The Bloodied Ivy

A professor from a prestigious university asks Nero and Archie to invesitgate the death of his colleague and friend. The offical verdict of death by accident did not satisfy him. Archie, if not Nero, agrees with him and agrees to look into the matter. The investigation leads Archie to the picturesque campus, the in fighting of the faculty lounge, and the local jail. Wolfe is goaded into leaving the brownstone and undertaking the perils of the open road - without Archie at the wheel! Ultimately the truth comes out and order returns to Wolfe's life. While this is a Nero Wolfe mystery it was not written by Rex Stout but rather by Robert Goldsborough who was authorized by the Stout estate to continue the series. Goldsborough does an excellent job of carrying on the legacy. The basic premises are all respected, the order life at the brownstone, the banter between Archie and Wolfe, the relationships between the series regulars all are consistent with the earlier works, as the practice of keeping the duo contemporary - in this case the late 1980's. The mystery is challenging, the clues fairly laid out and the interplay among Wolfe, Archie and the suspects is entertaining. All in all this is a worthy addition to the canon of Stout's works.

Hale Markham, a 73-year-old right-wing conservative in a left-leaning political science department, was a big fish in the pond of Prescott University - a small school with Ivy League pretensions. Upon hearing of Markham's fatal fall into a ravine, and having read his book _Bleeding Hearts Can Kill_, Wolfe observes, "The man was a political Neanderthal. He would have been supremely happy in the court of Louis XIV." The professor's name would never have been uttered in the brownstone again, except that Markham's executor and colleague, Walter Willis Cortland, manages to talk Archie into granting an audience - he believes Markham was murdered. (He has enough family money to afford the fee, although his wages as a professor wouldn't cover it.)Markham, despite his age, was very sure-footed; he'd even climbed in the Alps. He was widowed, after a happy marriage Cortland envied, and a thorn in the flesh of many. His celebrity eclipsed that of the university's president, Keith Potter, let alone Orville Schmidt, his department chair. Worse - Leander Bach wouldn't donate any of his fortune to the university while Markham was there. Satirizing Schmidt's last book in one of his own papers didn't help either. Markham also had a reputation as a ladies' man, although digging out suspects in that area takes more work. Motive is cheap - including Cortland's, although his is to smear academic rivals with suspicion, rather than murder itself. He has no proof that the death wasn't an accident.Cortland's inaugural visit to the brownstone soaks up 3 of 24 chapters. He speaks to show off his vocabulary rather than to communicate, in a *very* unrealistic manner, and fidgets far too much. (The character has been designed to annoy, giving Wolfe an opportunity for wit at his expense later on, and succeeds all too well.) Archie persuades Wolfe to meet with Cortland, and even goes so far as to drive to Prescott on his own time to check whether Cortland's on the level. (It's out of Cramer's jurisdiction, and isn't even in Westchester, so the police characters involved are new.)Archie's first visit isn't a total loss. Gretchen Frazier, shining star of the political science graduate students, is very easy on the eyes - and was a devotee of Markham. (In real life, Cortland wouldn't be so casual about implying that she flirted with her thesis advisor as he is herein.) Archie's attempt at a low-profile reconnaissance isn't entirely successful. Elena Moreau, history professor and possible inamorata of the deceased, knows him by sight; she says the deceased was subject to occasional fainting spells. But Archie's examination of the scene leads him to confirm Cortland's suspicions - see if you can figure out why, before Archie reports back to Wolfe. Wolfe holds back from committing himself, however - until the Prescott cops arrest Archie during his search of Markham's house. :)As always, the brownstone is in the world contemporary with the time of its writing, although not completely o

The characterizations in this novel are rather good. The plot is not as strong as those in the Rex Stout Archie Goodwin books, but it is better than the average mystery. If you find one, buy it, but don't take extraordinary measures.