Trouble in Triplicate (Nero Wolfe)

Trouble in Triplicate is a collection of three novellas. The common theme in each is that a man is murdered shortly after visiting Wolfe. Before I Die: The first story begins with gangster Dazy Perrit telling Wolfe that he has been hiding a daughter who would be in danger if rival mobsters knew where she was. Perrit has hired a girl to impersonate his daughter as a decoy but she has begun blackmailing him with the secret he hired her to protect. After Perrit is murdered, his gangland friends suspect Wolfe and Archie in the crime. Archie is more worried about staying alive than solving the case, but Wolfe is unperturbed. Help Wanted, Male: Ben Jensen receives an anonymous letter in the mail threatening his life. He comes to Wolfe for help, but Nero turns him down flat. When Jensen is killed hours later, Wolfe is unconcerned. Until he receives an identical threat the next day. This leads him to hire a body-double... no mean feat for a man of Wolfe's dimension. Using the man as a decoy, Wolfe tries to solve the murder before he can become the next victim. Instead of Evidence: Eugene Pool and his wife Martha state that his business partner is about to murder him. Pool gives Wolfe $5,000 not to prevent the death, but to catch the murderer if it happens. When a cigar fatally explodes in Pool's face that afternoon, Wolfe is forced to earn the money, however reluctantly. All of the books containing multiple stories are built around some theme or other, but this one may be a bit too strong a connection. There's something a bit repetitious as each of these men is not only killed, but Wolfe doesn't really want to investigate any of the crimes until circumstances force the issue. Fortunately, each of the tales is entertaining enough in its own way. It also helps that the cast of characters varies considerably and so do the specific circumstances of each crime. The humor that characterizes the series is solid, if not quite at its best. Trouble in Triplicate is a good collection of Nero Wolfe stories. Each story is about 70 pages long so there aren't a lot of slow parts, things tend to move right along. Veteran fans of the series should be happy with it. Those looking for their first look at the corpulent detective might do better to start with Black Orchids (Nero Wolfe Mysteries) if looking for a compilation or Some Buried Caesar for a full-length novel. Both exhibit Rex Stout's writing at it's finest.

Classic American with the two awesome characters of Nero and Archie. Sure to sparkle a drab day.

Two of these - "Help Wanted, Male" and "Before I Die" - were made into an A & E episodes. All three of them, though, were more than strong enough to be adapted successfully. "Help Wanted, Male" happens during WWII, when Archie is a major, and Wolfe has volunteered to help military intelligence. Archie is assigned to Wolfe, which he does not like, but cannot get General Carpenter to reassign him. A & E really bungled this badly. Rex Stout was a patriot, and, while a libertarian, would not have wanted to depict the military as A & E did. None of the senile, babbling foolishness demonstrated by Gen. Carpenter is depicted in the story itself. The story is strong, innovative and clever, with good character development and imagery. "Before I Die" was also adapted for A & E's 2nd season, to somewhat better effect. Wolfe is more sympathetic to organized crime here than anywhere else, because he believes that he can get fresh meat in deiance of rationing requirements. We are all slaves to our own appetites, and Wolfe is no exception. It's a clever plot line, although the gangland depictions do not ring very true. The characters here, though, are not as well formed; A & E actually beefed them up a little for TV. "Instead of Evidence" - A & E did not try this one, perhaps because of limitations on their special effects budget. Read the story to see why...

Trouble in Triplicate tells a trio of tales in which the murder victim comes to Wolfe before being killed. In "Before I Die" a crime boss brings a blackmail case to Wolfe, never expecting to die. But just in case, he makes Wolfe the executor of his estate, thereby making Wolfe and Archie Goodwin the prime suspects in his murder. Wolfe's task: solve the crime boss's murder before he and Archie are erased by the boss's vengeful hit man. In "Help Wanted--Male" Wolfe blows off a prospective client who has received a death threat mere hours before the man's brutal murder. Then Wolfe receives an identical death threat. Wolfe is as concerned about the threat against himself as he was unconcerned about the threat against his prospective client. He goes to remarkable lengths to preserve his skin, makes the biggest blunder of his career, and discovers his mistake just in time by inspecting furniture. "Instead of Evidence" presents a situation where a prospective victim hires Wolfe for $5,000.00 to avenge his impending murder by his business partner. When the man dies horribly, Wolfe has a ready-made suspect but a paucity of evidence. It looks as though the killer will go unpunished, but at the last minute Wolfe gets the picture. At least two of these stories ("Before I Die" and "Help Wanted--Male") have been televised on the A & E series "Nero Wolfe" (long may it run).

One of the 3 short stories herein is set during WWII, after those of _Not Quite Dead Enough_, the others in the 18 months following. Wolfe spent the war working for U.S. Army Intelligence. Archie was in the Army as a major, but couldn't wangle a transfer to a combat assignment; he was assigned to Wolfe, essentially doing his normal job, and General Carpenter said that's where he'd stay. General Carpenter and Wolfe's Intelligence connections appear occasionally after the war, as in _The Silent Speaker_ or "Home to Roost" in _Triple Jeopardy_.To date (the beginning of the 2nd season of Nero Wolfe), A & E has adapted 2 of the 3 stories herein. I've sorted them here by chronological order rather than as they appear in the book."Help Wanted, Male" - May 1944. Adapted for A & E's 2nd season. Wolfe isn't taking any private cases while working for Army Intelligence (and anyway, Archie is technically in the Army rather than doing legwork for Wolfe in his private capacity). When Ben Jensen (having met them during the court-martial of a man selling Army secrets for political purposes) comes to Wolfe asking for help after receiving anonymous death threats, Wolfe turns him down - although he would anyway, since there is ultimately no protection against a determined assassin. It's material, though, because Wolfe himself receives similar threats after Jensen's murder. (Granted, his first reaction is that Archie provided these last as a gag.) Then when Archie gets to Washington to request a combat assignment yet again, he sees a *very* unusual newspaper advertisement, seeking someone matching Wolfe's description."Instead of Evidence" a.k.a. "Murder on Tuesday" - October 1945, 1 week after Archie is officially out of the Army. Many attempt to hire Wolfe to keep someone from killing them, but none have ever been accepted - because a sufficiently determined killer can always succeed (and with enough patience, maybe not even be caught). Eugene Poor owns half of Blaney & Poor, manufacturers of novelties, but Blaney is determined to get sole control without paying full value for Poor's half - so Poor says. Mrs. Poor would rather see Eugene sell out for a pittance than run the risk of being murdered. Wolfe, in the end, undertakes only to see that the cops are tipped off properly if Poor is murdered - and the neatly typed list of facts is called for before bedtime by Cramer of Homicide, now that a bomb disguised as a cigar has blown Poor's face off."Before I Die" - Adapted for A & E's 2nd season. 7-8 October 1946, when Wolfe is desperate for a controlled substance - meat, under post-WWII rationing. Another desperate man - Dazy Perrit, king of the black market - can provide a quid pro quo, if Wolfe can protect his daughter. Even Beulah herself (through a combination of circumstances) doesn't know that Perrit is her father, but some of his underworld associates have been trying to find her, so he hired Angelina Murphy to play the role of daughter. "Violet Perrit", howev