Family Affair
By Rex Stout
- Release Date: 1993-01-01
- Genre: Cozy Mysteries
Description
What could make Nero Wolfe so determined to solve a crime that he would be willing to work entirely without fee or client? What would it take to put him, for the first time, at a loss for words? What would make him so angry about at case that he would refuse to speak to the police, even if he has to spend fifty-one hours in jail as a result? Never before in the Nero Wolfe books has Rex Stout shown us the extremes to which the greatest detective in the world can be pushed, but never before has a bomb blown up in the old brownstone on West 35th Street, murdering someone right under Wolfe's nose.
When in October 1974 Pierre Ducos, one of Wolfe's favorite waiters at Rusterman's, Wolfe's favorite restaurant, dies just down the hall from Archie's Bedroom, Wolfe is understandably eager to find the perpetrator, but when that murder somehow becomes connected with tape recorders, Washington lawyers, and maybe even a conspiracy to obstruct justice, his fury becomes so intense that even Archie is puzzled. Not only is this a great chapter in the Nero Wolfe legend; A Family Affair is a splendid mystery novel that should capture many new fans and will delight (and amaze) the long-standing admirers of Wolfe and Archie.
Reviews
A bit of sad farewell
4By MJJ4738I know quite a few critics and friends who don't like this one. I disagree with them. This is the last Wolfe story Stout wrote. In fact it was published the year of his death -- and it does have the feeling of finality. Especially when you see who the killer is. But, the beauty in this story lies in how the characters of Wolfe, Archie, Saul and Fred all react and deal with the unpleasant and unwelcome revelation. It's worth the read.
