Not Quite Dead Enough (Nero Wolfe)

That's all I ask of a used paperback, excellent condition. I love all of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series.

"Not Quite Dead Enough" by Rex Stout is one the best in the Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin canon. Here we have a patriotic Nero Wolfe going all out to help the Nation during World War II, with Archie serving as a Major in the US Army. The plot is a great whodunnit, which requires Wolfe to leave his brownstone mansion, unheard-of behavior for the great detective, to solve this mystery. For those who relish any good detective mystery this will be gourmet reading and, for those that already know Wolfe and Archie, it will be another wonderful reunion. J. Raymond Watson, Puerto Rico

My father got me hooked on these books. They are extremely well written and just fun to read. Anyone who just wants a good mystery without all the sex and swearing will love these books.

But not bad, either. This Nero Wolfe offering consists of two stories. The first story, ?Not Quite Dead Enough,? finds Archie in the Army while Wolfe and Fritz train for active duty. (Really! No kidding!) While on furlough, Archie is suspected of murdering a young lady he had been out with for the evening. The second story is far superior to the first. ?Booby Trap,? while keeping the trappings of a military atmosphere (an Army colonel is murdered), provides a ?satisfactory? outlet for Wolfe?s genius. You must understand that these stories appeared first in 1944. Stout was obviously painting Wolfe and Archie as patriotic crime fighters, which is admirable, but yields ridiculous results in the first story. The second tale is vintage Wolfe, containing everything Wolfe fans have come to expect (beer, orchids, colorful exchanges between Wolfe and Archie) and love (a woman in the brownstone, Wolfe leaving the house, Wolfe riding in a car, Wolfe attempting to sit in an unsatisfactorily built chair). If you?re a die-hard fan, you?ll want to read the first story, but you?ll savor the second. If you?re a newcomer, skip the first tale and watch Wolfe in top form in ?Booby Trap.?208 pages

1944 New York, the world is right in the middle of World War II, and Archie has done his patriotic duty an enlisted in the army, who dicovers they need Archie to in turn enlist Nero Wolfe's unique talents to solve a sinister mystery as a matter of national security.