The Mother Hunt

Rating:
Summary: One of Stout's best
Review: "The Mother Hunt" by Rex Stout really shines with Stout's wiry humor and classic reparte of Archie and Wolfe. A baby is left on a widow's doorstep with the note "a boy should live in his father's house". Wolfe and Archie tackle one of the most difficult and complex cases of their careers - finding a father needle in a haystack. Everytime they come close to an answer - another person falls victim to a still unknown killer. With time running out, Wolfe cooks up one of his most ingenious charades - all without the benefit of his beloved Brownstone. A great read - this one you will want on your bookshelves.

Rating:
Summary: One of Stout's best
Review: "The Mother Hunt" by Rex Stout really shines with Stout's wiry humor and classic reparte of Archie and Wolfe. A baby is left on a widow's doorstep with the note "a boy should live in his father's house". Wolfe and Archie tackle one of the most difficult and complex cases of their careers - finding a father needle in a haystack. Everytime they come close to an answer - another person falls victim to a still unknown killer. With time running out, Wolfe cooks up one of his most ingenious charades - all without the benefit of his beloved Brownstone. A great read - this one you will want on your bookshelves.

Rating:
Summary: A style all his own
Review: I was surprised to find that I had been given this book four years ago. Time does fly, it seems, because I find it hard to believe that I've been working my way through the Wolfe books for over four years. But it's true. I am nearing the end, however, and Stout isn't failing yet. While I'm slightly disappointed to discover that every Wolfe novel revolves around not just a mystery, but a murder, I can also understand that this was Stout's formula for the Wolfe stories and to wish it different would be like wishing that Wodehouse had written westerns. Stout continues to be increasingly frank regarding sex in these books--I wonder if the books written in the 70s will go even further. I doubt it. Too much more change in this area and it wouldn't be the same formula.