man is Paul Chapin, an acidic gentleman who found success late in life writing gruesome murder mysteries. Years later, two members of The League of Atonement die unexpectedly and then not so cryptic poems are delivered to the rest of the league, claiming credit for the deaths and threatening more to come... and then another member disappears and his niece appeals to Wolfe. Archie reports that the coffers are low, and Wolfe denies the entreaties of the niece to instead pursue a larger commission of his own devising. He assembles the members of the league and submits a proposition to resolve the problem and dissipate their fears, for a price - a calculated rate based on each man's ability to pay.
The trouble with this story, as with the first novel in my opinion, is that it's less a mystery and more a suspense novel without much suspense, at least for 80% of the book. There are some psychological elements to be sure, but it's more a game of cat and mouse, in this case with Wolfe and Chapin. The members of the League are for the most part window dressing, aside from a few that get time on the page, and then the efforts to develop them as true characters are half-hearted at best. I still enjoyed the banter with Wolfe and Archie, but frankly once again I was hoping for more of a robust cast of suspects with personalities, motives, intentions, flaws, and most importantly, messy relationships with one another and the deceased. Thinking I may have done myself and the series a disservice by starting with books further in Stout's writing career, when he had developed a better rhythm and tightened his writing. Will give the series a few more chances - from what I understand the characters don't develop significantly over the course of the series, but hoping the plot lines and casts of suspects do!
September 30, 2020
Book #68 -Fer-De Lance and The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout -
As a teenager one of my first favorite mystery series was Rex Stout's novels about Nero Wolfe. I read a lot of them but I doubt I read them all. So since I have been reading lots of books right now, with plenty of time to read them during COVID, I thought this would be a good time to go back and re-read the Nero Wolfe books, ideally in order.
Which brings us to these two books - sold together with Fer-de-Lance being the first book in the series and involving, in part, a murder and, as the title implies, a dangerous snake, and The League of Frightened Men. The League, the second book in the series, involving some Harvard graduates who did a prank that crippled a friend, Paul Chapin, and now, years later, some in the group are dying. This book is unique in a few ways: Instead of a single client Nero Wolfe has a group of clients, the League. This book also is notable for a complex adversary, Paul Chapin, as well as Nero Wolfe stating he once was married. There's another way it is notable but to say it would be to provide a spoiler, which I refuse to do.
A big part of why I loved, and still love, this series, is the character of Archie Goodwin, the narrator, who is quick, clever and witty.
Anyways... I remember these books being great fun and very clever. Re-reading these two they are indeed fun and have some good plot twists.....
The book has an introduction by author Loren D. Estleman who says, in part, "We read Nero Wolfe because we like a good mystery. We reread him not for the plots, which have neither the human complexity of Raymond Chandler's nor the ingenuity of Agatha Christie's" and goes on to say we read them because of the relationship between Nero Wolfe and all those working with him.
He concludes, "This is a world where all things make sense in time, a world better than our own. If you are an old hand making a return swing through its orbit, welcome back; pull up the read leather chair and sit down. If this is your first trip, I envy you the surprises that await you before that
unprepossessing front door."
I give both these books 8's.
February 27, 2023
First introduction to Nero Wolfe and his sidekick Archie Goodwin -- the one who does the pavement pounding and driving as NW rarely if ever ventures out of his NY brownstone preferring due to his large waistline to attend to his orchids and drink beer whilst reflecting on the case in hand. Fer-de-Lance is an excellent whodunnit great cast of characters from poor to rich and an ingenious modus operandi for the murder and even more so for cracking the case with a tragic event years before casting the Shakespearean die. Wolfe and Goodwin are an ideal duo -- A more sedentary Holmes where the phrase 'the game is afoot' is not applicable and a more clued up Watson in Goodwin -- fuelled by the excellent repasts of Fritz.
League of Frightened Men is worthy of Conan Doyle a group of Harvard graduates frightened for their lives due to a misadventure back in their university days. There is a main suspect from the outset but even if Wolfe's most favoured bit of exercise is either opening beer bottles or wiggling his finger the latter may not be pointing you in the right direction. Again ingenious and some cracking writing: "Poetic? Oh. Sometimes, Archie, the association of your ideas reminds me of a hummingbird." Or: 'If he should happen to get fired as an editor he could step in anywhere right away as a telephone girl.' There are incredibly given Stout only began writing them in 1934 72 Nero Wolfe books the last published a month before his death in 1975. Prior to that he had bene a warrant officer on President Teddy Roosevelt's yacht and created a school banking system that made him the fortune required to launch his writing career in pre-WWII Paris. We must be thankful for that he was indeed Stout-hearted. Looking forward to tackling the other 70 in the years to come ..this Nero fiddles but nothing burns except the criminal.
