Red Box, The (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is always a treat to [hear] a Nero Wolfe mystery. The man has entered our folklore." -- The New York Times Book Review

"Nero Wolfe, the fat detective of Rex Stout's novels, towers over his rivals...he is an exceptional character creation." -- The New Yorker

"Rex Stout...raised detective fiction to the level of art. He gave us genius of at least two kinds, and a strong realist voice that was shot through with hope." -- Walter Mosley

"The model never dreamed that one little piece of candy would kill her, but it did!...Listen as Nero and Archie take on the case of this high-fashion corpse and two other stiffs. The Red Box is unabridged, superbly recorded, with Michael Prichard's narration doing full justice to this clever murder mystery." -- Reviewer's Bookwatch --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Description

A lovely woman is dead, and the fortunes of overextended theatrical producer Llewellyn Frost depend on solving the mystery of the red box: two pounds of candied fruits, nuts and creams, covered with chocolate -- and laced with potassium cyanide.

When Nero Wolfe's suspicion falls on Frost's kissing cousin, Frost wants the detective to kill the sickly sweet case--before it kills him.

"It is always a treat to read a Nero Wolfe mystery. The man has entered our folklore." (The New York Times) --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Crimeline; 2nd printing edition (January 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553249193
• ISBN-13: 978-0553249194
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #881,140 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my top 3 Rex Stout Nero Wolfe favorites!, February 4, 2006

By	April A. Zalat (Seattle, WA - USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Red Box (Paperback)

This is one of my top three favorite Rex Stout Nero Wolfe mysteries! Plot about a murder brought about by eating poisoned chocolates (later, poisoned aspirins), and due to the circumstances, motive is terribly difficult to determine because it's not certain the victim was the intended victim. Very non-cooperative characters - maddeningly so, sprinkled with those telling partial truths and withholding helpful information. The most difficult of clients ever, and the mystery so difficult one fears Wolfe won't pull off another miraculous solution. Many red herrings and twists and turns, very hard to figure out how it's going to turn out. Wolfe, Archie, Fritz, Cramer in their usual entertaining forms; excellent story, enjoyable! If you haven't already read this one, treat yourself to it!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Early Wolfe: works well despite the rough edges, October 9, 2005

By	J. Carroll "Jack" (Island Heights,NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Red Box (Nero Wolfe Mysteries) (Audio Cassette)

A nice complex mystery, one of Wolfe's better stunts, and Archie in full annoyance mode, makes THE RED BOX a nice addition to the Wolfe oeuvre. Whenever Wolfe leaves the office, bad things are bound to happen, but having to go to a fashion designer's workplace, albeit at the request of some of NY's top orchid growers, to investigate a murder, makes Wolfe more than a little grumpy and things go from bad to worse. As this is an early Wolfe mystery fans will find a few things not in line with the later more polished work; Archie lacks the sophistication we see later in the series and there is particularly unfortunate episode of police brutality that accepted as par for the course by all parties involved. But it is a good mystery with a few more twists than some of the more formulaic Wolfe stories.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fourth Outing, October 12, 2004

By	John P Bernat (Kingsport, TN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This one has been criticized as being "overwritten."

To a degree, this criticism is merited. There is a particularly melodramatic death scene, and that does make this book a little more resemble the crime movies of the era (1936).

However, Stout takes some pains to work against sterotype in this one, and Wolfe actually visits a crime scene for the first time in the series. Archie prefigures his work in "Too Many Women," and the settings are drawn very, very carefully.

I like it, but among the first ten stories, it's one of the most sentimental and romantic. If you like that style, you'll love this book. If you like hard-boiled, there's less of that to be found here.