Reviews

Murder by the Book by David Handler, Rex Stout

judyward's review against another edition

3.0

This book was published in 1951 and it is the 19th book in the Nero Wolfe series. While I often find this series to be a bit uneven, I have to admit that this particular book kept me guessing up until the very end. Two seemingly unrelated events come to Nero Wolfe's attention. First, Inspector Cramer shows up at Wolfe's office with a list of names found at the residence of a murdered man wanting to know if any of the names seems familiar to Wolfe. And then a wealthy businessman from the Midwest wants to hire Wolfe to discover who murdered his only daughter in an apparent hit-and-run. Leave it to Nero Wolfe to uncover the links between the two events and unmask the killer.

zeroiv's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

naluju's review against another edition

adventurous funny informative mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

sjbanner's review

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

_viscosity_'s review against another edition

5.0

One of my favorite Rex Stout books (along with "Some Buried Caesar" and "Too Many Women"), with a killer who never makes a single stupid mistake and is (almost) as smart as Wolfe is.

hotsake's review against another edition

4.0

This was the most P.I. of any of the books in the series thus far and while I prefer the more mystery-heavy stories this was still a blast. Also, I noticed while doing this chronological read-through that although it is often stated and I had always agreed that Wolfe rarely if ever left his home, he leaves his home in an awful lot of these stories.

jennyrpotter's review against another edition

4.0

Another good Rex Stout mystery! I'd put this in my top favorite few.

dagny23's review against another edition

5.0

Better than Fer de Lance

slferg's review against another edition

4.0

Good mystery. A clerk in a law office turns up dead in a river. About three weeks later, a young woman who works in a publishing office is found run over - and the letter states she was meeting an author whose name was found on a list in one of the law clerk's books. The girl's father comes to Nero Wolfe for help in finding her murderer. The father does not feel that Joan's death was an accident - there is a bump on her head the police and coroner really can't account for. This is a difficult case for Wolfe. He puts all hands on deck looking everywhere for a clue and eventually sends Archie out to California to try to come up with something. Archie seeks help from a friend of Wolfe's in California with the errand and trap laid there.
Entertaining story and a deep mystery.

quietjenn's review against another edition

3.0

So, this was the first Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe book I've ever read, despite a lifelong dalliance with the mystery genre. I'm not sure that I'm yet convinced that it rivals my most beloved authors and characters, but I liked it well enough that I'm looking forward to reading more. Love the early-mid century 20th century New York, but then I'm usually a sucker for that sort of thing ... "All the girls keep getting married and moving to Jackson Heights" couldn't help but make the Queens resident in me laugh. And the publishing angle was fun, although it wasn't ultimately as prominent as I'd expected.