Although I’ve not been a big Nero Wolfe fan, I found this to be one of the most engaging books I’ve read this year. For those of you unaware of it, as I was, noted mystery author Robert Goldsborough has been given authorization by the Rex Stout family to continue the Nero Wolfe corpus. This is the eighth book in that series.
This is the story of how Archie Goodwin arrives in New York in 1930 at the age of 19, and ends up becoming personal assistant and jack-of-all-trades to the reclusive and amazing detective Nero Wolfe. Along the way, Archie is fired from his job as a night watchman for being “trigger-happy” after killing two thieves in a shootout on the docks, then joins the employ of a competent but not entirely successful private detective named Del Bascom. Eventually, the pair are asked by Nero Wolfe to join a group of special operatives to help locate and safely return an eight-year-old boy who has been kidnapped from his wealthy family’s estate and held for ransom.
Written from the viewpoint of Archie, this is a fast-moving and fun read as the detectives, under the direction of Wolfe, must not only retrieve the boy unharmed, but also capture the kidnappers and determine if someone who worked at the estate was in cahoots with the bad guys. Although the youngest of the operatives by far, Archie impresses everyone with his ability to improvise in unexpected situations, his fresh ideas, and his photographic memory. Meanwhile Captain Cramer of the New York police is constantly “at war” with Nero and his merry men for pushing the envelope with their private detecting—but mainly because they always seem to be one step ahead of him.
Interestingly, most of the team of private detectives hired by Wolfe, including Del Bascom, have appeared in some of the original Rex Stout mysteries. Also, the background of Archie Goodwin, although fleshed out more here, is alluded to briefly in some of the early Wolfe books. Mr. Goldsborough claims he always wanted to write a book about how Archie and Nero Wolfe met, and he’s done it to a fare-thee-well here.
