Robert Goldsborough

Nero Wolfe is back on the case after a two-year hiatus. He'd be willing to turn away a young woman in distress, but Archie Goodwin is more sympathetic. And when Wolfe learns that the woman is the niece of an old friend of his from his days as a freedom fighter in Montenegro, Wolfe agrees to take the case.

The niece is concerned about some recent threatening letters that her uncle has received. Her uncle is the musical director of the New York Philharmonic. And when her uncle is found stabbed to death in his apartment, Wolfe is on the case. There are numerous suspects from rivals in the New York Philharmonic to old enemies.

I enjoyed this return to the world of Nero Wolfe. The fantastic meals, the orchids, and Wolfe's quirks were all present. This story is narrated by Archie who knows his boss and is close behind on the solution to the mystery. I enjoyed the NYC setting too.… (altro)

Milan Stevens, the tyrannical conductor of the New York Symphony, has been getting death threats. Knowing that he is an old Montenegrin comrade of Nero Wolfe’s, Stevens’ niece—Maria—asks for Wolfe’s help; however, Maria’s request has come too late because Maria soon discovers her uncle brutally murdered in their apartment. Maria’s boyfriend, Jerry, is the obvious suspect and is quickly arrested for the murder. However, Stevens was incredibly unpopular, and there is no dearth of suspects among the symphony’s musicians and administrators. Nero Wolfe and his sidekick Archie Goodwin agree to take the case and prove Jerry’s innocence.

The mystery and its solution were mildly interesting, and the book passed the time reasonably well.

Unfortunately, Archie Goodwin is an incredibly pompous and unpleasant character. Aside from serving as the book’s narrator, Archie seems to serve only three purposes:
1) to convince the reader what hot stuff he thinks he is
2) to constantly remind the reader just how fat Nero Wolfe is
3) to make fatuous comments about how worthy (or unworthy) of his notice the female characters are

To paraphrase good ol’ Arch, ‘she had too much mileage on her to be of any interest to ME, but she was still good looking enough to say that Stevens was doing all right for himself.’

Any woman who would give the likes of Archie Goodwin the time of day would have to have more than a few screws loose.

The mystery story itself was ok, but I’m not eager to waste any more of my own time with that jerk Archie; so, I am going to have to give the rest of the series a definite pass.… (altro)

Archie goes undercover to try to figure out why a Broadway producer/director is getting bad feelings about his new production. When the producer is murdered, Archie becomes a suspect in the case.

At first, Nero Wolfe is interested in a limited way. He was convinced to take the case at the request of a fellow orchid grower who has recently received a unique orchid which Wolfe covets. He agrees to solve the crime in return for three of the rare orchids.

Archie had interviewed all the potential suspects in his persona as a writer for a Canadian theater journal, but now Nero Wolfe wants to see each suspect in his office. It is a small cast but filled with big Broadway personalities from the star who will do anything to win a Tony, to a Hollywood movie star making his Broadway debut, to an old pro character actor on his last legs, to a couple of young actors playing the romantic leads.

This was an entertaining audiobook filled with interesting characters. I enjoyed the historical setting. I also enjoyed the plot and the relationship between Nero Wolfe and his right-hand man Archie Goodwin.… (altro)