Fer-De-Lance: A Nero Wolfe Mystery (Mystery Masters Series) (ISBN 1572703881)

Amazon.com Review:
I've promised myself for the past decade that, when I finally retire, my first major project will be to reread the entire Nero Wolfe canon in chronological order, a worthwhile occupation if ever there was one. Although entirely different and not nearly as literary as Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer series or the Philip Marlowe novels of Raymond Chandler, the Wolfe saga deserves to be ranked with them as among the finest series of detective stories ever written by an American. Fer-de-lance introduces the brilliant, idiosyncratic, and obese armchair detective to the world and, while it may not be the best book of the series, it provides a wonderful murder set on a golf course and a cast of characters and laundry list of eccentricities that are an integral part of each novel and novella. Rex Stout has managed to pull off a feat unparalleled to this day: the perfect combination of deductive reasoning--as exemplified by the classic Golden Age writers such as Christie, Sayers, Van Dine, and Queen--with the hard-boiled attitude and dialogue of the more realistic tough guy writers such as Chandler, Macdonald, Hammett, and Robert B. Parker. The toughness is brought to the books by Wolfe's leg man and amanuensis, Archie Goodwin. The structure and ambience of the books is, quite deliberately, very much like the Sherlock Holmes stories that Stout so admired. The house on West 35th Street is as familiar as the sitting room at 221B Baker Street; his cook Fritz pops up as regularly as Mrs. Hudson; and his irritant, Inspector Cramer of the NYPD, serves the same role as several Scotland Yard detectives, notably Inspector Lestrade, did for Holmes. Fair warning: It is safe to read one Nero Wolfe novel, because you will surely like it. It is extremely unsafe to read three, because you will forever be hooked on the delightful characters who populate these perfect books. --Otto Penzler

Clever Dialog with So-So Mystery:
Nero Wolfe is one of the most famous detectives in fiction. Wolfe is a genius for solving murders but that is not what makes these books worth reading. It is Wolfe's eccentricities combined with the narration of Wolfe's assistant, Archie Goodwin. Rex Stout displays clever and funny writing (especially the dialogs), to keep the story moving. Nero Wolfe is, of course, the incredibly obese detective who rarely leaves his apartment in Manhattan but sends Archie Goodwin, (his hardboiled, skirt-chasing assistant) to gather evidence for him so that Wolfe can sit in his chair and solve the case. Fer-De-Lance is the first book in the Nero Wolfe series (there are 73 in the series) and it is amazing how fully developed the characters were even in this first book. It has been said that that you can pick up any of the novels in any order and you won't feel out of place. In this story, Wolfe is short of money (a perennial problem as he lives in an expensive apartment, with a chef, a gardener to maintain his precious orchids, and Archie on staff). Wolfe first needs to find a case that can pay him enough and he is lucky enough to find a convenient murder and even better he has a clue that the police don't have as he knows another murder is linked to the first. Slowly, and yet inexorably, Wolfe reels in the murderer and solves the case. But solving the murder is only a small part of the story. It is the narration of Archie Goodwin, the wonderful dialog, and the uniqueness of Nero Wolfe, that make this a fun story to read. There is little mystery in the actual murder but watching Wolfe crack the case and figure out how to get the evidence against the killer is pure joy.

The first Wolfe:
This is the first book in the Nero Wolfe series but you would never know it. Unlike what is usually the case of a first book in a series, it stands as good as any that follow. One of the beauties about the books of Rex Stout is that you do not have to read them in order. Any Nero Wolfe book you pick up has Nero and Archie in the same place, the same age, the same minor characters. Only some of the events in the background give away the year. There is a comfort in knowing that any book will give you the same satisfaction without having to keep track of the characters. Fer De Lance has an interesting plot and some interesting characters. A must read for Rex Stout fans, and all fans of a good mystery.

