Convoluted. Yes, convoluted. Or maybe this is just a book where Nero Wolfe's brain is working so much faster than mine, that I totally lose track of what was going on. I haven't read enough Stout to say that this is the book where Orrie first started to go bad, but from what I have read that is my understanding; it's nice that a series as long as this one still has a credible story arc.

But there were quite a few details in this one that I had trouble buying into as we went along. Maybe the villain would really have been foolish enough to choose a pseudonym that could be linked back to him, but the link was subtle enough that I don't think even Nero Wolfe could realistically have picked it up. But we have our usual fun with Archie's wisecracks and womanizing, and Wolfe's ability to handle the people in his office. It's not the best, nor the worst Wolfe story. As good as any I suppose. ( )

This is another case in the Rex Stout’s fantastic mystery series featuring Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. Breaking one of his cardinal rules of not accepting a case when he doesn’t have a paying client, Wolfe takes on the case of a murdered mistress found dead in her flat because Orrie Cather, one of Wolfe’s action men, is under suspicion (and under arrest). There are plenty of suspicious characters in the picture, from the mystery lover who paid her bills to her condemning, “respectable” sister. Yet, when signs begin to point in one direction, an opportunity for a paying client arises, making the mystery a harder knot to untangle if Wolfe wants to receive his fee.

One reason I really like Rex Stout’s books is the characters. Nero Wolfe is a larger-than-life misogynistic genius who can only function on a schedule or risk getting indigestion from getting upset at meals. Archie Goodwin is the wise-cracking optimist who retains his good humor in all situations. In Death of a Doxy, the minor characters also get a chance to shine: Saul Panzer, Fred Durkin and Inspector Cramer are all in good form.

If you’ve read Rex Stout, you’ll like Death of a Doxy; if you’re thinking about reading one, this is as good a place to start as any. ( )

Death of a Doxy is as delightful a read as any of Sout's other Nero Wolf mysteries. Wolf reads books in all of the stories. In Death of a Doxy he is reading [Invitation to an Inquest] by Walter and Miriam Schneir. Those authors re-examined all the evidence presented at the Rosenberg trial and concluded that the Rosenbergs were innocent of the crime. At the same time, Wolf has been re-examining the murder of Richard II's two nephews. For centuries Richard II was held responsible for their deaths, but historians in the 20th century began questioning that. Josephine Tey in [Daughter of Time] presented a popularized version of the new position. Wolf throws out his copy of More's [Utopia] because of More's role in framing Richard II.

Later in the story Wolf picks up [The Jungle Book] by Rudyard Kipling. And he also consults the [Encyclopedia Britannica].

Naturally, this story deals with someone falsely accused; Wolf's occasional helper Orrie Cather. ( )

Orrie's in trouble. The crack in his character begins. ( )

http://www.andelk.dial.pipex.com/R844... ( )