Double for Death

Rating:
Summary: Stout's somewhat snobbish bypath
Review: In this book Stout presents his other notable character besides Nero Wolfe: Tecumseh Fox, a self-made man who is quite a benefactor for a detective. Double for Death does not quite match the well-balanced rhythm and urban atmosphere of his better known Wolfe series. This book underlines a little bit too much how its plot relies on the nuances of the English language. The solution is obvious if the reader happens to have an eye for spellathlons; if not, too bad. Still, the story is readable, and definitely a must for any serious Stout fan just in order to help appreciate the discreetly designed Wolfe-Goodwin setup in most of his books.

Rating:
Summary: Stout's somewhat snobbish bypath
Review: In this book Stout presents his other notable character besides Nero Wolfe: Tecumseh Fox, a self-made man who is quite a benefactor for a detective. Double for Death does not quite match the well-balanced rhythm and urban atmosphere of his better known Wolfe series. This book underlines a little bit too much how its plot relies on the nuances of the English language. The solution is obvious if the reader happens to have an eye for spellathlons; if not, too bad. Still, the story is readable, and definitely a must for any serious Stout fan just in order to help appreciate the discreetly designed Wolfe-Goodwin setup in most of his books.

Rating:
Summary: Introducing Tecumseh Fox
Review: _Double for Death_ is the first of the Tecumseh Fox mysteries. Tecumseh Fox is a detective of an entirely different breed than Nero Wolfe. The opposite of fastidious and antisocial Wolfe, his farm is a collection of oddballs and drifters and Fox is famous for his inability to turn anybody away. While as smooth and cool in deduction as Wolfe, Fox's weakest links are his less-than-perfect lieutenants.

In _Double For Death_ we have a corpse that may or may not be who it appears to be, a girl who keeps being revealed as a liar only to be found to be telling the truth, a detective with a disregard for the finer points of due process, and a man who has many reasons to be murdered. Fox needs to sort the strange double death of the murder victim and find the identity of the killer.

Stout considered this his best detective novel, and who am I to argue with the great man himself?