Customer Reviews

Prisoner's Base

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I was glad that Bantam re-released this book after many years of my not being able to obtain it. Priscilla Eads, the heiress to millions of dollars, asks Nero Wolfe if she can stay in his house for a week. Shortly after Wolfe turns her down, Priscilla and her maid are found strangled to death. Archie asks Wolfe to investigate the murders. The plot is strong, although dark, and the characters are strong and believable, but the main enjoyment I get out of reading any of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe novels is another trip into the old brownstone house in New York on West Thirty-fifth Street with Archie Goodwin, Nero Wolfe, Fritz, fine dining, and orchids. It's always a pleasure to read a Nero Wolfe mystery.

This is a great Nero Wolfe story. It opens with Archie and Wolfe in a heated row. The two detectives have been known to push each others buttons but when Archie tears up his paycheck the resulting friction can be felt for the rest of the novel. Archie at one points runs out of the office and brownstone yelling that he doesn't care if he gets fired and goes to search for a killer himself. Along the way, Archie runs into a variety of strange characters including Sarah Jaffee, a young widow who still has a place set at the table for her dead husband. But the best part of all is this: as the pressure heats up to a boiling point, Wolfe finds himself with an unexpected client, Archie Goodwin.

William DeAndrea's terse introduction to the novel covers a lot in a few words. As he makes clear, this is an excellent novel for the new reader of the Nero Wolfe series. As a part of "The Rex Stout Library," a reprint of rare or "never before seen" memorabilia from Stout's archives is included at the back of the volume. I was disappointed with the item for this volume, the first typewritten page of Stout's manuscript. It does not exactly make a big splash, especially when the only difference between manuscript and final book form was the title. But that is my only criticism.

I recommend this book to all, avid mystery reader or not. I say not to fear for those fans of the television series that may be wary to tackle the volumes since Tim Hutton followed each novel very closely. The television show was excellent but there is even more detail in the book. For example, you get to learn exactly why Mrs. Jaffee should be able to recognize Eric Hagh along with how far an old man went when planning to strangle a young girl.

Nero Wolfe fans will not be disappointed in this book. Archie Goodwin delivers his usual smart-alecky narration, Wolfe himself is as gruff and brilliant as usual, and the rest of the cast of favorites make their appearances as well (Fritz is particularly amusing this time around).

Wolfe is approached by a young woman who wishes to simply live in his house for a week. While she is out of sight in an upstairs bedroom, a man, also offering to pay Wolfe for his services, comes to the door looking for her. The girl refuses Wolfe's terms, leaves, and winds up dead before morning.

After a few more corpses turn up, Archie begins to feel responsible, and takes off on his own to assist the police investigation. In a surprise twist, Wolfe agrees to represent a new client's interests in the matter, and the plot thickens.

If you're looking for a highbrow mystery, don't stop here, but if you're looking for a quick whodunit, you'll enjoy this book. At 150 or so pages, it's a nice afternoon's distraction that will keep you entertained, but don't expect Rendell or James here. Stout wrote them fast and furious, and they need to be read the same way. All in all, a very enjoyable episode in the Nero Wolfe collection.

Note: The A&E adaptation with Maury Chaykin as Wolfe is remarkably faithful to the story. If you're interested in an audio edition, Michael Pritchard's unabridged narration is good. My review assumes that you have some familiarity with Wolfe & Archie; the series begins with _Fer-de-lance_ if you aren't already acquainted with them.

Wolfe has been goofing off lately, refusing 4 cases in a row, so the bank balance is at its lowest point in 2 years. Archie, fed up with sitting around, asks for a weekend off, and gets it, but when Wolfe makes a snide remark upon his departure, Archie tears up his salary check to help out (!). All of which leads to a certain tension in the brownstone the following week, so that when a pretty girl shows up (with luggage) asking to stay anonymously in the South Room for a few weeks, Archie says sure, come in and we'll try Mr. Wolfe. :) He manages to get a replacement salary check out of the incident, but due to a combination of circumstances, Wolfe doesn't throw the girl out until nearly midnight. By morning, Inspector Cramer is at the door, asking Archie how his fingerprints came to be on the luggage of a murder victim - the second victim of a double homicide.

Had the girl - Priscilla Eads - lived, Wolfe would either have taken a job from her trustee, Perry Helmar, to produce her, safe, in New York by her birthday, or taken a check from her (equaling the amount of Helmar's fee) to conceal her whereabouts as she originally asked. Unfortunately, when Helmar had offered the job, she had already been in the house, and she walked out rather than replace Helmar as Wolfe's client. Consequently, her murder leaves Wolfe with no client and no chance of a fee, and he won't investigate. But Archie can't stand the thought of a murderer being grateful to him for putting Priscilla in harm's way, and takes a leave of absence to hunt down the killer on his own.

