Andy Zach's Reviews > Curtains For Three

This is the first time I've reviewed Rex Stout's series with Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. Let's begin with, it's so good that 90 years after he wrote the first mystery (Too Many Cooks), they're still being read and sold. That makes me give it 5 stars.

I'd give it 5 stars as a mystery anyway. The characters are so iconic. Nero Wolfe is fat (1/7 of a ton) but brilliant. He reads every day and remembers everything he reads, including the whole NY Times. He's modeled after Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock Holmes's smarter older brother. Both are extremely lazy and set in their routines. Basically, he only takes cases when he needs money.

Nero's partner is Archie Goodwin, his opposite in every way. He's a ladies' man, a man of action, who can repeat conversations verbatim for Wolfe. He does all the assignments Wolf doesn't want to do. He's a wisecracker whereas Wolfe is serious.

In this mystery, they have an orchid show at their brownstone apartment and someone gets murdered. Worse, the police seal off their office, so their whole routine is disrupted. Of course, the murderer is the last person you suspect.

It was more fun listening to the audiobook, ably narrated by Michael Prichard. Don't miss it!