Murder by the Book

Nero Wolfe #19

by Rex Stout

It wasn't Leonard Dykes's writing style that offended. But something in his unpublished tome seemed to lead everyone who read it to a very unhappy ending. Now four people are dead, including the unfortunate author himself, and the police think Nero Wolfe is the only man who can close the book on this novel killer. So the genius sleuth directs his sidekick to set a trap… and discovers that the truth is far stranger—and far bloodier—than fiction.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Detective, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Ebooks

246 pages, Paperback

First published October 12, 1951

About the author

Rex 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.

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only people who know the contents of an unpublished novel (the author, the publisher's reader, the typist of the manuscript) have been murdered, the novel has apparently been destroyed, and Nero Wolfe is determined to discover why--despite the fact that neither Wolfe nor Archie has the slightest clue where to begin.

This is one of the more interesting features of the novel: what do detectives do when they don't even know where to start? How does a professional go blundering around, trying to shake something loose? Another interesting thing about our story is that Archie, in an effort to discover a clue, takes a trip to Los Angeles, and it is a pleasure to watch our amiable East Coast sleuth in Philip Marlowe country, walking down Chandler's mean West Coast streets.

This is one of Wolfe's best.

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another "down time" read of my favorite detective series. These are great books to supplement your reading experience when your main book is long and detailed.

In this one, Wolfe is asked to determine that his client's daughter was murdered even though the police are classifying her death as a hit and run. No evident clues or reason to believe it was murder but leave it to Wolfe and Archie to dig up clues that the police overlooked. Two other deaths and a suicide(?) follow before the case is solved. The story has a rather unusual premise but not totally unbelievable. If you are a fan of this series, it will not disappoint.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading a book can be fatal. Or in this case reading an unpublished manuscript. That is the premise of the 19th entry in the Nero Wolfe series. Three people have died violent deaths and it takes Wolfe to see the connection.

The story opens with a visit to Nero Wolfe's office by Inspector Cramer. The body of Leonard Dykes; a clerk with the law firm of Corrigan, Phelps, Kustin and Briggs; was pulled from the river. When the police searched Dykes apartment they found a list of names tucked in a book. The names are meaningless. They cannot locate anyone with those names. Cramer would like Wolfe's opinion. Does he have any ideas? After all Wolfe is a genius. All Wolfe can suggest is that they are aliases which is not something Cramer did not already know. Cramer stomps out in a huff and Wolfe returns to his 'London Times’ crossword puzzle.

Almost six weeks pass when a man, John R. Wellman, makes an appointment with Wolfe. He wants to hire Wolfe to find the person who murdered is daughter, Joan. She was the victim of a hit and run and a good daughter. To prove it he shows Wolfe a letter Joan had written to her parents. Joan had worked for a publisher where she would read manuscripts that had been submitted. In her letter home she told her parents the story of a manuscript she had rejected. The author, Baird Archer, had called her and wanted to hire her to discuss his manuscript and how he could improve it. The day after their "date" she died. Wolfe noticed that Baird Archer was one of the names on Inspector Cramer's list of names found in Leonard Dykes apartment.

This sets things in motion. The hunt for Baird Archer and the manuscript is on. Archie, and the police, descend on the offices of Corrigan, Phelps, Kustin and Briggs. Archie invites the secretaries to the brownstone on West 35th Street and Wolfe goes to Rusterman's. Archie also goes searching for whoever typed the manuscript for Baird Archer. He finds her but unfortunately it was minutes after she was thrown from a window.

There is the usual battle of wits between Wolfe and a crafty and intelligent killer. But is he any match for Nero Wolfe ... and Archie and Saul Panzer? Of course not. Wolfe, who for a time seems stumped finally sits back and pushes his lips in and out and then asks Inspector Cramer to have all the suspects come to his office where he will identify who the murderer is. A great entry in the series and in this one Archie flies to Los Angeles. Apparently a 10 - 12 trip when this was first published in 1951!

