If Death Ever Slept (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This latest entry in the estimable Nero Wolfe audio canon is a veritable time machine, transporting listeners back not only to the upscale New York City of the 1950s, but also to an era when wit and literacy flourished in the mystery genre. Prichard again proves that he is the perfect Archie Goodwin, surely the most interesting sidekick of them all the voice of Stout's most liberal instincts as well as a shrewd detective in his own right. The tale begins with a psychological duel between Goodwin and Wolfe as funny as a Kaufman and Hart play (indeed, a quote from George S. Kaufman sneaks into the text), reminding listeners how sharp an ear Stout (1886-1975) had for the edges and nuances of relationships. As usual, the plot is the work's least important aspect although this one, about a crass tycoon who hires Wolfe and Goodwin to expose his cheating daughter-in-law, does contain a few surprises. What stays in the mind are the sharply etched images (in black and white, like the best photographs from the period) of a relatively recent but completely vanished world of glamour, greed and human weakness. Based on the Viking hardcover.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From AudioFile

The magic of Rex Stout's novels is the stark contrast between the pompous, overweight master detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant, smart-aleck playboy Archie Goodwin. It takes a versatile performer to portray both Goodwin, the narrator, and Wolfe, the boss. Unfortunately, Michael Prichard, who has read 20 Stout titles for Audio Partners, isn't such a performer. Prichard has a strong and distinct style marked by wryness and a well-planned pomposity, but his wryness lacks the toughness of Archie's character, and his pomposity is missing the biliousness of the beer-swilling, orchid-raising Wolfe. The story, written in Stout's clever style, has the detectives hired to follow a slippery daughter-in-law. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (January 2, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553762966
• ISBN-13: 978-0553762969
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #330,820 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid but Unexceptional Wolfe, July 9, 2000

By	Chris Yanda (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Death Ever Slept (Paperback)

The Nero Wolfe stories by Rex Stout are timeless. Nero Wolfe is a fat, bad-tempered genius detective who almost never leaves his brownstone mansion in New York. The stories are told through his self-styled man-Friday, Archie Goodwin. Archie is Wolfe's foil: witty, active, and charming to the ladies.

In "If Death Ever Slept" Archie leaves the brownstone to go undercover as a secretary to a rich and important financier. It's classic mystery stuff -- a house full of suspects, some of whom get killed off as the story progresses and enough clever banter to keep you interested between the murders.

And that's exactly what I want in a mystery. Mysteries are supposed to be about clever people. There should be someone clever enough to think they can get away with murder. And there needs to be someone cleverer than that to catch them. Clever people should have clever dialogue. I'm not much a spine-tingling suspense mystery buff. I read mysteries for the fun of it. There has to be humour. Murder should be a funny business.

The other important characteristic of a good murder is that it should be a struggle to figure out who did it. All the clues should be there to find but it should be far from obvious.

If Death Ever Slept has the humour but it only partially succeeds on the mystery/clue front. I enjoyed the ride to the end. But once I'd finished the book I realised that for the last third of the book I had paid only scant attention to who the murder might be. When it came I wasn't surprised or gratified because I wasn't really interested any more.

I think I just like being in the comfortable brownstone with Wolfe and Archie eating good food, sitting in comfortable chairs and discussing the intriguing business of murder. In this book, I had absolutely no connection with either the victims or the killer.

Still, I enjoyed it as I enjoy almost all Nero Wolfe books.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stick with Wolfe's earlier adventures, November 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: If Death Ever Slept (Audio Cassette)

Just finished this book and my overall reaction was ... yawn. All the elements are there -- Archie, Fritz, Wolfe, beer, orchids, etc. But this is one of the later books in the series and there's a certain ennui evident. The mystery seemed over plotted, the characters under developed, and any genuine charm was missing. Of course even subpar Nero Wolfe is entertaining, so I'm not sorry I read it. I just enjoyed the earlier books so much more, and seeing the series go downhill is depressing.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Archie goes undercover, April 27, 2002

By	Michele L. Worley (Kingdom of the Mouse, United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: If Death Ever Slept (Audio Cassette)

Unlike Archie's last such assignment (in _Too Many Women_, written 10 years before this book), this case gives the reader a decent chance to solve the puzzle.

Ordinarily, Wolfe wouldn't ask where Archie's been when he comes in at 2 a.m. But when Archie walked out on Lily Rowan's party because she'd invited some people he didn't like, she started calling the brownstone, starting at 8 p.m. and ending at 1:30 ("So I, not you, have spent the evening with her, and I haven't enjoyed it.") The conversation went downhill from there, so when Otis Jarrell appeared for his first appointment with Wolfe the next day, he got the benefit of a rather stormy atmosphere, with Wolfe exerting himself to be pleasant, just to show that nothing's wrong with *him*. (To be fair, the brown envelope with $10000, cash, offered as a retainer, might have helped.)

Unfortunately for the exchequer, what Jarrell wants is to break up his son's marriage: Wyman married "a snake", and Jarrell believes that Susan has leaked damaging business information to his competitors several times. He wants to pass Archie off as a replacement for his own newly fired secretary, Jim Eber, until Wolfe and Archie come up with the goods. Archie's beginning to feel sorry for the rejection Jarrell has coming at this point - not only a near-divorce case, but depriving Wolfe of his services indefinitely - when Wolfe responds, "You realize, Mr. Jarrell, that there could be no commitment as to how long he would stay there." Archie, always a quick thinker, runs with this rather than squawking, and "Alan Green" becomes Jarrell's secretary.

Archie's new assignment palls very quickly. But matters become deadly serious when someone bypasses the security cameras in Jarrell's office to steal Jarrell's own gun, and Jarrell is too fixated on Susan as a suspect to get serious about finding it. Then matters escalate to plain deadly...

Leavening the mix of emotional relationships and industrial espionage are several timetables distilled from police reports, but they're provided in one big block so that you can ignore them at your own peril if you prefer. (Personally, I can enjoy this one just fine without worrying much about trying to work out the puzzle.) More interesting points include: Jarrell's daughter Lois, who (despite writing the poem from which the book's title is taken) is one of the 3 best dancers Archie's ever escorted; the measures taken by Archie to appear as Alan Green when the group is interviewed by Wolfe; and how Wolfe manages to escalate their quarrel to a new and more frightening level. :)