Customer Reviews

Death of a Doxy (Nero Wolfe Mysteries)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One of Nero Wolfe's operatives, Orrie Cather, is in custody and suspected of murdering a kept woman. Wolfe wants his investigator cleared, the woman's keeper (a "respectable" businessman) wants to stay out of the headlines, and the woman's sister wants vengeance but no scandalous murder trial. If Wolfe can accomplish all these objectives, there's $50,000.00 in it for him. If not, he's lost a bundle in out-of-pocket expenses.

Figuring out whodunnit is no problem. How to finagle it proves a tougher nut to crack. Assistance comes from the victim's brainy, beautiful friend, a stripper named Julie Jacquette. Julie likes Archie, hates Saul, and admires Wolfe. Strangely, Wolfe returns the admiration. The two unlikely allies join forces and . . . it goes without saying that they manage to infuriate Inspector Cramer. But can they pull off the caper, achieve all the objectives, and collect the reward? It's a thousand to one shot.

Solid Wolfe story from the excellent 60s period. The fat man's encounter with Julie Jacquette is good fun and all the usual characters (notably Cramer) are in fine form.

The best part of this book is the character, Julie Jacquette, who is vital to Wolfe's plan to catch the killer of the titular "doxy." (A rather quaint term for a mistress) Jacquette is one of Stout's best written female characters, well able for Wolfe and Goodwin, likeable and intelligent with a sense of humor. In the midst of this rather predictable mystery, dealing with blackmail and a wealthy man who wants to stay out of the investigation, she proves to be breath of fresh air and pushes this one up a notch in the pantheon.

This is my absolute favorite of the Nero Wolfe full-length stories. A&E has also done a marvelous job - the book and episode match almost perfectly!

You are never disappointed if you are a Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe) fan. You can always count on the same solid story telling and this title didn't prove that fact wrong. Read by Michael Prichard, who is Archie to me, there is a comfort like listening to a story from an old friend.

This reads (listens) like Stout's later works, slightly "thinner" than many of his earlier books, but the style, the dry humor, and the plot are every bit as good as any of the Nero Wolfe stories. Orie Cather is not actually involved in the action of this story a lot, but is further developed as a character himself. This glimse of his character actually sets him apart just a little from the other "boys" Nero retains for large or complicated jobs.

I have almost exhausted the entire Nero Wolfe library. It has been very enjoyable, whether reading or listening I have been able to lose myself every one of the stories.

Overall a good read or listen.

This is one of my favorite Rex Stout novels. The characters are sharply drawn, the dialogue crackles, the writing is witty. I'm not a big fan of the plot, but it suffices.

Nero Wolfe expressed that sentiment to, of all things, a woman, a young, attractive nightclub singer who was helping expose the murderer of her best friend (the doxy) and clear sometime Wolfe operative, Orrie Cather, of the crime. The woman, Julie Jaquette, was neither hysterical (as Wolfe assumed all women to be) nor in awe of him (as he expected everyone to be). Not only did she stare down murder suspects and police detectives but she dared refer to Wolfe by his first name, barge into the rooftop gardens and take up residence in the South room. Despite all this, or perhaps because of it, Wolfe did indeed wish her well and then set about helping her to do well in life.

Fans of this long running series will not want to miss this story, set and written in 1966 but those new to the series will miss most of the fun. The mystery itself is clever but nothing really out of the ordinary for the series, the true attraction here is the interplay between Wolfe and Julie Jaquette. Wolfe has long been established as a total misogynist yet in Julie he has met his match. Usually it is the repartee between Wolfe and Archie that provides the humor, but in this one Julie shows herself an equal to the men. Too bad that she doesn't take up permanent residence in the brownstone.

It's hard to call a murder mystery required reading, but, hey, who reads novels by requirement anyway? We read for good stories and this is a good story.

This was my intro to Rex Stout's famous duo Nero Wolfe, the massive genius, and his streetwise sidekick Archie Goodwin. It's sort of like a fat Holmes taking on a Sam Spade and it's all set in New York City. So it blends the two main strands of the detective novel - the classic mystery-solving intellectual genius with the hard-hitting, tough talkin', fedora-wearing gumshoe.

This one tells the case of a murdered "doxy" (look it up) that Wolfe takes on only to help a friend. An incidental choice of a name leads Wolfe to the devious and unsuspecting killer. And there are some great lines here particularly between Wolfe and one of the few women to amuse Wolfe.

If you've never read a Wolfe story and you enjoy mysteries or detective stories, go for it. It's not too long and it certainly won't be a boring afternoon. Happy reading!

Another excellent story. The characters are as always excellent and the word play just flows. It is the characters who make these books so much joy to read. This one has all the charm and wit that I have come to expect from a Nero Wolfe mystery. The way he thinks is just a joy to behold. Well worth the read.

Death of a Doxie was the first Nero Wolfe mystery I read. Sure, I saw the films and watched the TV series years ago but reading Stout for the first time made me a fan and now I have three more on my coffee table to read. I wonder why it took me so long to 'discover' Rex Stout. There is a certain delightful and three dimensional quality (no pun intended given the size of Nero Wolfe) about the characters. Sometimes you like Wolfe and sometimes he grates on you but you always admire him and his loyalty. Archie Goodwin is a constant, and a rather interesting character as well. He is the legs of the operation while Wolfe dictates from his office and makes the suspects come to him.

If you like a mystery where you can figure out who dunnit, but want to see how the master detectives solves the case, Nero Wolfe is your man.

Death of a Doxie is a good sample of Stouts work and there are alot more to read in the series.