Too Many Cooks

Nero Wolfe is the guest of honor when the greatest chefs in the world meet in West Virginia. He's honored and looking forward to all the great food but dreading the train trip itself. They've hardly all gathered before the sparks fly. One of the chefs is universally despised, and it's really no surprise to the reader when he turns up dead. Not wanting to get involved in anything that might delay his return to his beloved brownstone, Wolfe vows to not get involved. In spite of his efforts, he finds himself getting sucked in. Can he stay alive, find the real killer, and still make his train? My best friend has recently started reading these books and keeps recommending them to me, so I picked this one up. I can see why he likes them. This story is a great puzzle. I thought I had the plot figured out before the end, but I was only half right. Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin make for two interesting leads. I listened to the audio version, which made it a little hard to keep all the chefs straight. The further I went the easier it was, however. Michael Prichard does a great job of reading the story. If this is an example of why Nero Wolfe a classic character in the mystery genre, I can see why. I will be looking for more books in this series.

If only A & E had continued the series... It would have been great to see them do "Fer-de-lance" and "Too Many Cooks." While resonances of this story appear in A & E's depiction of the Ten for Aristology, the idea of the Fifteen Masters convening in West Virginia to hear Wolfe's disquisition on American haute cuisine is - fantasically appealing. The Kanawha Spa is a proxy for the Greenbrier (which is actually in West Virginia). It's wonderful to see how Archie has to balance nursemaiding Wolfe with hunting down the killer, and even better to read Wolfe's methodical, respectful quizzing of the kitchen staff. This is the book where a character is established who, many years later, returns as an older man with ingrained beliefs. As wise as Wolfe's sayings can be, it's wonderful to see their influence on someone's entire character and philosophy. This is an all-time great book, and, if A & E ever comes back to their senses...

In Rex Stout's fifth book in the series, Wolfe engages in two activites he detests: leaving the confines of his home and travel by any type of machinery (a train in this case). Wolfe and Archie travel to Kanawha Spa, West Virginia, where Wolfe has been invited to speak before a group of master chefs. Wolfe encounters more than just gourmet food when one of the chefs is murdered. Stout really has a lot of fun with the story and characters as Wolfe's confrontational manner begins to emerge in the series. The characters are always colorful, but the supporting cast of chefs, wives, servants, and others is also enjoyable. Some of the most interesting books in the series are those in which Wolfe leaves the brownstone and is absent from his comforts: the plant rooms, his cook Fritz, his beer, his office. Still, it becomes evident early on that Wolfe is in complete control. Or is he? Find out the lengths that Wolfe will go to in the attempt to obtain the recipe for saucisse minuit.

One of Stout's best and one of the most fun reads I have ever had. It is hilarious, full of interesting characterizations, and plotted well enough to carry it through. Great fun!

I found this immensely enjoyable. Along with BEFORE MIDNIGHT, THE SILENT SPEAKER, AND BE A VILLIAN and PLOT IT YOURSELF, I consider it one of his best. Classic Wolfe and Goodwin.