Customer Reviews

Champagne for One (Nero Wolfe Mysteries)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read all of the other reviews and was prompted to buy this book, because there was a consensus that this was one of his best books or the start of a solid string of Wolfe novels. The only problem with the other reviews I have is that none of them, really take into account the first time Wolfe reader. I found the dialogue and interaction between Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin very intriguing. It shares some similarities of the genius detective and his trusty sidekick. The difference being here that Archie is more the eyes and ears and the man about town that Wolfe is not. If you read Christie or Conan Doyle, then you may tire of the dolt of a sidekick who can never figure out in the slightest what the hero detective is up to. While Wolfe is the genius here, the story revolves around the fact that Archie is present to the supposed suicide of a young single mother that he feels is actually a murder. It is Wolfe's trust in Archie that commits him to the case at hand. Throughout the way the police and other parties try to convince Wolfe to give it up, but his intelligence and the resourcefulness of Archie and company find the truth. Truly an entertaining story and intriguing characters. It is clear from Stout fanatics that it is worth the read, and take it from a first time reader as well.

This is Wolfe in his pomp. After a patchy time, with a few sub-standard stories during the early/mid 50s, I think that in this book, Stout established the key ingredients which he continued throughout his excellent later period. After Champagne for One, he never wrote a weak full-length Wolfe. Good plot- there's even a passable sub-plot!

One of the best of Nero Wolfe. I also recommend Some Buried Caesar, one of more light-hearted books. I read Rex Stout nearly 20 years ago and have just started re-reading them. I am enjoying them more the second time around that i did the first. the plots and characters are ageless! I can still laugh at the unique interplay betwee Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe, still envy the freedom of Nero's lifestyle, and still admire the plots. One of the great things about Rex Stout, is that (unlike some mystery writers that I could name), he doesn't hold out clues or keep secrets that the hero discloses at the end. He gives you the clues (sometimes tossed out in the middle of a paragraph). And sometimes, just sometimes, the reader get the thrill of solving the mystery!

This book is fast paced and gets to the point quickly and with style. The characters are brilliant as well as deep and interesting. The setting rich and full and the plot clever. I'm hooked on Nero Wolfe and after reading this book, I'll never read another Anne Perry novel again. Rex Stout can capture and mix all the needed elements of a good and exciting mystery.

followers of nero wolfe and archie goodwin will not be disappointed with this book. it's all here - orchids, lovely women, the globe in the office and saul panzer. you will love the way archie is forced to be at his most diplomatic when dealing with the many unmarried mothers in this book. and with an unexpected villain too.

Who knew?

Fetal alcohol syndrome just was not on the radar when Rex wrote this one. Faith Usher, a guest at a special banquet honoring illegitimate moms, dies shortly after drinking a champagne toast.

It as the murderer's hard luck that Faith's chosen usher is Wolfe's assistant, Archie Goodwin. It just won't do to have Archie's date die right in front of him...

This one, like "The Mother Hunt," addresses Stout's preoccupation with society's conventions around maternity. And of course "The Father Hunt" talks about paternity, and sometimes how it's wiser not to know some things...

With his usual crotchedy charm, private eye Nero Wolfe tackles another mystery, this one involving the death of a young unwed mother, in Champagne for One. Mixing in with the horrors of death are the poignant story of a girl in trouble trusting philanthropists to take care of her, and the careless class of the wealthy who are indifferent to everything save their own public images. Engrossing and suspenseful, Champagne for One is a quick read that will leave you wanting to devour more of Rex Stout's wonderful Nero Wolfe mysteries.

This is anything but hardboiled crime - more like light musical crime. An odd genre that has a murder as the central plot device, but we're all meant to be well aware that, like in cartoons, nobody really gets hurt: the victim will get up, dust themselves off, and be ready to be done in or doing-in in the next novel. The TV drama based around this series suits it perfectly, with the same cast taking turns in different roles throughout. Still it's an enormously popular style, so safe in the knowledge that we're deep in convention we can have a nice time playing in a situation that in reality would be awful.

While Stout never goes over the top (which is why I stopped at a B - I smirked occasionally but never laughed out loud), the characters and manor of dialogue are not too distant from a Wodehouse novel. Stout's narrator is dryly humorous rather than ingenuously hilarious. He has his moments:

"It is always a temptation to monkey with locks, and one of the best ways to test ears is to enter someone's castle uninvited and, while you are looking here and there for something interesting, listen for footsteps on the stairs or the sound of an elevator. If you don't hear them in time your hearing is defective, and you should try some other line of work when you're out and around again."

Nice timing - it's the sort of thing I'd expect to hear from John Clarke. The confident females we encounter sparkle in conversation, and most of the company is pleasant enough to be with. Stout makes the trip quite agreeable.

He puts himself under a bit of pressure with the frequent references to Wolfe's `genius' (I always prefer a writer to convince me of a character's outstanding attributes by their actions and dialogue rather than expecting me to just take their word for it that they're intelligent/funny/cunning or whatever), but part of the reason for this is he enjoys playing with the hierarchy and professional protocol of various detectives who enjoy sorting out their place in the pecking order, and need a grand master to aspire to.

This is not fantastic or powerful or stunning - but it was never meant to be. Stout was a prolific professional writer turning out another workmanlike product in his justifiably successful franchise - this is hardly his attempt at a masterwork, but it is a solid, enjoyable light crime novel.

No good deed shall go unpunished. Archie fills in for a friend as an escort at a dinner for unwed mothers and one of the mothers ends up dead. Archie is the only one who thinks it was murder not suicide. Will the police never learn? Nero Wolf steps in to straighten it all out.

A straightforward mystery to solve...how does a young woman commit suicide in front of a watchful Archie Goodwin. She didn't as Archie contends and Wolfe proves; she was murdered. The whole gang investigates in this one and it will keep you guessing as there are a variety of reasons for young Faith Usher's demise. The ending is a little weak as it relies on police investigation to tie the murderer up but a good addition to the series.