Stout, Rex. Murder By the Book. Bantam Books, 1992.
Reason read: to continue the series started a year ago.
It is not often that Inspector Cramer needs help from Nero Wolfe, but that is exactly what happens in Murder By the Book on the very first page. Cramer is horribly stuck on a case that has gone cold as ice. Leonard Dykes, a clerk for a law firm, has drowned in the East River. It seemed to be a suicide until Joan Wellerman was killed in a hit and run accident. These two people have a connection so was it suicide and an accident or murder for both? Adding to the body count is Rachel Abrams, a stenographer thrown from her office window. She also has the same connection. Author Baird Archer seems to be in the middle of the mess as it is his unpublished manuscript which ties all three deaths together. It appears that anyone who reads it winds up dead.
Navigating the twists and turns of the case is, as always, wise-talking Archie Goodwin. He gets a chance to flirt with multiple ladies in this adventure.
This was the first Nero Wolfe mystery that I was able to listen to as an audio book. It was fun, but I think I’ll stick to print.
As an aside, my birthday is one of a few pivotal dates in the story.
Confessional: I am getting pretty sick of Stout telling his readers that Wolfe never leaves his house on business. I have not been keeping track, but the last book had Wolfe gone for months.
Author fact: I am losing track of what I have said about Mr. Stout. Did I mention he was the sixth of nine children?
Book trivia: Murder By the Book is the nineteenth book in the Nero Wolfe series.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the never-ending chapter called “Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe: Too Good To Miss” (p 226).
~*LunaSea*~ 