Customer Reviews

Death Of A Dude

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4 star:		(1)
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A later Nero that holds up very well. For dialogue between Wolfe and Archie it is one of the best and could be the funniest of them all. I have reread it several times and it is always fun.

Despite the title, this story has (slightly) more to do with _The Father Hunt_ than with _Death of a Doxy_; the research compiled by Amy Denovo on Lily Rowan's father is now being turned into a book. One of Archie's fellow guests during his vacation at Lily's ranch in Montana (the Bar JR) is Wade Worthy, the biographer who's working on James Rowan.

However, the dude of the title was Philip Brodell, who had returned to the area after seducing Alma Greve the year before - Brodell was found dead from a shot in the back on a huckleberry-picking expedition. Alma's father Harvey is now in jail, charged with murder, but Lily and Archie are convinced he's innocent, since they've both known him for years (see "The Rodeo Murder" in _Three at Wolfe's Door_). Archie takes an unpaid leave of absence from Wolfe until the case is finished. Wolfe, of course, isn't prepared to have Archie gone for an open-ended length of time, so after pulling a few strings to find out exactly what the case against Harvey is, he appears unannounced at the Bar JR soon after receiving Archie's letter, and he and Archie get to work on the investigation.

It's cool to see Wolfe loosen up a little; as a guest in someone else's domain, he'd be violating his personal standards if he took his eccentricity too far. (Archie, after watching him a little, says it's obvious Wolfe promised himself not to complain about the food no matter what.) Archie, for his part, has made friends over years of vacation visits to Lily out here: to name two, Woody, who runs what he calls the Hall of Culture (the dance hall and cinema pieces of it support him) and can hold his own in dinner conversation with Wolfe, and Carol, the wife of the accused and an ex-rodeo performer herself, who doesn't have a bible in the house to swear on, so she uses a saddle she won at the height of her career.

Some other neat touches include, but are by no means limited to: the guests at the dude ranch where the victim was staying; checking up on the alibi of Brodell's would-be rival for Alma Greve's affections, involving a history teacher, some chickens, and a roofing company; and a hilarious little passage wherein Archie takes time out to discuss censoring one of the wranglers' commentary on Brodell, a deserving victim if ever there was one.

DEATH OF A DUDE shows why the Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout remain classics. Stout was a competent journeyman who consistently delivered easy to read prose, enjoyable puzzles and interesting characters. The heart and soul of the appeal of these books lies in the contrast between the characters of the quintessential legman Archie Goodwin and his brainy boss Nero Wolfe.

The contrast between Archie's energy and Wolfe's laziness and the tension between the two as Archie subtly spurs Wolfe into working is great fun in their normal milieu of New York City but elevates to a new level whenever Wolfe is forced out of his comfort zone, which is basically the armchair in his office.

In this book, Archie was on vacation at Lily Rowen's ranch in the Rockies when a guest of a dude ranch down the road is murdered. Everyone thinks the Lily's foreman has done the deed because Phil Brodell got the foreman's daughter pregnant. Archie and Lily are sure the foreman would never shoot a man in the back like that but Archie is going nowhere in trying to find the real culprit.

Here is where the real fun begins: Archie writes to Wolfe, taking an unpaid leave of absence and assuring his employer that he's sure to be back by the World Series...or maybe by election day.

Wolfe doesn't think he can do without Archie that long so he makes the trek to Lame Horse, Montana.

There he's in a place that for eccentricity beats him hollow. The pleasure of Nero Wolfe adapting to his Wild West environment is matched by the clever solution to the crime.

This is a great book for a summer reading program. It was first published in 1969.

This is almost the end of the line for Rex Stout and Nero Wolfe. By this time (1969) Stout has become an institution and, sadly, a little out of the mainstream. He'd resolved that his characters would never age, and they don't. However, the world around them has changed so much...

So it makes great sense for Rex to become Tex, and send Nero and Archie out to the wild, wild west. Things don't change here. Men are men, and women know their place.

It's a little similar to "Too Many Cooks," where Wolfe has to curb his irritations and be deferential to a host, whether or not he perceives himself to be a jewel resting on a cushion of hospitality. He's out west, and his pride does not allow him to show his discomfort.

Wolfe winding down...it's sad to see fewer witty and memorable lines, but always great to see Archie and Wolfe working as only they can...

Another great Nero Wolfe mystery. However, I would have understood the context better if I had read it after 9 or 10 other Wolfe and Goodwin adventures, rather than earlier on.

Rex Stout mysteries are always well written. Very vivid imaginative detail is always worked into the stories. Stout's main characters are well incorporated with an occasional "last minute "utsider" that surprises the reader...

I now have a complete library of Rex Stout's books. Death of Dude is one of my favorites that I will undoubtedly re-read.

Enjoy Wolfe fans!

This is a review of the overall product. Others, more eloquent than I, can review the title itself. I am predisposed to love Rex Stout books, so I am not an impartial reviewer.

I love the convenience of buying my Rex Stout books in this format. The indexing function on my Kindle makes research ever-so-much easier than with my traditional paper copies. I also noticed that they are making a real attempt to make a lot more of the Nero Wolfe series available than previously, with some of the hard to find titles now available. I will buy as many of the canon in this format as you make available. Well done, and thanks!