A review by alibi313
Death of a Dude by Rex Stout

2.0

I have a feeling this was a case of picking up the wrong book in a long-running series. I read this Nero Wolfe story because the series was recommended to me, but it was so disappointing I doubt I'll read another. There's no "there" there. Perfunctory plot: since the main characters have decided the guy in jail isn't the murderer, someone else in town is. Time to line up some suspects, who are little more than names on a page. No characterization. No motives. Just figure out who doesn't have an airtight alibi and basically solve the crime "offstage," as it were. Seriously, there was more time spent detailing dinner menus than fleshing out characters. Maybe the first dozen or two of these novels are worth reading, but this being #44, it feels like an author going through the motions to pick up a paycheck.