[thefourthvine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a reread, a palate cleanser after the rush of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, because:

1. There is never a bad time for Nero Wolfe, and
2. It's the rainy season in Los Angeles (January 18-28, roughly)

This book is one of my favorites in the series. It's sharp, it's got the usual moments of humor, it's got great Wolfe-Archie interplay (and for the Archie/Saul shipper in me, there's a terrific moment when Archie explains that Saul would totally be the best US President ever if you just upgraded his wardrobe), it's got a loathesome and intelligent villain, and it has one of my favorite female characters in the series. (Yes, I...I have a list.)

That female character is the redoubtable Mrs. Potter, a woman Archie admires for her brain and her sense of humor. She's great, and she never misses a trick. And she lives in Los Angeles. (And I guess Stout visited in January, because when Archie goes to LA to talk to Mrs. Potter, it's pouring.)

This is definitely one of the books on the Wolfe short list, and it wouldn't be the worst place to start with the series, either.

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do so love this series. This edition has a very nice Introduction by David Handler wherein the personalities of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin are described. Perhaps that these two characters are so fully-fleshed is the best of the novels. Handler also inserts It’s safe to say that Archie and Wolfe would be lost without each other.

The mystery is a good one. Inspector Cramer arrives to consult with Wolfe - a very unusual circumstance. In late December a man was found to have drowned, and the police are uncertain that it was accidental. Mr. Wellman, who lives in Peoria, arrives to hire Wolfe to investigate the death of his daughter. She was killed near a NYC park when a car ran over her. Mr. Wellman believes the police are dragging their heels, that rather than a hit and run it was outright murder.

Two murders? With a document that Cramer brought and a letter that Mr. Wellman presented, Wolfe believes they are indeed murder and done by the same person. And so, as readers, we become immersed in an investigation of not one, but two murders. I don't think it is a spoiler that in the conduct of the investigation there is yet a third murder.

The ending is pretty darned good. I almost wrote superb, but that would be an exaggeration. Still, I'm happy to give this a full-fledged 4 stars.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK 38 (of 250) AWARD: Favorite Book about Books
Books about books are usually disappointing: the book inside the book is most often non-existent so we can't reference it or find it anywhere. And that book is usually one in which some kind of big secret of the universe is revealed and scholars the world over are looking for it. But we never actually find/get to understand that book/that secret, so this sub-genre is usually disappointing to me. But Stout subverts this genre by presenting 1) a random book on a shelf that contains an odd list of names; and 2) a book entitled 'Put Not Your Trust' and 3) a real book from which 'Put Not Your Trust" is a quote. Stout not only reveals the book but readers can research that book. Oh, how Stout delivers on his promise to give us a murder by the book.
HOOK - 4: First of all, the title itself grabbed my attention. The opening line goes: "Something remarkable happened that cold Tuesday in January." I'm not one for being a fan of openings with weather, but by the end of the first page we have a murder to investigate. And books to study.
PACE - 3: If you've read a Wolfe/Stout novel, you know there will be much talk about orchids, food, and beer. These objects seemingly would bring the story to a screeching halt, but these elements are always part of Wolfe's world, and Stout knows how to employee these elements as part of the story.
PLOT - 5: An author writes a book that may or may not reveal illegal goings-on at a law firm. But for me to say another word, other than "Brilliant", would be criminal. I'll add "mind-bending." And "ingenious".
CAST - 4: As always, Nero is a miracle of massiveness, physically and mentally. We have his side-kick Archie and their cook, Fritz. Then there is Nero's three runners: 'Saul Panzer, small and wiry, in his old browwn suit; Fred Durkin, with his round face and spreading bald spot...and Orrie Cather with his square jaw and crew cut, looking young enough to still be playing pro-football." Not to mention the gardener who lives on the roof with the orchids. Most often, one will fine 7, yes 7, men together for long periods, not a lady in sight. Makes one wonder.
But as Archie says to Nero, "You have a low opinion of women and-now let me finish-anyhow, you don't want them around." Perhaps Nero surrounds himself with thousands of magnificent orchids as substitutes: he himself weighs about 300 pounds and perhaps feels he is unattractive to the ladies. (I digress...)
ATMOSPHERE - 4: Nero's New York townhouse is fabulous and always nice to visit. Here, too, we have law offices with slabs of marble everywhere. Then there is the glass house on the roof, sweaty and swampy.
SUMMARY - 4.0. At one point, Archie finds himself in a trick situation that could result in a death. He starts talking and "a rattle came from the drum, and the band slid into a trot," as Archie talks his way through and out of a bad moment. I really enjoy Stout's writing. And about Nero's brilliance, Nero says to the cops as he wraps up the story/mystery, "...that would mean that I have exposed a murderer and forced him to a reckoning without a scrap of evidence against him." Which is exactly what happens. A smart work, all around.

