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Three for the Chair is a collection of three novellas featuring Rex Stout's iconic detective, Nero Wolfe, and his witty assistant, Archie Goodwin. First published in 1957, the book offers readers a captivating glimpse into Wolfe's unique problem-solving skills and Goodwin's sharp narration. The three novellas-A Window for Death, Immune to Murder, and Too Many Detectives-are diverse in their settings but consistent in their intellectual intrigue. In A Window for Death, Wolfe is called in to show more investigate the suspicious circumstances of a man's death after a family reunion. Immune to Murder takes Wolfe and Archie to a diplomatic hunting lodge, where political intrigue mixes with murder. The third novella, Too Many Detectives, presents a case involving wiretapping and an unexpected murder. Each story showcases Wolfe's methodical approach to solving mysteries without ever leaving the comfort of his brownstone, while Archie handles the legwork with wit and charm. Stout's writing is engaging, blending sharp dialogue, clever plotting, and memorable characters. Three for the Chair is a delightful read for fans of classic detective fiction, delivering the intellectual satisfaction and suspense typical of Nero Wolfe's adventures. show lessTags
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As most (all?) of the books in the series with a number in their title, this installment is a collection of 3 novelettes. The short format does not allow for a lot of plot reversals as in full novels but when done properly, it allows the same ingenuity without the distractions. Plus because of the short length, if one of the stories does not work very well, you can finish it quickly and move on to the next.
The three stories here cannot be more different from each other.
The first one, A Window for Death is the most traditional of them. A man who left his famiy awhile back and managed to become wealthy comes come to reconcile with the family - and ends up dead. There is no question of foul play at the start but as the money are not going show more to the family, they decide to dig into it and get Nero Wolfe to assist. If anyone did not see the past coming up and Wolfe solving another murder while solving this one, they had not read enough of the novels in the series. That's one of the very few Wolfe stories that I think could have been even better as a novel. But it works well as a story as well.
Immune to Murder not only takes Nero out of New York but have him cook for a diplomat in the middle of nowhere in the Adirondacks. Of course, where he goes, murder follows so before long in addition to the delicious trout, there is also a dead body to deal with and the local authorities seem to believe that Archie and Nero are the culprit - everyone else is either very rich or has diplomatic immunity or works for the government. That's the weakest of the threesome here - it is predictable and almost feels like it was written as an obligation.
The last story, Too Many Detectives, on the other hand was funny in the way the series rarely is. Not only Nero leaves the brownstone again (this time to get to Albany) and not only we get to hear about one of the cases where someone managed to deceive him but we also end up with Nero Wolfe and Archie sharing a jail cell. Add to that a dead body and a few more private detectives and the story got almost comical. When the truth finally emerges, it is so logical and obvious that one is almost ready to go back and count just how many detectives were involved again but I'd admit that I did not think of the solution either until very late in the story. This story also ties to the real life wiretapping scandals in the 1950s - we rarely see Nero Wolfe doing much with new technology (new for the times anyway) so it is always entertaining when something unusual shows up.
2 out of 3 stories is not bad for a collection - I could have lived without the middle story but the two bracketing it were worth reading.
As usual in this series, the publisher includes something from Stout's private files - a letter, a recipe or something else that puts the series in context. Here they reprinted two reviews which were posted at the time the book was first published - a negative one by Julian Symons in the London Sunday Times and a positive one by Anthony Boucher for the New York Times. Symons disliked the book so much that he is wondering if it is time to kill off Wolfe as this kind of a detective does not seem to be viable anymore; Boucher believes that this is the best of the threesomes which had become an important part of the series". I often just glance at these extra materials but these were entertaining to read. show less
The three stories here cannot be more different from each other.
The first one, A Window for Death is the most traditional of them. A man who left his famiy awhile back and managed to become wealthy comes come to reconcile with the family - and ends up dead. There is no question of foul play at the start but as the money are not going show more to the family, they decide to dig into it and get Nero Wolfe to assist. If anyone did not see the past coming up and Wolfe solving another murder while solving this one, they had not read enough of the novels in the series. That's one of the very few Wolfe stories that I think could have been even better as a novel. But it works well as a story as well.
Immune to Murder not only takes Nero out of New York but have him cook for a diplomat in the middle of nowhere in the Adirondacks. Of course, where he goes, murder follows so before long in addition to the delicious trout, there is also a dead body to deal with and the local authorities seem to believe that Archie and Nero are the culprit - everyone else is either very rich or has diplomatic immunity or works for the government. That's the weakest of the threesome here - it is predictable and almost feels like it was written as an obligation.