League of Frightened Men is worthy of Conan Doyle a group of Harvard graduates frightened for their lives due to a misadventure back in their university days. There is a main suspect from the outset but even if Wolfe's most favoured bit of exercise is either opening beer bottles or wiggling his finger the latter may not be pointing you in the right direction. Again ingenious and some cracking writing: "Poetic? Oh. Sometimes, Archie, the association of your ideas reminds me of a hummingbird." Or: 'If he should happen to get fired as an editor he could step in anywhere right away as a telephone girl.' There are incredibly given Stout only began writing them in 1934 72 Nero Wolfe books the last published a month before his death in 1975. Prior to that he had bene a warrant officer on President Teddy Roosevelt's yacht and created a school banking system that made him the fortune required to launch his writing career in pre-WWII Paris. We must be thankful for that he was indeed Stout-hearted. Looking forward to tackling the other 70 in the years to come ..this Nero fiddles but nothing burns except the criminal.
September 3, 2023
Nero My God To Thee
NeroWolfe1&2
My first introduction to this sleuth and his team. Not an amateur, not a professional, but in that grey area in between - a private inquiry agent, but, not an agency.
From the simple expediency of “Please find my brother”, comes the exploration of a loss of life in high society. Finding out the how of death becomes superseded by the why, and why has so many colors.
Being an inquiry agent absolves one from bowing to the wheels of judgement and actionable evidence. Kind of interesting. There is no Inspector on speed-dial, no socializing with the District Attorney, no promises to the Home Office. Just proof and payment.
In the second outing, the story is more complex - far more characters with many more motivations. Oy vey. Just keeping the personalities distinct took energy. And the meticulous weaving of the conundrum of culpability was an ever twisting serpent of possibility and motivation. Well done, but twisty.
But I will read more of Nero Wolfe...
NeroWolfe1&2
My first introduction to this sleuth and his team. Not an amateur, not a professional, but in that grey area in between - a private inquiry agent, but, not an agency.
From the simple expediency of “Please find my brother”, comes the exploration of a loss of life in high society. Finding out the how of death becomes superseded by the why, and why has so many colors.
Being an inquiry agent absolves one from bowing to the wheels of judgement and actionable evidence. Kind of interesting. There is no Inspector on speed-dial, no socializing with the District Attorney, no promises to the Home Office. Just proof and payment.
In the second outing, the story is more complex - far more characters with many more motivations. Oy vey. Just keeping the personalities distinct took energy. And the meticulous weaving of the conundrum of culpability was an ever twisting serpent of possibility and motivation. Well done, but twisty.
But I will read more of Nero Wolfe...
October 9, 2025
Stout's Nero Wolfe character is such a classic. You don't read the stories so much for the mysteries as for the idiosyncrasies of Wolfe and his relationship with Archie Goodwin. Stout takes the Holmes/Watson team and ups the ante. Wolfe is too corpulent to out on a case, but he is the genius. Goodwin in the young investigator who takes the lumps and may get the girl. Fer-de-Lance is the first novel, but you can't tell it. The characters are as fully developed as they're going to get. It's just fun to read about Wolfe making love to his orchids and Archie's favorite drink -- which is milk! Fritz and Wolfe argue about the cook meals for fine dining, which is all Wolfe allows. As a mystery fan, I place Nero Wolfe in the top 5 fictional detectives, maybe as high as third place: Sherlock Holmes, Ellery Queen, Nero Wolfe, Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade.... That's my list. Nero Wolfe is as fun to read as any of them.
June 11, 2021
I enjoyed reading this mostly for historical value. Nero Wolfe mysteries used to be widely read and much beloved, and came recommended to me by Bertie Wooster. And it's true there's a lot of fun in the personalities we encounter and their interactions. But while Bertie Wooster is forever, Nero Wolfe is obsolete. It's not just the casual racial and ethnic epithets or the broad generalizations about women that are totally unlike today's broad generalizations about women. It's the antiquated psychology that makes these books kinda boring at just the moment when they're supposed to be most surprising and satisfying. Each story hangs on someone's convoluted, hidden, but discoverable depths -- but these depths feel contrived, at least to our more modern understanding.
