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Tonight I drank this excellent beer and finished my first novel-length Nero Wolfe mystery. It‘s from 1939, so expect some sexism & racial slurs, but the character dynamics are tops and the narrative voice is gold. I love how Archie Goodwin notices people‘s clothes, too. Suits are important.

Also of note: Rex Stout waged a personal campaign against Nazism during the war, and you can see the seeds of that here with how he handles the German agent.

Despite a few snarky remarks about women, I liked this one. It‘s my first time reading a Nero Wolfe mystery, so I was not quite prepared for the man himself and his gruff manner. Told from the perspective of his assistant, Goodwin, Wolfe has to sort out a puzzle connected to a death.

I‘d consider reading another in the series! #192025 #1955

This is an okay series. The mysteries are okay, but not spectacular. Meh.

I‘m really into these older mysteries. Some things do not age well but it‘s cool to see where the inspiration came from.

(1938) Sixth in the Nero Wolfe mystery series. In this one, he and Archie leave the brownstone, crash a car, run from a bull (well, Archie does because Wolfe? Run? Please.), and solve murders. It's a good one: the mystery is quirky, the banter is fun, and Archie meets a love interest as snarky as himself.

“that ten cent Clark Gable that thinks he‘s so slick he can slide uphill.” Is just a beautiful insult.

(1938) Nero Wolfe leaves the shelter of his NY brownstone for Jim Crow West Virginia and a gathering of master chefs. One of the chefs is murdered and when suspicion falls on one of his friends, Wolfe reluctantly takes the case. The mystery is pretty good, and Stout works in a pointed critique of the racial caste system, which reads a little awkwardly today but has aged better than you'd expect.

(1936) A theatrical producer begs Nero Wolfe to investigate the death of a model by poisoned chocolate -- but when Wolfe's investigation raises suspicions about the producer's niece, the producer orders him off the case. Pfft. As if. A dance of new clients and more bodies begins, to the tune of Wolfe's & Goodwin's trademark banter. The solution this time seems to emerge from nowhere, but I continue to enjoy this series.

An older book, spa pit slower paced. My pick for “guilt” for the daily prompt challenge. #scarathlon #teamslaughter. @Clwojick