- Audio Cassette
- Publisher: Books on Tape, Inc. (Mar 20 1996)
- ISBN-10: 0736633235
- ISBN-13: 978-0736633239
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
This latest entry in the estimable Nero Wolfe audio canon is a veritable time machine, transporting listeners back not only to the upscale New York City of the 1950s, but also to an era when wit and literacy flourished in the mystery genre. Prichard again proves that he is the perfect Archie Goodwin, surely the most interesting sidekick of them all the voice of Stout's most liberal instincts as well as a shrewd detective in his own right. The tale begins with a psychological duel between Goodwin and Wolfe as funny as a Kaufman and Hart play (indeed, a quote from George S. Kaufman sneaks into the text), reminding listeners how sharp an ear Stout (1886-1975) had for the edges and nuances of relationships. As usual, the plot is the work's least important aspect although this one, about a crass tycoon who hires Wolfe and Goodwin to expose his cheating daughter-in-law, does contain a few surprises. What stays in the mind are the sharply etched images (in black and white, like the best photographs from the period) of a relatively recent but completely vanished world of glamour, greed and human weakness. Based on the Viking hardcover.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Audio Cassette edition.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Audio Cassette edition.
Book Description
A Nero Wolfe novel. With a personal fortune of over 30 million dollars, Otis Jarrell's credit rating gave him access to the world's costliest - and fattest - private detective. He needed Wolfe's expertise to identify the snake within his business empire who was sabotaging his deals.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Archie's the Star for Once,
By
This review is from: If Death Ever Slept (Paperback)
A 1957 entry in the long-running Nero Wolfe series, Rex Stout's "If Death Ever Slept" features more Archie Goodwin and less Nero Wolfe than usual. A wealthy businessman comes to Wolfe to ask him to find proof that his daughter-in-law is a "snake" who is giving bits of business information to his rivals, who then can take advantage of the information and undermine his business. Wolfe sends Archie to the wealthy man's home, a large apartment on two floors, where Archie poses as the man's new secretary in order to wend his way into the family's routine. When first the man's loaded gun goes missing and then Archie's predecessor in the job turns up dead, the man is convinced that it is his daughter-in-law's fault, but it is up to Archie and Wolfe to determine whether that is the case or not, all the while keeping Inspector Cramer in the dark about Archie's presence in the house.... One fun element of this series is watching the ways in which Wolfe does his best to avoid doing any actual work, and in this outing he spends considerable time being petulant and peevish, while Archie is left to his own devices until Wolfe finally decides to apply his genius to the case. I liked this story quite a lot, and very much enjoyed the surprise solution, which I certainly didn't expect. Recommended, as always!
3.0 out of 5 stars
Stick with Wolfe's earlier adventures,
By A Customer
This review is from: If Death Ever Slept (Audio Cassette)
Just finished this book and my overall reaction was ... yawn. All the elements are there -- Archie, Fritz, Wolfe, beer, orchids, etc. But this is one of the later books in the series and there's a certain ennui evident. The mystery seemed over plotted, the characters under developed, and any genuine charm was missing. Of course even subpar Nero Wolfe is entertaining, so I'm not sorry I read it. I just enjoyed the earlier books so much more, and seeing the series go downhill is depressing.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Archie goes undercover,
By Michele L. Worley (Kingdom of the Mouse, United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: If Death Ever Slept (Audio Cassette)
Unlike Archie's last such assignment (in _Too Many Women_, written 10 years before this book), this case gives the reader a decent chance to solve the puzzle.Ordinarily, Wolfe wouldn't ask where Archie's been when he comes in at 2 a.m. But when Archie walked out on Lily Rowan's party because she'd invited some people he didn't like, she started calling the brownstone, starting at 8 p.m. and ending at 1:30 ("So I, not you, have spent the evening with her, and I haven't enjoyed it.") The conversation went downhill from there, so when Otis Jarrell appeared for his first appointment with Wolfe the next day, he got the benefit of a rather stormy atmosphere, with Wolfe exerting himself to be pleasant, just to show that nothing's wrong with *him*. (To be fair, the brown envelope with $10000, cash, offered as a retainer, might have helped.) Unfortunately for the exchequer, what Jarrell wants is to break up his son's marriage: Wyman married "a snake", and Jarrell believes that Susan has leaked damaging business information to his competitors several times. He wants to pass Archie off as a replacement for his own newly fired secretary, Jim Eber, until Wolfe and Archie come up with the goods. Archie's beginning to feel sorry for the rejection Jarrell has coming at this point - not only a near-divorce case, but depriving Wolfe of his services indefinitely - when Wolfe responds, "You realize, Mr. Jarrell, that there could be no commitment as to how long he would stay there." Archie, always a quick thinker, runs with this rather than squawking, and "Alan Green" becomes Jarrell's secretary. Archie's new assignment palls very quickly. But matters become deadly serious when someone bypasses the security cameras in Jarrell's office to steal Jarrell's own gun, and Jarrell is too fixated on Susan as a suspect to get serious about finding it. Then matters escalate to plain deadly... Leavening the mix of emotional relationships and industrial espionage are several timetables distilled from police reports, but they're provided in one big block so that you can ignore them at your own peril if you prefer. (Personally, I can enjoy this one just fine without worrying much about trying to work out the puzzle.) More interesting points include: Jarrell's daughter Lois, who (despite writing the poem from which the book's title is taken) is one of the 3 best dancers Archie's ever escorted; the measures taken by Archie to appear as Alan Green when the group is interviewed by Wolfe; and how Wolfe manages to escalate their quarrel to a new and more frightening level. :)
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