And Be a Villain [Mass Market Paperback]

Rex Stout (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1994

Radio talk show host Madeline Fraser's worst nightmare comes true when one of her on-air guests collapses at the mike after drinking a glass of the sponsor's beverage.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rex Stout (1886-1975) was the creator of Nero Wolfe, one of the most popular detectives of all time.

Michael Prichard is a Los Angeles-based actor who has recorded over 400 audiobooks. Smart Money named him one of their “Top Ten Golden Voices.”

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From AudioFile

A murder before a studio audience on a radio broadcast means a high-profile case and a $20,000 paycheck, both important to Nero Wolfe, who needs to boost his bank account quickly to pay for his luxurious living. Reading in Archie Goodwin's first-person voice, Michael Prichard gives the narration a touch of noir tone but keeps the emphasis on Rex Stout's witty dialogue as the wise-guy sidekick. His Nero Wolfe is suitably commanding as he belittles and deceives to get the truth from a gallery of dishonest suspects. Fans also will want to hear IN THE BEST FAMILIES, which resolves the battle with crime boss Arnold Zeck that is set up here. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Crimeline (February 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553239317
• ISBN-13: 978-0553239317
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.7 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Or as Archie calls it ever afterward, the Orchard case, November 6, 2002

By 

Michele L. Worley (Kingdom of the Mouse, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: And Be a Villain (Nero Wolfe Mysteries) (Audio Cassette)

Meet it is I set it down
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.
- Hamlet, Act I, scene 5, soliloquy before swearing vengeance

As with all of Stout's Wolfe mysteries, the setting is contemporary with the time of its writing - in this case, 18 March - 3 April 1948, which makes it a period piece today. Radio, rather than television, was the dominant communication medium in the United States. Commercials were live, rather than pre-recorded; in the case of a talk show, the host would participate in the commercial in front of a live studio audience. (This persisted even into the early years of television. A Timex commercial that went seriously wrong, wherein the watch couldn't even be *found* after the it's-still-ticking test, persisted for decades in Johnny Carson's list of funniest incidents on his show, for example.) And at that time, a national income tax was a relatively new feature of life in the United States, and fell due on the 15th of March. All these factors matter in setting the stage for this story.

Hi-Spot, one of the sponsors of the Madeleine Fraser show, revelled in her live commercials for their product, wherein she and her guests would drink 'the drink you dream of.' But the PR dream turned into a nightmare when someone spiked one glass with cyanide, and Cyril Orchard, one of the show's guests in a discussion of gambling, died 'live' on the air.

But was the editor of _Track Almanac_ the intended victim? Among the suspects - some of whom may have been intended victims - emotions, blood, and money may have become entangled. Deborah Koppel, Fraser's business manager, is also her sister-in-law through Fraser's late husband - and her principal beneficiary. Does she blame Fraser for her brother's death? Bill Meadows is her on-air sidekick - did he want a promotion to top billing? Or did he resent being kicked off the show recently, despite his reinstatement? Tully Strong represents the sponsors' council, and there'd been some bad blood over shifting accounts between shows, and retaliation by persuading accounts to change agencies. Nancylee Shepherd, an overgrown schoolgirl who's obsessed with Fraser, may be more than an annoying tagalong running a fan club. In the background, a rumour of anonymous letters taints the atmosphere, with a whiff of possible blackmail.

Most unusually, Wolfe solicits this case, rather than waiting for clients to come to him (granted, due to prodding by Archie, after he prepared Wolfe's form 1040). Another uncommon feature is that they have not one client, but a group; each individual or corporation owes a percentage of the fee, which is contingent on Wolfe's finding the murderer with evidence to convict. (Typically, when Wolfe's client is a corporate entity, the client's real goal is to control a serious publicity disaster - which results in friction where it clashes with Wolfe's goal of catching a culprit, and this case is no exception.) The group in this case consists of several corporate sponsors and Madeleine Fraser herself. (As Archie points out, Wolfe's fee is tax-deductible.)

Wolfe, ever true to his principles, refuses to allow one sponsor to join the client list - because he and Fritz tried their product, and it's awful. Archie won't let Hi-Spot even try to get Wolfe to participate in some PR photos, and quashes Fraser's hope of getting Wolfe on her show. The surviving guest from the fatal show, a professor specializing in probability, has an unrealistic opinion of his ability to predict things. The continuing character of Arnold Zeck makes his first major appearance in this story...and his interests don't align with Wolfe's. Deputy Commissioner O'Hara, horning in since it's a high-profile case, makes the mistake of ordering Archie's arrest as a material witness late in the story - and Wolfe's payback is beautiful to see.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wolfe meets his Moriarty, August 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: And Be a Villain (Mass Market Paperback)

Also titled More Deaths Than One, this is the first and best of the Arnold Zeck trilogy. If you want to read it in order, follow this with The Second Confession and Even in the Best Families, although personally I rate the latter a very poor Wolfe. None of this stops And Be a Villain from being one of the better stories, with Stout having lots of fun at the expense of the commercial world, a frequent theme during his post-war period.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Toast to the Host Makes the Guest a Ghost, July 3, 2001

By 

George R Dekle "Bob Dekle" (Lake City, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: And Be a Villain (Mass Market Paperback)

A guest on a radio talk show drops dead after taking a drink of the sponsor's beverage. Everyone involved lies through their teeth. Most lie to protect the host's embarassing secret, but one lies to escape the gallows. Nero Wolfe, who usually avoids cases, uncharacteristically seeks employment. He undertakes to solve the case on a contingent fee basis--no solution, no pay. Of course, he solves the case and earns his fee, but manages to please nobody in the process.

Wolfe is his usual gruff, eccentric, mercenary self. He is easy to dislike, but his powers are hard to disrespect. Archie Goodwin and the ensemble of regulars help to cushion Wolfe's rough edges.

In this book we first meet Wolfe's nemesis, Arnold Zeck. Zeck is a shadowy figure of immense wealth, untold political power, and criminal bent. One might say he is New York's "Napoleon of Crime." He plays only a small part in this book, but he comes into homicidal conflict with Wolfe in two later books, "The Second Confession" and "In the Best of Families."