Black Orchids (original 1941; edition 1977)

In two separate mysteries, Nero Wolfe first acquires black orchids, then gives away a few blooms in a way that mystifies Archie. Wolfe is not a great fixer-upper like Poirot or a tortured moralist like Wimsey, but seems to stand rather apart from the mysteries he solves. ( )

Black Orchids is a collection of two novelettes; Black Orchids and Cordially Invited to Meet Death. I found both to be below Stout's standard. Archie states that the only thing these two cases have in common is the black orchids that appear in both. He is wrong for they have another commonality. In both cases Wolfe is disinterested in the murders. In BO he gets involved only to get three rare orchids in return for shielding their original owner from negative entanglements with the murder. In the latter case it is unclear why Wolfe ever gets involved. Archie himself does not make a good case for Wolfe's motivations. Indeed, 'Cordially' at times reads less like a minor Wolfe and more like a piece of fan fiction with every regular character acting 'like themselves only more' and two kitchen escapades that seem Mary Sue-ish. ( )

Though Black Orchids is the ninth book that was published in the Nero Wolfe series it is the first of the short story/novella books that Rex Stout released about Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. It has the two novellas, Black Orchids and Cordially Invited to Meet Death, in this one. Both novellas are excellent, especially the first one Black Orchids. Though my favorite character and favorite quote are from the second novella.

Archie goes to visit the client at her home and encounters her chimpanzee whose name is Mister. Mister insists on playing tag and making a complete nuisance of himself , not just with Archie, but with everyone in the whole household. He torments the owner of the home by tickling her and then upsets the butler's tray of drinks that he is bringing for everyone. After cleaning up the mess the butler returns with a new tray of drinks and Archie observes,

".........and eventually we got back to normal, everybody with a drink, including Mister, only his was nonalcoholic, or I wouldn't have stayed. What that bird would have done with a couple of Martinis under his fur would have been something to watch from an airplane." ( )

Both of the short novels under this cover bounce along in the very lively voice of narrator Archie Goodwin. The first story, "Black Orchids," involves Archie in a flower show in which Nero Wolfe is a jealous participant. What is special about the second novella, "Cordially Invited to Meet Death," is that it is one of those stories that show us the fine shadings of Nero Wolfe's misogyny, as he welcomes into his kitchen a Southern belle who has a recipe or two to share. Stranger still, Fritz doesn't seem to mind in the least. The mystery, which involves the murder of an Elsa Maxwell-like professional hostess, is fun as well.

Actually two stories in one, Black Orchids details how Wolfe came to own the rare black orchids that give the novel its title. Of course, it all starts when Wolfe is skeptical about the black orchids reported at the flower show and sends Archie every day to inspect them; and of course, Archie gets distracted by a girl with pretty legs. And of course there is a murder which Wolfe agrees to solve in exchange for the black orchids. The second story in the novel, Cordially Invited to Meet Death, begins not with a murder, but with blackmail. But of course, as with any Nero Wolfe mystery, there is a murder and Wolfe has to solve it without acquiring a fee! As with all Nero Wolfe stories, Black Orchids combines wit, mystery and mayhem into a gripping tale that is difficult to put down. ( )