Customer Reviews

Where There's a Will (Nero Wolfe Mysteries)

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

 

 

Millionaire Noel Hawthorne has just died in a hunting accident. In his will, he leaves his sisters (named April, May, and June) a peach, a pear, and an apple, respectively. But, to a young woman who was _not_ his wife, he leaves a huge chunk of his fortune. The sisters come to Wolfe to find out what's behind this wacky will. But Wolfe suspects that maybe the hunting accident was no accident...

I am stunned to read that other reviewers consider this book to be one of Stout's worst. I completely disagree. How can this be a bad Wolfe entry when:

Wolfe is faced with _three_ women in his house at once
Wolfe faces the threat of arrest from Cramer
Fred Durkin has his best scenes in the series so far
Archie has one of his best outings
(And finally,) Wolfe leaves the house!

Sure, this is not the _best_ Wolfe story Stout ever wrote. It does have some character inconsistencies that later stories don't have. There are also some real problems with the plot. And, true, this would not be the book to start with for first-time Wolfe readers. But should it be included in the trash pile? Definitely not. An average Nero Wolfe story, after all, is better than most writers' "above average" output. Dig in.

Nero Wolfe and Archi Goodwin are asked to help break a will. It seems a very rich man, name of Noel Hawthorne, died and left most of his money to the 'OTHER WOMAN' and the wife is going to fight over it. His sisters DON'T want her to do so, as they all have good names they don't wish to be splashed through the mud of a very public, and very ugly, court battle. They want him to either stop the wife, break this will, find another will or maybe even get the 'OTHER WOMAN' to cough up some of the millions she will get.

Right when it looks like Wolfe will just dismiss it all with a 'Pfui!' the police show up. It seems Mr. Hawthrone was murdered.

Now Nero, with help from Archie, will have to get to the bottom of the murder if he wants any peace (or any money).

If you have read three or four Nero Wolfe books, and liked them, you will like this book. What's not to like about three sisters named April, May and June?

This is somewhat of an "inside baseball" of Wolfe -- lots of characters, constant action. Not a long book, but a lot of content.

Wolfe leaves his home, which is always an interesting twist, given how much he hates it.

Wolfe almost gets arrested and taken to Police HQ. He dictates a letter before he is to be taken, which forestalls his arrest. The letter is vintage Rex Stout.

The back of my copy made it seem like the mystery in this book was: which veiled woman is the real widow? This added a level of interest above that of a regular Nero Wolfe mystery (if there is such a thing as a "regular" Nero Wolfe mystery). In actuality, the mystery is a much more standard: who is the killer? But it's still Nero Wolfe, so it's going to be interesting anyway.

Archie Goodwin is one of my favorite narrators, and he doesn't disappoint here. There are some surprises, as Wolfe gets rather more physically involved in the case than he usually prefers, and of course his genius leads to surprising leaps of impeccable logic. As I finished this book, I wondered why I ever read a book that's not a Nero Wolfe book.

I had really hoped that A&E would "do" this one. I would have loved to see how the female repertory cast members would have handled the brilliant spring sisters in this book.

It's a good, vigorous read. I'm hoping to get a copy of Michael Pritchard's reading of it, based on how well he's handled the other Wolfe books. They're coming out on CD audio now, which is great for clarity and ease of use.

Not the best, I suppose, but this book belongs on the shelves of any mystery fan.

A very fun read and worth it even if a little stiff. Stout had not quite arrived at the equality of relationship between Archie and Nero that made the books after the first three so much fun. The Red Box, Too Many Cooks, and Some Buried Caeser are the wonderful following books, but Where there's a will is still fun and good.

I love the Nero Wolfe books and have read each of them at least twice. What I like about Where There's a Will is the three Hawthorne sisters: April, May, and June. As always, I love Archie's wit, Cramer's stolid pursuit of whoever he thinks the murderer is in that particular book, and I love Fred, Saul, and the gang. Stout's writing is always precise and witty: you can close your eyes and see the characters.

That said, I think this plot wasn't strong, and so the novel just doesn't stand out for me. Also, the disfigured, veiled widow wasn't exactly a pleasant presence in this book. If you've never read a Nero Wolfe, DO read them: just don't start with this one.

Fans of Nero Wolfe know how much he cherishes his ordered life: his schedule of morning and afternoon sessions in the plant rooms; his undisturbed mealtimes; his policies on never leaving the brownstone on business to name but a few. Wolfe is forced to abandon many of his long established polices in order to solve this problem.

Three women, sisters, have come to Wolfe for help. Their brother has died unexpectedly and even more unexpectedly left his considerable fortune not to his sisters and his wife, but to his girlfriend. Wolfe rarely gets involved in such domestic matters but does agree to take this one on, perhaps to get his office rid of all the females for before the evening is over the brownstone is invaded by the three sisters, the widow, a secretary and the dead man's niece. It is only the beginning of Wolfe's trials though, before he reveals all Wolfe has to suffer a young woman at his table, leave the brownstone - on business, eat in someone else's home and even fend off an arrest warrant in his own home.

This is popular, long running series of mysteries that focuses on the eccentric genius, Nero Wolfe who solves the most difficult of problems from the comfort of his brownstone (usually anyway). Wolfe is aided in his investigations by his assistant, Archie Goodwin who narrates the stories. Even though the puzzles in these mysteries are quite challenging these are very much cozies in that much of the appeal comes from the recurring cast of characters. Fans will not want to miss any opportunity to stop by for a visit to the brownstone. The overall story arc of this series is not so pronounced that the stories need to be read in any particular order.

This was a very good story .. I am a big fan of Nero's Wolf's

He and Archie have become like familiy ...

I'm such a fan of Nero Wolfe that I find this as good as others. The characters and Archie's character in particular make the story "real". Another gem by Rex Stout and as with all the others, without dwelling on the violence, bloodiness etc. Just a good mystery.