On This Page
Description
Published only a month before Rex Stout's death, this case is regarded as one of the author's truest. When Nero Wolfe's favorite waiter is murdered in an explosion just feet from him, the detective takes it as a personal affront and waives his trademark fee. As Wolfe and his sidekick Archie track down the culprit, a second murder is committed and Wolfe realizes that this case is a family affair.Tags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
There is no question that Rex Stout was a master. I have read most of them and listened to the rest, all ably read by one of my favorite readers, Michael Pritchard.
This was Stout’s last novel, released in 1975. Some reviewers have suggested it’s not up to his earlier work. I disagree, although it’s a little jarring to find Richard Nixon as a central figure and tape recorders and Watergate. It’s clear Stout thought Nixon as head of state had perpetrated a great flummery on the people. I wonder if most of the remarks will be totally lost on anyone born after 1970. Lots of aspersions regarding the people and actions of the events surrounding Watergate.
Nothing outrages Wolfe more than when a murder is committed under his nose. show more Worse yet when it’s in his house. A waiter from his favorite restaurant is blown up in the guest room. Soon Wolfe is up to his neck in Watergate related characters. Stout’s disdain for the players is obvious. Stout, by this time, was in his eighties, and any political commentary was quite unusual for his characters. But the usual banter is present and it’s hard not to love a character who hates people dropping quotations, especially when they quote from Sir Thomas More, since Wolfe always maintained that More had slandered Richard III.
Several Amazon reviewers suggested this book was not up to his usual high quality. I beg to differ. It has the wonderfully precise use of language; Archie is still the wisecracking sidekick, and this final book really puts Wolfe to the test. Wolfe, Archie, Saul, Fred and Orrie all wind up in jail for the weekend (for obstruction of justice, paralleling the five Nixon characters,) Wolfe leaves his house more than he ever had, and there are complexities enough to keep Wolfe fans happy.
Given the ending, I would not be surprised if Stout had a premonition this might be his last book. show less
This was Stout’s last novel, released in 1975. Some reviewers have suggested it’s not up to his earlier work. I disagree, although it’s a little jarring to find Richard Nixon as a central figure and tape recorders and Watergate. It’s clear Stout thought Nixon as head of state had perpetrated a great flummery on the people. I wonder if most of the remarks will be totally lost on anyone born after 1970. Lots of aspersions regarding the people and actions of the events surrounding Watergate.
Nothing outrages Wolfe more than when a murder is committed under his nose. show more Worse yet when it’s in his house. A waiter from his favorite restaurant is blown up in the guest room. Soon Wolfe is up to his neck in Watergate related characters. Stout’s disdain for the players is obvious. Stout, by this time, was in his eighties, and any political commentary was quite unusual for his characters. But the usual banter is present and it’s hard not to love a character who hates people dropping quotations, especially when they quote from Sir Thomas More, since Wolfe always maintained that More had slandered Richard III.
Several Amazon reviewers suggested this book was not up to his usual high quality. I beg to differ. It has the wonderfully precise use of language; Archie is still the wisecracking sidekick, and this final book really puts Wolfe to the test. Wolfe, Archie, Saul, Fred and Orrie all wind up in jail for the weekend (for obstruction of justice, paralleling the five Nixon characters,) Wolfe leaves his house more than he ever had, and there are complexities enough to keep Wolfe fans happy.
Given the ending, I would not be surprised if Stout had a premonition this might be his last book. show less
Despite this being a short mystery it certainly had more twists than the usual Rex Stout creation. Told from the point of view of his assistant, Artie, the mystery begins in Wolfe's own home when his favorite waiter is murdered in his spare room. It's unheard of for a crime to happen right under his nose. Another strange development is Wolfe's uncharacteristic emotional outbursts. This is a case he takes very personally - enough to call it "a family affair" and enough for him to spend a night in jail (this coming from a man who never even likes to leave his home)! Because the murder happens in his own home he is more than determined to find the killer before the authorities do, despite not having a client. Typical of other Stout show more mysteries Wolfe has his beloved orchids and by-the-minute routines and mannerisms. What is different about this particular story is the inclusion of political commentary concerning Nixon and Watergate. Stout displays his displeasure with the political happenings in Washington through Wolfe. show less
Ta lamas selili maas, pea minu suunas ja jalad paremas seinas oleva riidekapi ukse poole. Tal puudus nägu.... Muidugi oli ta surnud. Olin selles veendumiseks just maha kükitanud, kui mingi asjaga kolm korda kõvasti vastu ust klopiti. Läksin tõmbasin riivi eest ja ukse taga oli NERO WOLFE.
A favorite waiter surprises Archie one night and says he fears he'll be killed. Archie leaves him in a guest bedroom to sleep until the great detective, Nero Wolfe, wakes up. But only minutes after Archie goes to bed himself, the house is shaken. A bomb has gone off, and the waiter is dead.
