Three Doors to Death

What is better than finding an unread title of a Nero Wolfe volume by Rex Stout? It's finding three, all consolidated into one volume entitled Three Doors To Death. The three novellas were published in magazines in the late '40's, but Stout's writing ability and clever plotting is as fresh as ever.

Archie Goodwin remains Nero Wolfe's stenographer, gofer, assistant detective and Man on the Spot for the brilliant detective who hates to leave his home as much as he hates to miss a meal. In his witty style, Archie, the narrator of the Nero Wolfe books, writes a Foreword that pulls the three novellas together, pointing out the details the stories have in common as well as the exceptions to Nero's mystery-solving methods represented in each.

In show more Omit Flowers, for instance, Wolfe does leave his home to take a meal in the restaurant of a close friend, and then proceeds to take on a case involving a friend of the restauranteur, and winds up solving the case as a favor to his friend(i.e., NOT for money!)...both rare exceptions to Wolfe's usual style. In Door to Death, Wolfe once again leaves his lair to resolve a murder in upstate New York. He makes the exception because he is set on hiring away the gardener of the estate. He may be the only gardener capable of taking care of Wolfe's orchid collection while his own Theodore Horstmann is on emergency family leave, and thus unable to render the tender loving care to Wolfe's orchids that their survival requires. Once at the estate, Wolfe has to stay to absolve the gardener, who discovers the body of his own fiancee' in his greenhouse, and is then unjustly accused of killing her.

In Man Alive, the detectives are hired to find the uncle of the young lady who hires them. He is presumed to have committed suicide, but his niece is sure she has recently seen him. But before they can locate him, he is found dead at the family business. Once again, there is a murder to solve.

Rex Stout is a witty man, incredibly non-"politically correct," and in the process, hilarious, not to mention a gifted creator of mysteries and resolutions to the mysteries that are just as creative. show less

Three short stories, full of the mystery, fun and humor in the pairing of Archie Goodwin, man of action, with Nero Wolfe, genius at home.
"Man Alive" - Set in the world of New York City women's fashion, Archie gets to attend a fashion show.
"Omit Flowers" - Marko Vukic draws on his friendship with Nero Wolfe to help a fellow chef accused of murder. Interesting to see the relationship of the volatile Marko with the phlegmatic Wolfe.
"Door to Death" - Wolfe leaves his house in search of a gardener to help with his orchids. He ends by tramping through the snow in the dark. I really felt quite bad for him.

Nero Wolfe and his sidekick Archie Goodwin solve three more cases in this collection of novellas. The first case involves the fashion world and a supposedly long dead man who turns up as a fresh corpse. Wolfe takes the second case at the request of his friend, restaurateur Marko Vukcic, who wants Wolfe to prove that a chef accused of murder is innocent of the crime. Finally, Wolfe ventures out to Westchester to hire a horticulturist to take care of his orchids during Theodore’s extended absence. When the man Wolfe wants to hire becomes the prime suspect in a murder, Wolfe must prove him innocent for the sake of his prized orchids.

The novella format continues to work well for the Wolfe mysteries. Archie’s rapid-fire dialogue sets a show more brisk pace, and it seems like a natural fit for the shorter format. show less

I suppose I could spend some time detailing the plots of these three novellas, but when it comes right down to it they are formulaic, but my, what a formula. I love Rex Stout, although the early novels are probably better than those toward the end of his life. Nevertheless, if you have never read any Nero Wolfe stories, you must. The characters are classic and the word interplay between them is wonderful.

My favorite is the third. Wolfe is desperate as Theodore has left for an extended period of time to care for his sick mother so Wolfe has no one to do the dirty work with the orchids. He thinks he’s found a replacement and has actually left the brownstone to beseech Andy to come work for him. Unfortunately, Andy’s fiance has just show more been killed and he’s the prime suspect so if Wolfe wants to get his orchids cared for he has to solve the crime quickly. Wolfe actually has to sneak through the woods in the middle of the snow, falling down a couple of times. Now that must have been a sight.

Just go read all those you can get your hands on. show less

Three Doors to Death, by Rex Stout, is another compilation of three Nero Wolfe novellas, including "Man Alive" (1947), "Omit Flowers" (1948) and "Door to Death" (1949). The first concerns a young fashion designer whose uncle apparently kills himself but then turns up in disguise, only to be murdered; the second is a classic locked-room type mystery centering on a family whose patriarch has been stabbed to death in a house containing only family members and a former serious chef whom, of course, is blamed and who Nero Wolfe is certain did not do it; and the final story has Wolfe out of his comfort zone, having traveled to Westchester County in order to poach a good orchid man from a wealthy businessman - when death intervenes, it is in show more his own interests to clear the man of the crime. All three are tightly written and to the point; the last one was familiar to me from the "Nero Wolfe" television series, which is fresh enough in my memory that I could compare the filmed version to the original (there was very little variation, which speaks well for the television people). Again, not essential Nero Wolfe, but if you like the detective and/or his sidekick Archie Goodwin, these are good way to while away an afternoon - recommended! show less

THREE DOORS TO DEATH (Nero Wolfe #16) by Rex Stout is three short stories written in the late 1940s that are still fun to read today. Archie Goodwin talks us through three tales of murder and Nero Wolfe talks us through the solutions.
We open with MAN ALIVE, set in the New York world of high fashion. A dead man appears to come back to life, only to be murdered.
OMIT FLOWERS takes on the restaurant business. After her husband dies, the new owner and head of a highly successful chain of fine dining establishments decides to marry a slightly shady character and install him as president of the company. Her children, not to mention her head chef, have other ideas.
Finally DOOR TO DEATH presents a clear cut case of murder that could only have show more be perpetrated by one man. Wolfe has allowed Archie to drive him to the wilds of Westchester in search of a new horticulturist to temporarily replace Wolfe's usual man. That Wolfe has left his home shows how important the new man is to him, so Wolfe knows there is no possible way the fellow could be guilty.
Each is a puzzler and it is nice to sit and actually read a good mystery in the company of old friends. This is yet another winner from the pen of the late Mr. Stout. show less

This is three novelettes. The first,"Man Alive" involves a theme Stout uses several times (e.g. Red Threads) of a woman involved in the fashion industry (in which his wife worked). In this case, the niece of a leading designer comes to Wolfe to say her uncle supposedly committed suicide by jumping into a geyser in Yellowstone Park. but she has recently seen him alive. Soon after the investigation begins, however, he is found definitely dead. I rally like the opening concept of that one, though the rest is a fairly conventional investigation. . The second story, "Omit Flowers" has Wolfe's best friend Marko Vukcic asking as a favor that he look into a crime for which a once-great chef is being accused. The chief (Virgil Pompa) now works show more for a chain of restaurants called Ambrosia (reminiscent of the Pratterias in Some Buried Caesar) . Pompa had been the number 2 man in the business behind its founder, and when he died Pompa took over running it until the founder's widow remarried and decided her second husband should take over. When the husband was found with a knife in his back, Pompa was of course a suspect. The third story, "Door to Death" involves Wolfe and Archie going out to Westchester County to recruit an orchid tender to temporarily replace Wolfe's usual an Horstman who is ill. They find the prospective orchid men accused of murder in the death of a woman, so of course Wolfe has to get him off. show less