Fer-De-Lance/The League of Frightened Men

I enjoy reading everything from ancient history to murder mysteries and spy thrillers, butI have found nothing more "fun" to read than Rex Stout books. Stout has developed great characters in Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin.

I've grown up knowing about Nero Wolfe. I remember the TV show when I was a kid, and there's also a more current TV series that looks pretty good, though I have to admit I don't remember watching any of the episodes of either series. I worked in a library for several years, shelving books for a living, and it seems like there were an awful lot of Rex Stout books to put away. But I hadn't read any of them at that time either. So I was pleasantly surprised when I finally sat down to read these two novels. Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin are a fascinating team. Portly, orchid-loving genius Wolfe and tough guy Goodwin are polar opposites, but they work together well. Though these are the first two books in the series, Stout keeps dropping hints that the characters have a long history together. Fer-De-Lance has Wolfe and Goodwin hunting for the murderer of an immigrant and a college professor. The League of Frightened Men has them hunting for a killer who seems to be bumping off members of a group that had hazed a fellow college student decades ago resulting in his permanent injury. One of the things I thought was kind of fun with these stories is how un-PC they are. For example, Archie refers to the victim of a hazing prank as "cripple" frequently. No, it's not sensitive, but Archie isn't a sensitive guy. Besides, these were written 70+ years ago. People talked that way then. I'm fascinated by how culture has changed over the years, and because of that, these two books are a blast to read. Oh, and the mysteries are interesting and well written, too. :)