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November 27, 2007

Comments

Bill Peschel

Stout's one of my favorite authors as well, so I'd like to kick in a few opinions as well.

First, avoid "A Family Affair" until later. It's not bad, but something happens to one of the series regulars. Save it for later.

I've been told that "Some Buried Caesar" is considered his best, but I haven't read it enough to judge.

"Fer-De-Lance" is the first one, and rather clever.

"The Doorbell Rang" was one of his coolest, in which Wolfe goes up against J. Edgar Hoover's FBI.

You may want to check out his novellas. They're usually grouped in books with "three" in the title ("Three Men Out" which contains "The Zero Clue", one of my favorites, "Curtains for Three" and "Death Times Three."

If you find yourself hooked, looked for "Red Threads," which doesn't have Wolfe, but does have Inspector Cramer. That was a fine mystery.

I remember reading a review of one of his pre-Wolfe novels, "Forest Fire," which sounded like a psychological avant-garde novel.

Stout himself was a pretty interesting character, and I recommend his biography. He bummed around the U.S. in his early days, and at one point walked into a New York hotel and talked himself into a job managing the place. He didn't know beans about running a hotel, but he knew that the most important people there were the maids and the doormen. He gained their sympathy and talked them into teaching him the ropes. That tells you something of his character, and I think it comes out in his stories.

Linda Coyner

I just discovered Rex Stout and his Nero Wolfe & Archie Goodwin characters with the Nero Wolfe Primer (And be a villain, Black Orchids, and Champagne for one) Where was he all my life? I like Bill's suggestions. Can't wait.

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well it's difficult to say what of his books is the better, in my personal opinion my favorite is "Black Orchids".

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Maybe his first book would be the correct option, "How Like a God", it is a psychological story written in the second person, that probably will blow your mind.

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David J. Montgomery is a writer and critic specializing in books and publishing. He is an emeritus columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and The Daily Beast, and has also written for USA Today, the Washington Post, and other fine publications. A former professor of History, he lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and two daughters.

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