So begins another mystery, set in 1970s New York and focusing on the sedentary gastronomer and genius, Nero Wolfe, and his bff and right hand man, Archie Goodwin. The mystery is solved through unbelievably circumstantial clues, there's very little motive for the murders, and there's a completely unnecessary red herring that takes up a good half of the book. The other half is taken up by Stout's repetitive stock phrases: men are constantly sending show more their eyes round the room, palming the arms of their chair, walking exactly three streps into the room...Stout tells every single motion in absurd detail, none of which has anything whatsoever to do with the mystery or even much to do with character development. Between the unsatisfactory mystery, the stock phrases and unnecessary details padding out the slender plot, and Archie's unbearable sexism (he makes a joke at one point that the only way to get a feminist to listen is to rape her--which she'd like, btw), I really hated this book by the end. show less
So begins another mystery, set in 1970s New York and focusing on the sedentary gastronomer and genius, Nero Wolfe, and his bff and right hand man, Archie Goodwin. The mystery is solved through unbelievably circumstantial clues, there's very little motive for the murders, and there's a completely unnecessary red herring that takes up a good half of the book. The other half is taken up by Stout's repetitive stock phrases: men are constantly sending show more their eyes round the room, palming the arms of their chair, walking exactly three streps into the room...Stout tells every single motion in absurd detail, none of which has anything whatsoever to do with the mystery or even much to do with character development. Between the unsatisfactory mystery, the stock phrases and unnecessary details padding out the slender plot, and Archie's unbearable sexism (he makes a joke at one point that the only way to get a feminist to listen is to rape her--which she'd like, btw), I really hated this book by the end. show less
Said to be the last book in this series of (46) Nero Wolfe mysteries, it features all the usual characters: of course Wolfe himself (obese, crime solver; lover of orchids and food; not fond of a bee and a routine to keep to; reluctant to an extreme extent of ever leaving his NY house) and his intrepid sidekick Archie Goodwin (young and not afraid of the outside; often with a quick retort; resourceful and loyal) as well as Fritz (Wolfe's in-house chef).
The title gives a hint as to the plot, which is not as good as some others I have read in the series.
I will enjoy reading the many in the series that I have not read yet....those I have read almost always deliver good repartee amongst Wolfe, Archie and the various official detectives they show more come across, a good rollicking chase for the solution.
You will either enjoy them or not or perhaps be just 'meh'. I like them even if they at times trend to a good pallet cleanser!
Big Ship
4 July 2023 show less
The title gives a hint as to the plot, which is not as good as some others I have read in the series.
I will enjoy reading the many in the series that I have not read yet....those I have read almost always deliver good repartee amongst Wolfe, Archie and the various official detectives they show more come across, a good rollicking chase for the solution.
You will either enjoy them or not or perhaps be just 'meh'. I like them even if they at times trend to a good pallet cleanser!
Big Ship
4 July 2023 show less
Many readers had serious problems with this 46th of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries. I didn't have the same problems. The killer was believable to me, unlike those other readers, but I did feel that the motivation wasn't built up throughout the book. Rather it was sprung on me at the end, almost as an afterthought. And Archie saying (more than once) that he supposes I knew who the killer was from an early stage is ridiculous. The end was as much of a surprise to me as it was to him.
So for the lack of development of motivation and back story - and not for the identity of the killer - only 3 stars on this one for me.
EDIT ON RE-READ
As I've gone back through more of my Nero Wolfe's, I rescind my surprise. Archie was right (as usual) and I show more should have known. show less
So for the lack of development of motivation and back story - and not for the identity of the killer - only 3 stars on this one for me.
EDIT ON RE-READ
As I've gone back through more of my Nero Wolfe's, I rescind my surprise. Archie was right (as usual) and I show more should have known. show less
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
376+ Works 50,254 Members
Author Rex Stout was born on December 1, 1886. A child prodigy with a gift for mathematics, Stout drifted as he became an adult, holding odd jobs in many places---cook, cabinetmaker, bellhop, hotel manager, salesman, bookkeeper, and even a guide in a pueblo. But his true talent lay in storytelling; he sold his first story, about William Howard show more Taft, in 1912. His most famous creation is Nero Wolfe, a 286-pound detective genius who, with sidekick Archie Goodwin, can often solve a case without leaving his room. It is the way in which the puzzle is solved that intrigues Nero Wolfe, who is much like Sherlock Holmes in his ability to use deductive reasoning. More than 60 million copies (in 24 languages) of Stout's books have been sold. Stout writes quickly, drawing upon a lifetime of impressions. He neither uses an outline nor revises; he lets his characters take over as the story develops. The classy, erudite Nero Wolfe presents for readers an alternative to the hard-boiled branch of the genre. He died on October 27, 1975 (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Rex Stout has a Legacy Library. Legacy libraries are the personal libraries of famous readers, entered by LibraryThing members from the Legacy Libraries group.
Some Editions
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- A Family Affair
- Original title
- A Family Affair
- Original publication date
- 1975-05
- People/Characters
- Doraymee Bassett (Dora); Fritz Brenner; Orrie Cather; Lon Cohen; Lionel T. Cramer (Inspector); Leon Ducos (show all 16); Lucille Ducos; Pierre Ducos; Fred Durkin; Marie Garrou; Archie Goodwin; Benjamin Igoe; Saul Panzer; Nathaniel Parker; Purley Stebbins (Sergeant); Nero Wolfe
- Important places
- New York, USA; New York, New York, USA
- Important events
- Watergate Scandal
- First words
- When someone pushes the button at the front door of the old brownstone, bells ring in four places: in the kitchen, in the office, down in Fritz's room, and up in my room.
- Quotations
- The attitude of Sergeant Purley Stebbins toward Wolfe and me is yes-and-no, or make it no-but-yes.
"Whether you have warrants or not, arrest us now and take us; let's get that over with. I have a job to do." He extended his arms, stretched out, the wrists together for handcuffs. Beautiful. I would have loved to do it too, ... (show all)but that would have been piling it on.
I wouldn't want to go through that again. I don't mean the three hours while we discussed it and decided what to do. The hour after he came, while we did it. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"We'll try to get some sleep."
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.52
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 741
- Popularity
- 37,858
- Reviews
- 19
- Rating
- (3.79)
- Languages
- 12 — Czech, Danish, English, Estonian, Finnish, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 25
- UPCs
- 3
- ASINs
- 20
