Nero Wolfe books are comfort reading for me. The plots and supporting characters are gone from my head as soon as I read them, but I find them enjoyable and well written, and I utterly adore Archie Goodwin. They are my go-to reading when I just need to be reading something.

This works nicely. The plot involves a baby left on the doorstep. Archie is inappropriately involved with a client, although he makes a point of verbally distinguishing between personal and professional. Nero Wolfe leaves his home and sleeps in someone else's house. It got me through dinner and bedtime nicely.

In this book, Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin are faced with an odd case—a newly widowed socialite wants to find a baby’s mother. The child was left on her doorstep with a note which said that the boy should live in his father’s house. The young widow admits that it is quite possible her late husband was the father and she is prepared to take care of the child—but only if she can be sure that it is his. While she doesn’t want to have her generosity taken advantage of by an impostor, she thinks that if Wolfe can identify the mother and figure out her movements during the crucial time-frame, then she can at least be more confident that the note is legitimate.

While Wolfe doesn’t usually get involved in family matters, he accepts this case. Quickly, the case heats up with murders, and it gets so hot that Wolfe has to take refuge outside his brownstone.

This is one of my favorite Wolfe books so far. Archie and Wolfe are in top form, and Saul gets more involvement than in most cases. As with all the Wolfe books, the mystery isn’t complex and isn’t really the focus of the book. The mystery is a vehicle that carries the characters and their interactions through the course of the book—and this was a good ride. ( )

I like this one a lot. The search for the mother and Wolfe in his most uncomfortable state, at the mercy of a woman. ( )