May 1, 2021
El personaje de Nero Wolfe es una de las figuras emblemáticas de la literatura policiaca más clásica: un detective privado obeso que nunca sale de su casa (donde cultiva orquídeas) y soluciona todos los enigmas a partir de datos duros que le proporcionan los demás personajes (sobre todo su ayudante Archie Goodwin, que es el narrador de las historias y quien también proporciona el músculo cuando resulta necesario). Este volumen contiene las dos primeras novelas de la serie (publicadas en los años treinta del pasado siglo) y que no han perdido nada de su atractivo. Una lectura para los sibaritas del relato policial.
February 24, 2017
For the first entry in a series that lasted decades, Fer-de-Lance is remarkably well realized. Yes, it's rough around the edges. Stout tolerated a lot of questionable attitudes and at least as much judge-and-jury decision making as Conan Doyle in certain stories. But the atmosphere compensates. The gauze-filtered views of New York during its 20th-century heyday, as well as the often fractious but always respectful relationship between Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, are here in full. It's a pip — or whatever word Archie would have used in the 1930s.
April 1, 2019
This book consists of Rex Stout's first two Nero Wolfe novels.
I found the first novel a little disappointing. The prose was a little thin, the characterizations a little sparse and the pacing a little off. Its saving grace was the plot, well crafted with an unusual ending.
The second novel was better with a bit more sense prose, more support of the characters and better pacing. Again, the plot was masterful.
While I did enjoy the second novel, these are not stories I will probably read again.
I found the first novel a little disappointing. The prose was a little thin, the characterizations a little sparse and the pacing a little off. Its saving grace was the plot, well crafted with an unusual ending.
The second novel was better with a bit more sense prose, more support of the characters and better pacing. Again, the plot was masterful.
While I did enjoy the second novel, these are not stories I will probably read again.
March 8, 2024
finished 8th march 2024 good read three stars i liked it kindle library loaner and these two stories are some of the first from stout with nero wolfe as the headliner includes a foreword that plays them up with praise and by the time i finish the second i had in mind that the foreword is also a bit deceptive as i believe there seems to be a bit of a hanging thread or two...how can there not?...based on what happens. i dunno. go figure. still, entertaining story, quite a deal of suspense with the second. looking forward to reading some more from stout.
August 1, 2018
Having read several Nero Wolfe novels and watched both TV incarnations completely I finally got around to the first two novels. I was not disappointed. Stout very quickly developed a rhythm for the series and developed the characters in the fly. Fer-de-lance was a very interesting first novel but The League of Frightened Men was a masterpiece. It kept me guessing until the reveal in the last ten pages.
October 18, 2019
I couldn't seem to buy into the story. The dialogue is odd. Maybe this book is starting to show its age in its idioms. This series is so highly regarded and well-dissected that I gave it an extra hard try but there is not much plot movement in Fer-de-Lance and I didn't feel the necessary thrill a crime novel should impart.
August 17, 2022
Pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed these first two novels! Looking forward to reading more of this series.
Fer-de-Lance review | The League of Frightened Men review
Fer-de-Lance review | The League of Frightened Men review
March 15, 2024
The first two Nero Wolf mysteries. Rex Stout is a consummate storyteller. It is amazing that his characters remain true to character throughout all 47 books. Stout keeps his characters constant they remain basically the same age, but the scenario matches the current affairs from the mid 30's through the early 70's, Reflecting pre world War II through the communist scare of the 50' s and so on.
February 2, 2017
I read this for a book club assignment. I have read others in the series but Fer-de-lance was Stout's first in the series. I was appalled by the level of disdain for women and the verbal and physical abuse of women portrayed in Fer-de-lance. I am finished with Rex Stout.
May 7, 2019
Four stars for Fer-de-Lance and 3 for The League of Frightened Men.....
June 16, 2019
An enjoyable read. Love the banter and language.
September 6, 2019
I'd recommend these two stories for anyone who's looking for breezy set of mysteries to read. Just keep in mind that these stories were written in the 1930s, when people were less "woke."
September 1, 2021
You know how they change book titles that haven't aged well? They need to do the same thing for off-hand comments in books that have nothing to do with plot but make reading 90-year-old books incredibly unpleasant.
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