[Diamond Cowboy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excelent adventure of murder and intreague. Mr. Nero Wolfe solves the crime without even doing a bit of work. Of corse, Archy Goodwin does all the leg work for his Master.

[سیاوش فتحعلی · Rating 4 out of 5]

معمولا مشکلات ترجمه را در پایان نوشته هایم می آورم.
مگر آنکه ترجمه بسیار بسیار افتضاح باشد که ترجمه این کتاب؛ موقعیت ذکر شده را روسفید کرد.
و این نکته که این کتاب ویراستاری هم شده بود، دیگر شده بود نور علی نور.
سانسورهای بیجای کتاب که واقعا انگیزه حذف و جرح متن اصلی توسط نویسنده هنوز بر من روشن نشده، دریایی از جمله بندی های گنگ و همچنین دیالوگهایی که کاملا بیمعنی هستند و خواننده را برای پیگیری داستان از اشتها میاندازد را به ترجمه نکردن فصل نهایی کتاب اضافه کنید تا بتوانید عذابی الیم؛ آن هم درکتاب کم حجم دویست و بیست صفحه ای برای خواننده خلق کنید. که گویا مترجم و ویراستار -این شوخی بزرگ کتاب- و نشر به خوبی به این مهم نائل آمده اند.
خب، حالا خود کتاب:
ایده جالبی داشت؛ اما پرداختی به نسبت کهنه.
و شخصیت هایی که علی رغم دوست داشتنی نبودن؛ دلنشین و به یاد ماندنی بودند.
نرو ولف به نوعی شرلوک هلمز اضافه وزن داری بود که رفیقش جان واتسون؛ حال آرچی گودوین نام میگیرد و به جای آنکه پزشکی تقریبا منفعل و دنباله رو باشد که دلداده عملیات کارآگاهی است، خود کارآگاه خصوصی ای تقریبا کاربلد با رویکردی بیشتر وکالتی تا کارآگاهی است که دلیل همکاری اش با ولف؛ رسیدن به کمال و یادگیری تمام چم و خم های ظریف کارآگاهی است.
تلخیِ نرو ولفِ بی حوصله و بدخلق و عنق که تنها زندگی اش در غذا و پرورش گلهای ارکیده خلاصه میشود؛ توسط شیرینی گاه از شور بدر شدهٔ آرچی گودوین که دوندگیهای پرونده را انجام میدهد و از هر فرصتی برای مزه پرانی و در جاهایی بیگاه استفاده میکند، استادانه تلطیف شده است.
بررسی پس لرزه های درام و احساسی یک قتل بر بازماندگان و خانواده مقتول بسیار زیبا و انسانی بود و خواننده را به فکر وا میداشت.
نمیگویم طرفدار سری کتابهای نرو ولف هستم؛ اما علاقمندم تمامشان را بخوانم و باز همان تأسف همیشگی در ذهنم جاریست. که چرا به جای دوباره و چند باره ترجمه کردن کتابهایی که بعضا همان یک ترجمه هم از سرشان زیاد است؛ کتابهای دیگر و ارزشمندتری ترجمه نمیشوند و اینچنین باید از بازار جهانی ترجمه عقب بمانیم فقط به این دلیل متعصبانه که چون فلان کتاب امروزه میفروشد و مخاطب دارد پس باید ده ها ترجمه مختلف باشد و رقابت ناشران همچون رقابت و مسابقه ای مورچه ای شده باشد که متعصبانه در یک زمینه محدود، با چند کتاب محدود خواستار پیروزی اند و از یاد برده اند که کلی کتاب خوب هست که اگر ترجمه کنند ممکن است به موفقیتی بیشتر از چیزی که حتی میخواهند و تصور میکنند برسند.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the most P.I. of any of the books in the series thus far and while I prefer the more mystery-heavy stories this was still a blast. Also, I noticed while doing this chronological read-through that although it is often stated and I had always agreed that Wolfe rarely if ever left his home, he leaves his home in an awful lot of these stories.