Priscilla would have inherited 90% of the stock of Softdown, Inc. had she lived to see her birthday; since the stock now passes into the board of directors' control, Archie begins by interviewing them. (They talk to him, thinking he's a cop because they didn't check his credentials.) Archie gets arrested (falsely) for impersonating an officer, but by the end of the day - 14 minutes to six, to be exact - Wolfe has a client and he and Archie are on the case.

A case with some beautiful touches: a few really clever moves by Archie to get cooperation from various people, some spectacular confrontations between the brownstone's inhabitants and the forces of the law, and a surprising amount of cooperation with the law at other points. (Archie *really* wants to catch the creep who did this.) See if you can find the solution before the traditional finale in Wolfe's office; Stout plays fair and gives you all the information you need to solve it.

Nero Wolfe has a new client, Archie Goodwin who knows his every whim. Priscilla Eads asks for sanctuary in Wolfe's home, but when she will not provide her identity Wolfe sends her home. Within hours she is murdered and Archie is arrested for the crime as his fingerprints are on her luggage and he discovered her body.
Many people want to young woman dead before she reaches her 25th birthday when she would have reached control of her father's fortune and company.
Lt. Rowcliff makes his usual mistakes in letting his hatred of Wolfe override his judgement.
PRISONER'S BASE by Rex Stout is vintage Nero Wolfe and an excellent read for late nights.
Nash Black, whose books are available in Kindle editions.
HaintsWriting as a Small Business

Prisoner's Base begins with a woman coming to Nero Wolfe and asking to remain in his home for one week. She wants complete secrecy and seclusion but won't say why. While Archie is attracted to her, Wolfe simply doesn't want the bother and turns her out. Later that same night she and her maid are killed and the mystery begins.

This book is somewhat different from a typical Nero Wolfe novel in a few ways. First, it is on the short side as it is a good 50 pages or so less than a typical full-length Wolfe story but still considerably longer than the novellas. Also, it shows Archie more personally motivated to solve the murders than is the norm. Rather than simply working for a client, Archie is motivated by guilt. Things get even worse for him later as another murder is committed that he blames himself for. We rarely see the wisecracking Archie Goodwin so worked up about finding a murderer. There are also some nice moments between Wolfe and Archie, as Nero knows his right hand man is hurting and ultimately does what he can to help him.

One effect of Archie's guilt is that the humor gets toned down somewhat. There are still some funny moments but far less than in other books. I also found some elements of the mystery a little unsatisfying. The most glaring example was the setup for the story. It is never really made clear why the woman comes to Wolfe seeking sanctuary in the first place. She was rich and powerful and could have hired a bodyguard, traveled anywhere in the world, refused to accept phone calls or visitors, etc. The idea of a single woman going to the private home of a male investigator (in 1952) for the sole purpose of sleeping in a spare bedroom is frankly ridiculous. There should have been a truly compelling motive for why she went to Wolfe specifically but there isn't.

Overall, Prisoner's Base is a good book. I didn't enjoy it as much as some other Wolfe novels but the story moves along reasonably well, there is at least a little humor, and some of the interplay between Wolfe and Archie is excellent. This certainly shouldn't be the first Nero Wolfe novel you read, but don't be afraid to give it a try if you're a fan.

Rex Stout is a fun, inventive mystery writer with terrific characters, Nero Wolfe and Arcie Goodwin. Excellent quality and a fantastic reader...recommend to anyone who enjoys a good mystery without all the blood and gore!!!!

We like to listen to audio books that are intriguing and/or entertaining without requiring more attention than is safe while driving. Nero Wolfe books are perfect. Michael Pritchard is the voice of these books and is perfect for the job. Not great literature, the Wolfe books are, for lack of a better term, good clean murders. I've had more than enough of the current popular gruesome serial killers, thank you.

PRISONER'S BASE is classic Wolfe. Archie takes on a different role in this one; a man possessed by anger and self-doubt. These feelings are brought on by the death of a young woman who is denied the safety of the Wolfe residence and then exacerbated by a ploy that Archie uses that leads to another murder. Archie's rage, checked by his ever-present control, threatens to consume him and even brings him into an alliance with Cramer and Stebbins in his efforts to solve the case. But it is still up to Wolfe to bring this one to a close, which he proceeds to do by a bit of a cheat on Stout's part, but it still proves to be an excellent addition to the Wolfe series.

A bit grim, as if any murder mystery isn't, but this is darker than most of Stout. It is well done with nice characterizations of the companion folks, though, and well worth a read.