Not Quite Dead Enough and Booby Trap: Two Nero Wolfe Mysteries [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Rex Stout (Author), Michael Prichard (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 2004

Here are two Rex Stout short stories for war buffs and Nero Wolfe fans alike. In "Not Quite Dead Enough," Archie Goodwin - Nero Wolfe's perennial legman - literally steals the limelight. Recently inducted into Army Intelligence, Archie goes to Wolfe's flat to see why he hasn't been answering his or the Army recruiter's calls. Wolfe could be dead, but Archie later finds out he's been "training" to join the Army. It takes the murder of a woman Archie goes dancing with to get Nero Wolfe to investigate crime again. The wartime theme continues in "Booby Trap" as Archie and Wolfe investigate the murder of Captain Albert Cross, killed only hours before he was to make a report about a prototype grenade theft to the group of intelligence people Wolfe works with. Listener favorite Michael Prichard, named by Smart Money magazine as one of the "Top Ten Golden Voices," precisely captures the characters' personalities and the story locations.

Editorial Reviews

From AudioFile

These stories are told by Archie Goodwin, assistant and legman for the fabled orchidist and gourmet sleuth, Nero Wolfe. Wolfe is famous not only for his eccentric behavior, but also for solving crimes without ever leaving his desk. Now, however, the U.S. has entered WWII, and Wolfe is on a diet and exercise routine Archie is pretty sure it's going to kill him if he doesn't intervene. But did Archie have to go out and get himself accused of murder to pull it off? Archie and Wolfe are left with many pieces of a puzzle to put together. Michael Prichard has recorded hundreds of audiobooks and is especially notable for his mystery and suspense readings. He has the crisp, clipped tones that are perfect for detective stories of crime in the big city. D.G. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America; Unabridged edition (January 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572703628
• ISBN-13: 978-1572703629
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 4.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,300,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Illustrator Michael Rex is the author and illustrator of many books for children. He lives in the Bronx, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hope Michael Pritchard Finishes What He Started, October 8, 2004

By 

John P Bernat (Kingsport, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Not Quite Dead Enough and Booby Trap: Two Nero Wolfe Mysteries (Audio CD)

Just got this CD set, so now I have, let's see, 27 Nero Wolfe books on tape or CD.

There's no help for it.

Now, bear in mind that while Michael Pritchard read most of these, he did not read all of these, and that is not satisfactory. An actor from the A&E series read one or two of them and while I admite his chutzpah, he's no Pritchard.

I hope that, eventually, Pritchard records ALL of the Wolfe stories.

Michael Pritchard jumps into these two stories with his usual enthusiam. I love the way he does Wolfe - not exaggerating or overplaying, but clearly conveying that Wolfe is a big guy with a commanding voice. Maury Chaykin comments on the A&E DVDs that "no one talks like Nero Wolfe." Well, I know one guy who does...

And when Pritchard speaks with Archie's voice [and Archie's "inner voice"], he captures Archie's special combination of earnestness and cynicism that makes him so appealing.

These two stories are logically grouped as among Stout's World War II efforts. Some have derided the first one as too implausible, and recommend jumping right into "Booby Trap." With the CD set, it's pretty easy to do that: the tracks are clearly labelled. But if you do, you actually miss some of the "setup material" since, it appears, "Not Quite..." is set at a time frame preceding "Booby Trap."

Suit yourself. Since I cannot get enough of Nero Wolfe, I just let the good times roll...

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite Dead Enough and Booby Trap, February 3, 2004

By 

Horselover_Fat (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Quite Dead Enough and Booby Trap: Two Nero Wolfe Mysteries (Audio CD)

A welcome distraction for Wolfe fans. While worthy of the Wolfe name, neither of these stories has the amount of plot and character depth as most of Stout's other novels. But that by no means, means that these stories aren't an interesting listen.
Prichard of course delivers the subtle differences of every character in his inimitable way.
Not Quite Dead Enough is the best of the two, and is in my opinion, one of Stout's best short stories.
Booby Trap shows a bit of a 'dark side' of Wolfe, wherein, ***spoiler*** he persuades a murderer to commit suicide near the end. But overall this collection is a must-read for Wolfe fanatics, as is pretty much every other Wolfe novel.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars BBC Audio version incomplete, January 25, 2008

By 

Ed K (Elgin, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Quite Dead Enough and Booby Trap: Two Nero Wolfe Mysteries (Audio CD)

I bought this product in the CD version and received the BBC Audio edition rather than the one from Audio Partners. The first story, "Not Quite Dead Enough" was incomplete. The whole first chapter and beginning of the second were omitted. I opted for a refund from Amazon rather than a replacement since every copy of the BBC Audio edition is likely to be similarly defective.