[E.M. Lynley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Nero Wolfe books.
First off, I absolutely love Michael Pritchard's performance and to me he *is* Archie. He imbues the right amount of wit and capability to Archie and the Nero Wolfe books are simply designed for audio thanks to Archie's strong character and the amusing first-person perspective.

I enjoy stories about writing/publishing and legal topics, and this one combines both. I won't rehash the plot, but the glimpse we get of how the law practice where all the suspects works was entertaining and probably held more than a grain of truth.

This one had more than the usual number of characters, making it more of a sprawl than the usual Nero Wolfe story, but even the side characters were fairly well-drawn and added a layer of information and/or amusement.

There are a few too many coincidences and a surprisingly blatant mention of the culprit, so it's not the most elegant or subtle books in the series, but I found it very enjoyable. I would probably ake off a star, or maybe 1.5 stars if I read the book, rather than listened to the wonderful audio version.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one often gets called one of the best Wolfes, but for me it's too uneven. First 100 pages are kind of snoozy (even with three murders) and oddly paced, and the scene with Archie and the "girls" from the office was a little dated and annoying. But Archie's trip to LA (where it rains the whole time), the scenes with Mrs. Potter (more than Archie can handle/understand), and the climactic scene with the murderer confronted by the client are all terrific. Lotsa orchids in this one.

[Pamela Shropshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is definitely one of the best Nero Wolfe novels. It’s right in the sweet spot, published in the early 1950s, when both Wolfe’s and Archie’s characters were fully realized and the supporting characters were all securely set into their respective roles.

A gentleman from Illinois named Mr. John Wellman hires Wolfe to investigate his daughter’s murder. This leads to a triple-murder investigation. The first death was of a man named Dykes who worked at a prestigious law firm that had recently recovered from a scandal; their best trial lawyer had been disbarred for bribing a juror. The second death was Miss Wellman, who had been run over by a car. The third death, which occurred after Wolfe began his investigation, was of a young female stenographer who was pushed from her office window. This last was a particularly difficult pill for Archie to swallow; he arrived at her office not more than two minutes after she was killed.

During the investigation it becomes necessary for Archie to fly to California to visit Mr. Dykes’s sister. This encounter provides a comedic and romantic sidebar. Archie is well known as a connoisseur of women, and his ideal is a slender but curvy woman less than 30 years old; whether blonde, brunette or redhead doesn’t matter, but it’s stipulated that she must be unattached. Nonetheless, here’s how Archie introduces Mr. Dykes’s sister, Peggy Potter:

She stood far enough off so that I would have had to make three good bounds to grab her, and it is only fair to say that it might have been worth the effort. She was three inches shorter, some years older, and at least ten pounds plumper than my ideal for grabbing, but with her dark twinkling eyes in her round little face she was by no means homely.

The relationship between Archie and Wolfe is endlessly fascinating. Wolfe sometimes treats him as equal, a partner and fellow detective; sometimes he treats Archie as a not-too-bright son. Archie feels that part of his job is to annoy, prod and agitate Wolfe, and he diligently performs that task as often as needed; he chides Wolfe for laziness and for being too rigid in his schedule and for being too fond of his food; and yet, he wallows in praise from Wolfe.

I phoned Wolfe at 3:23 from a booth in a drugstore somewhere in Glendale. It is always a pleasure to hear him say ‘Satisfactory’ when I have reported on an errand. This time he did better. When I had given him all of it that he needed, including the letter written by Dykes that I had in my pocket and the one written by Mrs. Potter that I had just put an air mail stamp on and dropped in the slot at the Glendale Post Office, there was a five-second silence and then an emphatic ‘Very satisfactory.’

And when Archie returns to New York and finishes his report, Wolfe says, ‘It is satisfactory to have you back,’ which is Wolfe-speak for ‘I missed you, good job.’ Later, after a visit from the lawyers involved in the case, Archie gets impatient:

Suddenly I blew up. I sprang to my feet and roared, ‘G____m it, go to work! Think of something! Do something!’

Without opening his eyes, he muttered, ‘And I said it was satisfactory to have you back.’

