The Silent Speaker (1946)

I am having a really good time reading books from the Nero Wolfe series. They are good murder mysteries and each one is a chapter in a book about the lives of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. Archie and Wolfe are intelligent, mature adults and getting to know them is a pleasure.
This mystery begins with the murder of Cheney Boone the head of the Bureau of Price Regulation, a government agency. He is murdered backstage ten minutes before he is to give a speech before the National Industrial Association, a group of businessmen. The BPR and the NIA are sworn political enemies. This leads to a high profile investigation with a great deal of pressure on everyone involved. The NIA is awash in bad publicity and hires Nero Wolfe to find the murderer and get their name out of the papers.
Everyone who was in the room to hear the speech is a suspect. They are mostly rich if not famous people which adds to the pressure on everyone investigating the murder. During the investigation Phylis Gunther, Boone's personal assistant, is murdered on the stoop of Wolfe's home. She had unique knowledge about an important clue and her murder makes solving the case more difficult. She was a beautiful, intelligent woman and Archie had been attracted to her the moment he met her.
The pressure of the investigation leads to a memorable moment when Nero Wolfe slaps Investigator Ash on his right cheek with Wolfe's open palm. The sound of the slap split the room occupied by the Police Commissioner, the District Attorney, Archie and others. After an interview with Boone's widow Nero Wolfe fires his client and to the horror of Archie returns their retainer. He then develops an illness certified by a physician and stays in bed in his yellow pajamas.
The ending was a suspenseful page turner and as I got close to the solution of the murder the low power alarm on my nook went off. I plugged in the nook and was treated to a terrific finish to the story. A second ending added an emotionally rewarding chapter to the story of Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe. I give the book five stars and look forward to rereading it. It was very nice of Rex Stout to write so many Nero Wolfe stories. I don't expect them all to be this good. It is enough that I will get to spend more time with Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe. ( )

A tricky little mystery, with Archie's accusatory epilogue being worth its weight in gold. The feud between the regulatory agency and the industry it regulated seemed odd to me - much different than today, where the agency would be securely in the industry's pocket! Still, perhaps it was typical of the time. Lots of interesting characters, although having seen the Maury Chaykin interpretation of Wolfe on screen in this novel, I already had ideas in my head of how the characters would act and react. Cramer's final scene is actually handled much more elegantly in the movie. I doubt the puzzle is really solvable from the hints, but it's always fun to ride along with Archie Goodwin, and never more so than in this book. ( )

A top flight Nero Wolfe mystery, which is top flight indeed. Nero needs money, so he sends Archie forth to see if they can get hired in connection with the recent murder of a very important man with a lot of very rich connections. Nero and Archie are one of the classic star turns in detective fiction, the novels are drenched with the atmosphere of New York in the mid-20th century, while the plots, are more exciting and a lot less formulaic than several other classic detective series. Dated, maybe, but still very readable. ( )

After several subpar Wolfe stories this book shows a return to form by Stout. Wolfe’s actions are no longer impeded by the realities of war for either him or those reading about him. Stout does lay it on a little thick when describing the behaviour of the New York Police authorities but the case itself is both straightforward and yet rewarding since the reasons for Wolfe not jumping immediately on the indications of guilt are built into the logic of the case. ( )

The feud between the Bureau of Price Regulation and the National Industrial Association has been long and bitter, but few thought it would end in murder. At a large public dinner, however, that's just what happened. Nero Wolfe takes the NIA as a client and agrees to find out who murdered BPR president Cheney Boone. With Archie Goodwin providing the legwork and goading his boss into action, the case moves along until a second murder changes everything.

I have enjoyed Nero Wolfe mysteries for a long time, but not as much as some other mystery series. Maybe it's because there are just so many of them that they do get to be a little too similar. This one, though, stands out as the case that actually caused Nero Wolfe to leave the house. If you enjoy mysteries and you haven't tried writer Rex Stout before, this is not a bad place to start. ( )