The Silent Speaker by Rex Stout 271 pages

This is one of the best Nero Wolfe mysteries.  It is full of intrigue, and an awful lot of flirtation.  If you love excellent dialogue and mysteries that keep you guessing, you won't be disappointed.  When a powerful government official scheduled to speak to a group of millionaires turns up dead, the business world clamors for a solution and Nero Wolfe takes the case.  There’s really not a lot more to tell…Archie is irresistibly charming, as always.  Wolfe gets sick of having too many clients and warring agencies constantly crashing his office calm.  Another fantastic Nero Wolfe mystery read by Michael Prichard!

Where There's a Will: a Nero Wolfe Mystery by Rex Stout 258 pages

I love revisiting these books.  This one is not just an intriguing mystery, but a fun character study, too.
When strong, influential sisters, April, May and June call on Wolfe, he prepares himself for the worst.  After all, he does not play well with women.  Their main complaint is that their bother's will is bizarre.  He left his sisters a piece of fruit each, an oddly small amount to his wife and a whopping $700,000 to his mistress.  Something sure doesn't seem right in all of it.  The sisters don't care about money, they all have plenty of their own.  However, there were some legacies that were promised and it seems unlikely that their brother would have completely ignored them.  This was a tricky one that even got Wolfe not only out of his chair, but out of the house!  Read by Michael Prichard, it was a treat as always.

Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout 274 pages

It is a well established fact that Nero Wolfe seldom leaves his house, and almost never for work.  So when a murder occurs while he and Archie Goodwin are visiting a fair, he's aggravated, to say the least.  If he wants to get back home to his favorite chair, he'll just have to solve the murder.  As always, the characters of Nero and Archie are vivid and fun.  This installment of the series is also the introduction of Lily Rowen, who gives Archie an opportunity to show just how witty he can be.  I listened to this read by Michael Prichard, who captures Archie's voice to perfection. 

Too Many Cooks: a Nero Wolfe Mystery by Rex Stout 179 pages

Not much can get Nero Wolfe out of the only chair that will fit him or his daily routine, but when he is to be the guest speaker for a group of gourmands, he can hardly say no.  Traveling by train with ever-entertaining Archie Goodwin is only the start of the fun.  Of course, there has to be a murder to go and spoil the whole thing.  Don't worry, though, Wolfe will figure out a way to make it all work to his advantage...that's what geniuses do.  This is one of my favorite Nero Wolfe mysteries.  It is very funny, but it is set in a time and area where racial tensions were high.  Some language is certainly offensive, but characteristic of its time and the characters who use it. 

I listened to the audiobook read by Michael Prichard, who did a spectacular job capturing Archie's voice, as always.

The Red Box: a Nero Wolfe Mystery by Rex Stout 189 pages

Continuing with my Nero Wolfe infatuation, I listened to this one read by Michael Prichard.  Archie and Nero are confronted by a young man who insists that Wolfe leave the comfort of his office and his orchids to investigate a murder at a leading fashion design house.  A clever trick is used to get the rotund detective out of the only chair he feels comfortable in and down to the design firm.  It seems a young model has eaten a poisoned piece of candy.  The problem is that the candy wasn't hers.  The police are stumped, and the client is worried about his cousin who also models there.  Who was the intended victim and how many more will die before the truth is discovered?

This was a really well woven, enjoyable mystery.  Archie's sarcastic, confident voice was as entertaining as ever.  I highly recommend this series.

The Rubber Band: A Nero Wolfe Mystery by Rex Stout 189 pages

Third in the series, this book in the Nero Wolf mystery series is a really fun one.  I think it has some of the best banter between Archie and Nero of any of them.  Clara Fox has a problem.  A very interesting problem.  40+ years ago, her father, along with several other men in a Nevada mining town, helped a man escape a hanging.  They did this with the understanding that this man would make them rich when he got home to England.  The real tricky part was that two of the main players were using aliases or nicknames and not many of the original group were still around.  Clara's father was killed in the war, but wrote all the details down in a letter to his wife, telling her that he hopes she can collect on the debt and help support herself and their daughter.  Now, Clara's mother has died and passed the letter on to her.  Clara is convinced that Nero Wolf is the only man who could possibly untangle this mystery and get her father's due.  As soon as he starts investigating, though, another of the original group is murdered...a few blocks from Wolf's residence and only a few minutes after receiving a phone call there.  Wolf's genius is certainly needed for this one, but it will be Archie's quick wit and sparkling comebacks that keep you laughing till the end.  I listened to this one again read by Michael Prichard...the best Nero Wolf audiobook reader.

The League of Frightened Men: a Nero Wolfe Mystery by Rex Stout 302 pages

I've decided to listen to all the Nero Wolfe mysteries again, this time in order which I've never done before.  I love the characters so much, but I've always bounced around to whichever book was available.  I think it might be fascinating to see their development as a natural progression.  That being said, this is the second book in the series.  A group of friends is sure that one among them, one that they wronged back in college with lasting effects, is picking them off one by one.  They hire Wolfe to remove him as a threat or source of concern.  Wolfe always picks up on things no one else does and the solution to this one caught me by surprise.  The ever-so-rotund genius will earn his fee whether people like it or not!  Read by Michael Prichard, this was a pleasure to listen to again.

Fer-de-Lance: a Nero Wolfe Mystery by Rex Stout 285 pages

I just listened to this one again and I think everything I said before still holds true.  This is the first book in the Nero Wolfe series.  It's a great introduction to the characters and is a really spectacular mystery, too.  We get to meet Wolfe, Archie and Fritz, not to mention Saul, Orrie and Fred in one of the most confusing mysteries Wolfe ever had to tackle.  When a young woman hires Wolfe to find her brother, no one can see the connection between the death of this "nobody" and the death of a major player on the social scene.  No one, except Wolfe, of course.  I'm not going to give anything away in this one, the twists and turns are too good to miss.  Archie's voice was already well-tuned, even though this was the first ride with him and Wolfe.

This is read by Michael Prichard (who would want to listen to Nero Wolfe books read by anyone else?) and is a really great story.

Murder by the Book by Rex Stout 246 pages

This was a very good Nero Wolfe mysteries, I think it's one of my favorites and that's saying something!  It opens with Inspector Cramer coming to Wolfe for help on a body that was dragged out of the river.  They know it's murder, but they can't even begin to start on it.  The only real clue is a list of names found inside a book in the dead man's residence.  Unfortunately, the names apparently do not belong to any real person.  Wolfe confesses that he doubts he can be of any help at all.  Then a man comes from Illinois to hire Wolfe to find out who killed his daughter.  She was living and working in New York for a publishing house.  The man shows Wolfe the last letter his daughter ever wrote to him and Wolfe recognizes a name in it.  This sets Wolfe and Archie on a trail that gets tougher and deadlier.  It is well worth the ride on this one!  I listened to this one read by Michael Prichard, who did a wonderful job as always.

Please Pass the Guilt by Rex Stout 176 pages

Two men are up for president of a major company.  One of them opens the drawer of the other one's desk and a bomb removes him as competition.  The problem is: which man was the bomb intended for?  That's what the victim's wife wants to know.  Was it meant for her husband?  And if so, how did anyone know why and when he would be opening that drawer?  It seems that everyone has a story to tell...sometimes more than one version of the same story.  It takes all their wit and guile for Archie and Nero Wolfe to sort this one out.  Read by Michael Prichard and enjoyed as always.