I noted while reading that one of the female characters, a secretary at the law firm, was named Helen Troy. I was somewhat disappointed that it was a mere bagatelle; I had hoped such a suggestive name would be a clue.

Of course, Wolfe solves the case, with one of his famous confrontations with all the people involved with Inspector Cramer and Sergeant Stebbins present. After this climax, Stout ends with a light note. Archie calls Mrs. Potter to tell her her brother’s murderer was found guilty at trial.

There was just a chance she might fake indignation, or she might be coy, or she might even pretend not to know who it was. Nothing doing. She was still her – too short, too plump, and too old, but the one and only Mrs. Potter. . . What the hell, I thought, in another twenty years Bubblehead [Archie’s name for Mr. Potter] may be dead, and age and contours won’t matter much, and I’ll grab her.

5 stars.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Inspector Cramer calls on Nero Wolfe to for help on the unsolved murder of law clerk Leonard Dykes, Wolfe can't contribute much. However, things heat up again a few months later when a grieving father hires Wolfe to investigate the hit-and-run death of his book editor daughter, and the detective quickly finds a link between the two cases.
With that, the chase is on for Wolfe and the police as the murders appear to be tied to an unpublished novel; anyone connected to it dies. During a canvass of the city’s typists and stenographers, Archie Goodwin narrowly misses saving a woman hired to transcribe the manuscript. 
As Wolfe and his operatives probe into the murders and the manuscript, the more the investigation reveals secrets beneath the surface of the dead clerk's law firm.
When Wolfe and Archie waded through questioning of the firm's lawyers (including one recently disbarred) and its entire secretarial pool, at times I lost track of who was who, but the story heated up again in the second half as new clues popped up. Circling ever closer to the true culprit, Archie travels to the West Coast to set a trap as he meets the sister of the dead law clerk, who proves to be the key to breaking the case. Stout does a good job of keeping the readers guessing throughout, but when Wolfe lays it all out, we're drawn to an inevitable conclusion. 
While the novel drags somewhat in its first half during the scenes with the plethora of characters from the law firm, it's still a good, solid read. Three stars.
Favorite word in this Nero Wolfe novel: "rigmarole." 
#mystery #whodunnit #nerowolfe #archiegoodwin #rexstout #murderbythebook

[Bryan Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This time Rex Stout portrays the seedy underbelly of the publishing world. OK, not really, but that is how the book starts. An acquisitions editor is murdered and her father asks Nero Wolfe for help. Their investigation seems to be at a complete stand still until a typist is also murdered. The chase is then on with Archie as the bloodhound and Nero well... sitting behind his desk.

My favorite quote is from Archie who after working with a woman who he particularly admired asked someone if he wanted to know what was wrong with our civilization. The man answered yes and Archie said "We've quit drinking champagne from ladies slippers". At the end of the book Archie is telling the reader that maybe after a few decades when looks don't matter to him much any more he'll look her up again.

This mystery is quite well constructed. Most readers will figure out what group of people the murderer is among but actually knowing who it is, that is quite a trick. Like all the Nero Wolfe stories this one is full of witty dialog and interesting characters, tempered by the familiar faces we have become accustomed to.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stout does it again! Police in two different jurisdictions each have a murder victim that—unknown to them—are linked by the most fragile of threads. Fortunately, Nero Wolfe is around to make the connections for them. But what a fragile connection it is! Both victims had contact with an unpublished book and that contact seems to be the motivating force behind their murder. Why? How? Not even Nero Wolfe seems to have a clue, but that doesn’t stop him from working the very slight angles he can find nor from performing his magic to make the murderer act again.