The last story, Too Many Detectives, on the other hand was funny in the way the series rarely is. Not only Nero leaves the brownstone again (this time to get to Albany) and not only we get to hear about one of the cases where someone managed to deceive him but we also end up with Nero Wolfe and Archie sharing a jail cell. Add to that a dead body and a few more private detectives and the story got almost comical. When the truth finally emerges, it is so logical and obvious that one is almost ready to go back and count just how many detectives were involved again but I'd admit that I did not think of the solution either until very late in the story. This story also ties to the real life wiretapping scandals in the 1950s - we rarely see Nero Wolfe doing much with new technology (new for the times anyway) so it is always entertaining when something unusual shows up.
2 out of 3 stories is not bad for a collection - I could have lived without the middle story but the two bracketing it were worth reading.
As usual in this series, the publisher includes something from Stout's private files - a letter, a recipe or something else that puts the series in context. Here they reprinted two reviews which were posted at the time the book was first published - a negative one by Julian Symons in the London Sunday Times and a positive one by Anthony Boucher for the New York Times. Symons disliked the book so much that he is wondering if it is time to kill off Wolfe as this kind of a detective does not seem to be viable anymore; Boucher believes that this is the best of the threesomes which had become an important part of the series". I often just glance at these extra materials but these were entertaining to read. show less
Three for the Chair is another trio of Nero Wolfe novellas by Rex Stout, including "A Window for Death," about a uranium miner who attempts to reconcile with his family but is murdered during his attempt; "Immune to Murder," one of the rare tales where Nero Wolfe leaves his home, in this case to travel to the Adirondacks in order to prepare a special meal for a visiting ambassador, only to find himself detained and inconvenienced when one of the party is killed; and "Too Many Detectives," wherein Wolfe is actually arrested briefly during the course of an investigation by the district attorney into possible illegal wiretapping activities amongst a group of private detectives. As always with these collections, the stories are short, show more concise and minor, but also as always, Wolfe and Archie Goodwin are remarkable characters to follow, and it's a great deal of fun to try to beat the great detective to a solution. Recommended! show less
This is one of the first Wolfe threesomes I read, and I still like it, though I suspect the title sees too gruesome nowadays.A Window for Death is a very classic type of story --a long lost brother comes home with a fortune, and is murdered --it develops that he had been tried and acquitted for the murder of his own father,and had come back to reveal the real killer --but Wolfe has to do it instead. Immune to Murder involves a high-powered diplomatic party catching trout for Wolfe to cook --but one of the fishermen ends up dead. The trout provide the crucial clue. The third story is my favorite -- Too Many Detectives --Wolfe and Archie and a batch of other detectives including Stout's female detective Dol Bonner (originally on her own show more in The Hand in the Glove) are called to testify about wiretapping, and the witness they are supposed to confront is murdered, but all the detectives together combine to solve the case. I regret we do not see more of Dol Bonner in other stories. Her assistant, Sally Colt, reappears briefly n The Father Hunt. show less
The bad thing with mystery short stories is that the author doesn't have enough time to insert red herrings so there are too few candidates for the reader to guess between.
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Author Information
375+ Works 50,238 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.
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Series
Nero Wolfe (28)
Belongs to Publisher Series
Jännityksen mestarit (67)
Öölane (83)
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Three for the Chair
- Original title
- Three for the Chair
- Original publication date
- 1957-05-04
- People/Characters
- Archie Goodwin; Nero Wolfe; Theodolinda Bonner (Dol Bonner); Sally Colt; Johnny Arrow; O. V. Bragan (show all 12); James Arthur Ferris; Adria Kelefy; Theodore Kelefy (Ambassador); David M. Leeson (Assistant Secretary of State); Sally Leeson; Dol Bonner
- Important places
- Albany, New York, USA; New York, USA; New York, New York, USA
- Related movies
- "A Nero Wolfe Mystery" Immune to Murder (2002 | IMDb)
- First words
- Nero Wolfe, behind his desk, sat glaring at the caller in the red leather chair. ("A Window for Death")
I stood with my arms folded, glaring down at Nero Wolfe, who had his 278 pounds planted in a massive armchair which was made of heavy pine slats, with thick rainbow rugs draped over the back and on the seat for a cushion. ("I... (show all)mmune to Murder")
I am against female detectives on principle. ("Too Many Detectives") - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)He was much too busy showing his wife how to prospect. ("A Window for Death")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Diplomatically speaking, I doubt if he cared much. ("Immune to Murder")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Especially since I could be useful as a diversion for Groom and the DA. ("Too Many Detectives")
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- Reviews
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- Rating
- (3.82)
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- 5 — English, Estonian, Finnish, Italian, Russian
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 15
- ASINs
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