Remarkable:
This book is remarkable in two ways. One is in how consistent the writing has been in the series, and the second is how true the television series on A & E had been in presenting the stories. Unless you checked the chronology, or nitpicked throughout the story, most readers would not be able to find any discontinuity or breaks in flow or inconsistency in style in this story. I was hard pressed to believe that this is the first book in the series. Rex Stout made no special effort to introduce the characters that we all know and love in this book. They were introduced, but to no great fanfare, very little background was given, yet he was able to get the reader involved in the plot. Archie starts out in his inimitable style, as does Nero Wolfe. The intelligence, was there, the styling is there, and the eccentricities are there. I came to the Nero Wolfe mysteries through the A & E series: Nero Wolfe - The Complete First Season and Nero Wolfe - The Complete Second Season. It struck me while reading this book as to how true to the stories the producers were in putting the same ethos and peculiarities. The furnishings were very well described in the book, and the show did a remarkable job filling in the blank spots. The story itself was classic Nero Wolfe, lots of thing going on to derail the line of reasoning, yet everything falls together brilliantly. Stout doesn't overly indulge in springing surprises, always a turnoff in a good mystery, nor does he telegraph his hand until the very end. The mystery was well paced and the dialog was clever and streetwise, all at the same time. The book was written in 1933, so one would expect the dialog top be very corny and conspicuous in its datedness, but it wasn't really noticeable, besides, this gives the story a noirish spin that is both entertaining and cool sounding. This book, being the first book in the series, is an anomalous book because one would expect something that is less than perfect from a first book. Even though this book isn't perfect, it is, however, quite satisfactory.

Introducing two of the great characters in mysteries:
I am no Rex Stout expert. Matter of fact, this is the first of his books I have read, I have however read my fair share of mysteries, and this one is a hoot. The plot of this one is more than a bit fantastical, since it involves darts flying out of golf clubs, and exotic snakes threatening to kill our protagonists, but the character are outrageously well constructed and fascinating. It seems like now a days few modern mystery fans (myself included) dip into these older books, that's a shame because the writing and plot construction, and especially the characters, here are top notch. This is the novel that introduced the world to Nero Wolfe, is an orchid enthusiast, gourmand, and shut in. He is the brilliant and arrogant. He is a Sherlock Holmes updated to 20th Century New York, all the wit and charm, plus a fair amount of New York neurotic. His right hand man Archie Goodwin is an odd construction - more hard boiled than Wolfe, he ventures into the tough neighborhoods, occasionally carries a gun, but prefers milk to whiskey on most occasions. Somewhere between Watson and a noir style P.I. He is fascinating, and I am looking forward to seeing he and Wolfe develop as the books go on. Definitely worth reading for anyone interested in a well built mystery inhabited with some compelling characters.

Beer-guzzling, cigarette-smoking, irreverent detective duo.... Awesome.:
"Fer-De-Lance" by Rex Stout is the first novel in the heralded Nero Wolfe series. Nero Wolfe is an obese, "armchair" detective who is obsessed with plantlife (which he dedicates 4 UNDISTURBED hrs. a day to)and crime. This man has solved some complex cases from the comfort and "safety" of his prestigous New York apartment. This would only be possible with the aide of a tough, trusty, quick-witted, determined, dedicated employee and that comes in the form of one Archibald Goodwin. Archie is a long-term employee who is part-time gopher, part-time interrogator, part-time note-taker, and part-time henchman. He is always willing to do Wolfe's dirt work which is aplenty. The story centers around the death of an Italian immigrant laborer and a wealthy college professor. Wolfe is approached to find the, then missing, laborer which triggers a story that will leave you guessing not necessarily who did the crime but how will Wolfe and Archie be able proove it. Your jaw may drop at some of Wolfe's crazy ideas and outrageous tacticts he employs, especially for the time when this was written (1934). This is not Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot. While they can lay charm on any witness they will also devise sinister plots to come to the solution. I love mysteries (especially series) and this one is at the top. While the killer isn't so much in question for the majority of the novel the proof is and the payoff is worth it. Please enjoy.