Customer Reviews

Please Pass The Guilt (Nero Wolfe Mysteries)

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"A week after the explosion of that bomb you were in distress, severe enough to take you to that clinic and then to me. Later, when I became professionally involved, the nature of your distress was of course of interest. There were various possibilities: You had yourself put the bomb in the drawer and the burden of guilt was too heavy for you. Or you hadn't, but you knew or suspected who had, and your conscience was galling you; your imagined bloody hands were insisting, *please pass the guilt*."

- Nero Wolfe to suspect, herein

As one of the final Wolfe novels written, PLEASE PASS THE GUILT is just as much a period piece as the Wolfe stories set during the Depression and World War II, and not just for the somewhat dated references to women's lib. When Doc Vollmer (Wolfe's neighbour, physician, and friend) refers a patient to Wolfe for his troubles, for example, Vollmer feels that it's necessary to explain the then-newfangled approach to psychiatric therapy known as "crisis intervention", because the patient in question has a trauma that seems to require the attention of a private investigator rather than a psychiatrist. An anonymous patient keeps imagining blood on his hands, but refuses to identify himself or give the medical staff of the Crisis Clinic any information other than the bare description of his symptoms.

As a favour to the doc, Wolfe agrees to see the man, and after revealing that the office is wired for sound and for photographs when necessary, persuades him to identify himself: Kenneth Meer, chief assistant to Amory Browning, vice-president in charge of programming at CAN (a major TV network), whose office was destroyed by a bomb recently. There's some question as to the intended victim in the incident; while the bomb was rigged in a drawer of Browning's desk where he supposedly kept bourbon, Peter Odell (another VP and a competitor for the presidency of CAN) actually opened the drawer and died.

Since the first few months of 1969 have brought in few well-paying cases, Archie exerts himself to persuade the grieving widow Madeline [sic] Odell that since she can't hope to buy her late husband the presidency of CAN anymore, she can at least avenge his death by hiring Wolfe to catch the murderer.

But who was the intended victim? Mrs. Odell says that Peter was trying to spike Browning's bourbon with LSD before a crucial interview in selecting the retiring CAN president's successor; did anyone else know about the plot? Did Browning booby-trap his own desk? Mrs. Browning? Browning's secretary, Helen Lugos (who may be his mistress)? Meer, who may be interested in Helen and would definitely be interested in moving up at CAN? The technical expertise to set the bomb doesn't narrow the suspect list in this year of 1969; not only are various members of CAN's staff old enough to have seen military service, but the network recently produced a documentary on terrorism that could've served as a tutorial.

The three musketeers - Saul, Fred, and Orrie - are soon tasked with learning who knew about the LSD as a starting point. And as for Archie...

"'Am I just to sit here and take calls from the help?'

'No. You are to seduce either Miss Lugos or Miss Venner. Which one?'

I raised one brow. He can't do that. 'Why not both?'

We discussed it."

Drive-in totals:

- One dead body.

- Newspaper fu (i.e., Wolfe's tactic of placing inflammatory newspaper advertisements to get stalled investigations moving) and subsequent appointment with a terrorist in the office.

- Interesting conversation between Archie and a female ex-talk-show-host about obscene language.

- Some new experiences with Inspector Cramer, starting with his arrival in the middle of a briefing with Saul, Fred, and Orrie.

- Reappearance of a supporting player from DEATH OF A DOXY.

Stout is trying hard here to bring Nero and company into the turbulent 60s. This trend started with "The Doorbell Rang" and its depiction of civil rights. Here, the hegemony and influence of television in the late 1960s is the focus.

And what does it mean when a man hallucinates that he has blood on his hands?

Does Wolfe solicit clients? Of course, that is so beneath his dignity and personal value system, but the answer in this story is yes, indeed. He snares the wife of a dead TV executive via a provocative letter (all right, Archie really sends it, but Wolfe does not take an open invitation to repudiate it). This case really shows Wolfe in late career as a figure of "the New York establishment," where his reputation is wide and deep and the simply fact of his involvement in a case has a strong "Hawthorne effect."

It's a good read, and it sets the stage for the (sadly) few books left in the series before Stout's death. No collection is complete without it.

Please Pass the Guilt is an excellent addition to Rex Stout's line of Nero Wolfe novels. The plot is interesting and fast-paced, while still remaining complex. One complaint I have is the excessive amount of characters that Stout uses in this book. It's somewhat difficult to keep track of them all as the mystery unravels. I also thought the ending was a little weak, and didn't justify the suspense that Stout had cleverly built up throughout the book as the reader came closer to discovering who planted the bomb. These minor shortcomings don't diminish the overall effectiveness of the book, and Please Pass the Guilt retains all the familiar Nero Wolfe charm readers love.

My 6th Nero Wolfe book, and I have to back off a bit. I get confused when there are too many characters. I was able to keep track, but just barely, and I must say that the story is brilliant, as I've decided Stout's stories consistently are. Stout pulls in the news of the time, and I loved that because I'm an old gal who grew up in the '60s and '70s. All those radicals and precursors to today's terrorist make good fodder for mysteries. So, enjoy, but expect to have to keep track of who is who a little more than you might like to.

If you've not yet met Nero Wolfe, you are in for a treat as this crusty, corpulent detective takes on yet another murder case. Rex Stout is a master of prose and the English language, and Michael Prichard adds just the right touch of accents and inflection to enrich without distraction.

The only downside? When reading a Rex Stout book, it's easy to flip back and reread the truly great lines. Small price to pay, however, for taking Misters Stout and Wolfe along on the drive.

Intertainment , like the "old Radio" mysteries, ... Great enjoyment while driving in the auto on long trips!

Nero Wolfe stories always present a good listen to the books of Rex Stout. Pritchard's voice is pleasant and displays the right amount of inflection to "get" the humor and interplay between the characters.

A wonderful followup book to others. Not the first read, but definitely a top 10 Nero book.

The audiobook was labeled "very good"condition. It came worn and edges of box chewed up. I was giving as a gift bc my parents like us to order used to be green. However, I like to order in good condition. Disappointed.