Reviews for Nero Wolfe, and Be a Villain

The average rating for Nero Wolfe, and Be a Villain based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2007-06-16 00:00:00 Ron Jones A man is poisoned during a live radio soft drink commercial, and Wolfe dispatches Goodwin to persuade the popular talk show host to hire Wolfe to solve this notorious crime, thus ending the bad publicity. (For once, he is eager for work: he has a large income tax bill to pay.) This 1948 Rex Stout classic features Wolfe's first encounter with master criminal Arnold Zeck, Wolfe's Moriarty. If you have not read any of Nero Wolfe's adventures, this, followed by the other two books featuring Zeck--The Second Confession (1949), In the Best Families (1950)--is an excellent place to begin.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-11-13 00:00:00 Annemarie Cronin Nero Wolfe needs money yet again. I know I sound like a broken record, but this is how the majority of the series' books start. He sends Archie Goodwin to see a popular radio talk show host Madeline Fraser (think Oprah Winfrey before the era of TV) to accept his services in investigating a sensational murder which happened recently right in the middle of the show: a guest drank some soft drink from the show sponsors and fell dead. The murder seems to be completely random as there was no way to insure the right victim would receive the bottle with the poison. Every self-respected private detective has his own arch-enemy evil genius, and Nero Wolfe is not an exception. While Sherlock Holmes has Professor Moriarty, Nero Wolfe's guy is named Mr. Zeck. This is the first time he makes an appearance, but Wolfe mentioned he encountered him before and that in case the time comes when he really has to cross his path, he would have to go into deep hiding. This prediction turned out to be prophetic in a later book. Once again, the character interactions are great and some of Archie's antics in dealing with the law agencies made me smile a lot. This time the mystery part was masterfully done as well with Wolfe slowly getting into the bottom of seemingly impossible murder. The books of the series never fail to entertain and amuse; the rating is 4 easy stars. This review is a copy/paste of my LeafMark one: