Customer Reviews

A Right to Die

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of the better late Nero Wolfe stories. I notice that the other reviewer (thus far) finds Wolfe irritating--of course, he's meant to be that way, which is why we are presented with Archie as Boswell to his ponderous Johnson, perhaps the best solution ever reached to the Dr. Watson problem. What is the Dr. Watson problem? The detective can only seem brilliant if his cards are hidden--but a 1st person narrative is the only way to really involve the reader in the mystery. Thus, the author provides an assistant to the great "Sherlock." The problem is that Dr. Watson figures often seem like idiots--we're unconvinced (in a few stories) that Holmes is a genius because only Watson could have missed the obvious. Archie is competent enough himself that we never doubt for a moment that Wolfe is truly a genius--and the dialogue between Archie and Wolfe is some of the best give-and-take ever written.

A beautiful young debutante joins the civil rights movement and falls in love with a co-worker. They plan to marry. He is black, she is white. Today this would present no great problem. In 1964, such a marriage was unlawful in many states and unthinkable in most of the others. The young man's father employs Nero Wolfe to "dig up some dirt" on the girl so that he can use it to talk his son out of "ruining his life."

While Wolfe plays muckraker the girl gets herself killed and her fiance discovers her body. In the wake of the discovery he manages to act guilty enough to get himself arrested. Despite the incriminating circumstantial evidence, his innocence is obvious to everyone except the police.

Wolfe undertakes to find the real killer, and discovers that almost every single member of the civil rights group had motive, means, and opportunity to kill the girl. One of the group even volunteers to confess to the murder to save the young man.

Wolfe keeps Archie and Saul Panzer hopping as they run down leads and try to sort through the tangle of evidence, and of course they come out the other side of the maze with a surprising and satisfying solution.

Paul Whipple doesn't want his son to marry outside of his race. It's not that he doesn't like white people, but a black man marrying a white woman in 1964 is trouble. Whipple wants Nero Wolfe to help him find a way to break up their engagement. Wolfe would normally reject job like this but he owes a debt to Whipple because of an incident that had occurred in the distant past when Whipple helped him solve a case.

So off Archie goes to Racine, Wisconsin to dig up some dirt on Susan Brooke but after a fruitless search that finds not a trace of scandal, Archie gets a call from Wolfe. Return to New York... Susan Brooke has been found beaten to death in her apartment. And when Whipple's son is arrested for the crime, the case changes into a hunt for the real killer.

The book was written in 1964 at the same time the debate over the Civil Rights Act was going on. Stout covers what was controversial material at the time, reminding us that attitudes in 1964 were not the same as they are today. But this book also reminds us that we haven't come as far as we might like to think. The n-word is used in the book, but only in dialog when Stout uses it to reveal something about the character of the person who says it. Wolfe and Archie never use it, and as Archie says, "I have felt superior to plenty of people but never because of the color of my skin."

As to the the mystery itself, it is one of the best I have read so far. I didn't have the slightest idea who the killer might be and yet when it was revealed I wanted to smack myself for not getting it.

A RIGHT TO DIE is Stout at his most political, using Wolfe to make a commentary about race relations in America. Wolfe's involvement in a case relating to the civil rights movement, interracial relationships, and of course, a murder that will confound the police, is an interesting time capsule. The book exposes some harsh truths which appear a bit dated today, but don't lack for impact. The mystery itself is a fairly involving one, but the weight of the events surrounding this particular tale is a bit too heavy for Nero and Archie to carry. Stout was not afraid to make political statements in this series, but they didn't always make for the best episodes.

This comes from the golden period of Wolfe stories, alongside Too Many Clients, Gambit, The Doorbell Rang etc. The household on 35th Street, with its regular outriders, is fully developed and faces the brave new world (in this case, our topical theme is civil rights) with wit and equanimity. A typical Wolfe solution of this period, spotting the odd little fact no-one else considers. Strong plot.

This book begins with Wolfe breaking one of his own rules; namely to never take a case that involves digging up dirt on someone (an undertaking he finds reprehensible and beneath him). But he feels obligated to a man who once did him a favor and decides to undertake the job of looking into the background of a woman who later ends up being murdered, with his client's son being suspected of the Murder. Archie and Wolfe must prove their client's son did not committ the crime and to do that, they must find the murderer. And, as you might guess, the solution lies in the victims past.

This book is extremely well written. It touches on a number of topics, but none as intimately as the civil rights movement and interracial relationships. Combined with Stout's usual flair this makes for an intriquing mystery and a fascinating look at the civil rights era that still is important today.

The book also highlights alot of the characteristics of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin that have made them such memorable characters.

A Right To Die is one of the later Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin mysteries and has a few somewhat unique characteristics compared to the rest of the series. Wolfe is hired by a man whose son is accused of murder. Said client is a gentleman who provided critical assistance in a previous case, (Too Many Cooks), so Wolfe "owes him", a position the great (big) detective rarely finds himself in. This case also takes Archie out of the environs of the Big Apple, (Wolfe himself rarely leaves his brownstone), to Wisconsin as he tracks the victim's past.

Lastly, the author tackles a topic of the day, (1964), the Civil Rights movement. The author didn't necessarily avoid historical context in his books, i.e. World War II and Communism, but their inclusion into the storyline/plot is rare.

Regardless, this is another excellent Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin mystery. If you are new to this series, then you are in for a treat; Rex Stout was a prolific author and I've never been disappointed with reading one of his many books - and in this case - rereading one.

I figured out the identity of the killer pretty early on as well as the motive which is a rarity for me. Many of the other reviewers gave a summary of the plot so I will not do so. Stout wrote this book in 1964 at the height of the civil rights movement. It was also the year the civil rights bill was written so Stout's book involves civil rights but fortunately it doesn't get in the way of a good mystery. Others have mentioned the use of a certain word, which, was still used in those days. It should not detract from the book. This book is a sequel, of sorts, to "Too Many Cooks", which was written in 1938. A minor yet pivotal character was Paul Whipple, then a young man and now a middle-aged one who comes toWolfe for help. This man has aged but Archie and Nero have not. This stretched even my ability to suspend disbelief and it annoyed me. Apparently bringing in this man gave Stout an excuse to write a mystery and also making a political month. However, despite that it is vintage Archie and Wolfe and I very much enjoyed it.

"A Right to Die" is one of Rex Stout's last if not the last of Nero Wolf mystery. And it is true his later works were not his best. It's probably Rex Stout getting his 2 cents in on the Civil Rights movements of 1964. The biggest problem with his later works is Wolf and Archie, Saul and Cramer
have been exactly the same as they were in 1934 only the rest of the world has aged.

A middle aged black man who gave Wolf some information in West Virginia when he was a 21 year old kid, as Archie described him, has a son marrying a white girl and wants to find out what's wrong with her. Guess what, Wolf and Archie think Archie should sudduce her and it'd be over. She's murdered before this can happen. But then Archie starts thinking about the black girl who his son finally goes after. Do the math, he has to be twice the age or either. Just a little paradox that stood out for me.

Charactors, plot, and solution are really thin for Rex Stout story. The lawyer is obnoxious ok. Rest we find out what shade of black they are and villian is easily spotted by using the old technic of "why is this person being mentioned anyway?". The solution comes from considering a dipthong which really has no bearing on anything. But then you needed to look that word up anyway.

I also ordered "Some Buried Ceasar" an earlier and considerably better story.

It is a Nero Wolf and Michael Prichard is one of the best readers in the field. I do suggest the earlier works. THE RUBBER BAND, THE LEAGUE OF FRIGHTENED MEN, ETC.

This is a sequel--separated by 26 years--to the Nero Wolfe mystery "Too Many Cooks." It's not essential to read the earlier book first, but it doesn't hurt. (Besides, "Cooks" features a great mystery and Wolfe outside of the brownstone. To attend a gourmet event, of course.) The actual events of the story are pretty matter-of-fact, and I wouldn't rate it very highly except for the solution. Whodunit and why is brilliantly clever. Possibly my favorite ending because, even though I never see Stout's solutions coming, this one really surprised me. And it made perfect sense.