I figured out a tremendous amount of the mystery and—like Homicide Detective Cramer—it got me nowhere. Each new clue fit snugly into my developing idea of the crime and I still couldn’t get to the solution. Nero Wolfe then gave a huge hint, and I still didn’t identify the criminal. And yet, I thought that Stout was fairer with the reader than he usually is. Wolfe wasn’t hiding his clues this time. All the information is there for a reader sharp enough to put the clues together to solve the mystery.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[CHILTONM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top tier wolfe bullshit my god. I love all of these books but this one really distills what’s great about them: archie inviting TWELVE DIFFERENT WOMEN to the SAME DINNER to seduce them into spilling secrets and it WORKS? all these lawyers in rooms sniping at each other? Cross country archie shenanigans complete w identity play and wolfe being like [twiddles thumbs] are you sure ur safe on that plane? My god. Also, for stout, quite an easy plot to follow. Felt like despite the huuuuge cast these characters were very distinct and interesting. Archies initial descriptions of the lawyers were exceptional. Wolfe saying it is “satisfactory” to have him back from Cali and then for the next three chapters every time he annoys him being like I CANT BELIEVE I SAID IT WAS SATISFACTORY TO HAVE YOU BACK. God I love that ornery old celibate homosexual

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun Nero Wolfe story. What made this one extra enjoyable was that I was reading an edition from the 1950's...the slightly yellowed and musty-scented hardback suited this story about a lost manuscript. And I love it any time you can track down the origin of a letter by looking at the type and determining what typewriter it was typed on--that sticky 'e' will get you every time. So much sexier than tracing some IP address, no?

[Rosita · Rating 5 out of 5]

داستان اینکه ۳ پرونده‌ی قتل موجوده. یک مرد و دو زن. و تنها چیزی که این سه نفر رو به هم وصل میکنه یک رمان هستش. مردی که رمان رو نوشته، خانمی که کتاب رو تایپ کرده و تنها کسی که کتاب رو خریده بوده. هدف پلیس و کارآگاه معروف،آقای ولف اینکه قاتل و انگیزه قتل رو که به نحوی به یک رمان ناشناس مربوط میشه کشف کنند .

برای من که جذاب بود 💯

[Susan]

Audiobook reread 6/12-6/17/23

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nero Wolfe is quickly becoming my favorite American detective! I would absolutely go dancing with Archie at the Flamingo Club as well.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a Wolfe/Goodwin fan and thoroughly enjoyed rereading this one; which I consider one of the best. Plenty of twists and turns as Wolfe tackles a mystery with apparently no client or evidence other than connection with a manuscript has meant death to three people. Great fun with the usual cast plus interesting suspects and supporting characters.

[CatBookMom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got the ebook as a deal, re-read Aug 2014. Solid 3+ rating, not one of Nero's best, and Archie is just moments too late for one person.

Re-read April 2020. Still good for 3ish stars.

[C.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorites in the Wolfe canon. Not just because it takes place in the literary world, although I loved time-traveling around the postwar New York publishing scene with author Rex Stout. And not just because it's always a pleasure to hang out in detective Nero Wolfe's Manhattan brownstone with the eccentric genius and his right-hand man Archie Goodwin. The plot is satisfyingly intriguing: who's killing every person who's read a not particularly controversial manuscript? I especially liked the opening twist: Wolfe's first visit from his friend and rival Inspector Cramer isn't a request for help solving murder #1, but to figure out why an odd list of names was found on the scratch pad of a dead law clerk. Any writer will immediately have her/his suspicions; but it takes America's finest Holmes-Watson duo to piece together the series of clues that will unmask the killer.

[Bob Mackey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I generally like Nero Wolfe books—this was my 19th one—but this one came off as a bit dull. Or maybe I was just reading it while I was sleepy. Who can say but future historians? This installment of the long-running series suffers a bit from having far too many characters for a 160-page mystery novel, with the few standouts being pretty inessential. Stout usually remembers to give his new/important characters some defining characteristics, but throughout Murder By The Book I had to keep reminding myself of who most of the culprits actually were. Not a huge fan of having to do that much work on my own when the author should be helping me along.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read. Interesting to see your standard murder mystery through the prism of the author's day and age.
Eesh that 9 page confession letter.... I totally skimmed that.... Just to get yo the section where Nero sets out his logic of who, what and when.
Not earth shaking but will let you kill some time enjoyably. Archie is a charmer.

[Trevor Denning · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unusually dark Wolfe mystery, it may feature the most cold-blooded killer the great detective ever sent to the chair and saddest passages Stout ever wrote. It's masterfully done, but I'm not sure I want to read it again anytime soon.

[Bill Gross · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Nero Wolfe books.

[Tony Bertram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still need to reread the abrupt ending.

[Stacie Haden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tight!