Cordially Invited to Meet Death

Rating:
Summary: Cordially Invited to Search out the Slayer
Review: A party arranger calls on Nero Wolfe, but contracts tetanus and dies before she can pay his fee. Relatives have a way of thinking that the most innocent of unexpected deaths are homicide, and one of the victim's relatives raises sand with the police trying to get them to investigate the case as a murder. Not getting satisfaction, he then retains Nero Wolfe. A little looksee into the circumstances of the death confirms the relative's suspicions.

The cast of suspects is limited, but figuring out whodunnit is a tough nut to crack. With Archie Goodwin's help, Wolfe sorts through the clues, confounds the police, and reveals the killer. A good, well crafted yarn.

Because I don't like to have someone read to me, I seldom listen to audiobooks. I much prefer radio plays and full cast dramatizations. Why then do I find audiobooks of the Rex Stout character Nero Wolfe preferable to reading them for myself?

Stout crafts a good plot, and peoples it with engaging characters, but he doesn't tell a story very well. I must force myself to read that next chapter, and I can lay the book down and leave it for long periods of time. While reading, I can pause for reflection over Wolfe's inevitable ethical lapses and borderline criminal behavior. I listen to audiobooks as I drive. The story sweeps along with little or no effort from me, and there's no time to stop and think about arresting and prosecuting Wolfe and Goodwin for obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence, or harassing witnesses.

I recommend enjoying Nero Wolfe in the A&E series, the CBC radio plays, or audiobooks.

Rating:
Summary: Cordially Invited to Search out the Slayer
Review: A party arranger calls on Nero Wolfe, but contracts tetanus and dies before she can pay his fee. Relatives have a way of thinking that the most innocent of unexpected deaths are homicide, and one of the victim's relatives raises sand with the police trying to get them to investigate the case as a murder. Not getting satisfaction, he then retains Nero Wolfe. A little looksee into the circumstances of the death confirms the relative's suspicions.

The cast of suspects is limited, but figuring out whodunnit is a tough nut to crack. With Archie Goodwin's help, Wolfe sorts through the clues, confounds the police, and reveals the killer. A good, well crafted yarn.

Because I don't like to have someone read to me, I seldom listen to audiobooks. I much prefer radio plays and full cast dramatizations. Why then do I find audiobooks of the Rex Stout character Nero Wolfe preferable to reading them for myself?

Stout crafts a good plot, and peoples it with engaging characters, but he doesn't tell a story very well. I must force myself to read that next chapter, and I can lay the book down and leave it for long periods of time. While reading, I can pause for reflection over Wolfe's inevitable ethical lapses and borderline criminal behavior. I listen to audiobooks as I drive. The story sweeps along with little or no effort from me, and there's no time to stop and think about arresting and prosecuting Wolfe and Goodwin for obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence, or harassing witnesses.

I recommend enjoying Nero Wolfe in the A&E series, the CBC radio plays, or audiobooks.

Rating:
Summary: Better read than listened to
Review: This is a book that deserves to be available in print, and to be read rather than listened to on tape. Books on tape are almost always an inferior way to experience books, and certainly not as good as enjoying Rex Stout's own prose, which bounces along in the very lively voice of narrator Archie Goodwin. What is special about "Cordially Invited to Meet Death" is that it is one of those books that show us the fine shadings of Nero Wolfe's misogyny, as he welcomes into his kitchen a Southern belle who has a recipe or two to share. Stranger still, Fritz doesn't seem to mind in the least. The mystery, which involves the murder of an Elsa Maxwell-like professional hostess, is fun as well.

Rating:
Summary: Better read than listened to
Review: This is a book that deserves to be available in print, and to be read rather than listened to on tape. Books on tape are almost always an inferior way to experience books, and certainly not as good as enjoying Rex Stout's own prose, which bounces along in the very lively voice of narrator Archie Goodwin. What is special about "Cordially Invited to Meet Death" is that it is one of those books that show us the fine shadings of Nero Wolfe's misogyny, as he welcomes into his kitchen a Southern belle who has a recipe or two to share. Stranger still, Fritz doesn't seem to mind in the least. The mystery, which involves the murder of an Elsa Maxwell-like professional hostess, is fun as well.