Second Confession: Amazon.ca: Rex Stout: Books

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Product Description

From AudioFile

Orchids and machine guns, the privileged rich, and tough private eyes make for a heady mix, which reader Michael Prichard spins in classic late 1940s' style. The phlegmatic, cerebral, orchid-and-food-fancying sleuth Nero Wolfe, like a twentieth-century Mycroft Holmes, accepts a case involving not only the players mentioned, but also a search for Communists. Prichard tells the story in the first- person point of view of Wolfe's right hand, the tough, canny, and pleasure-loving Archie Goodwin. This is a fairly cinematic listening experience, as we are treated to lushly described scenes and desperate, intelligent characters. D.J.B. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Book Description

When a millionaire businessman hires Nero Wolfe to uncover the background of his daughter's boyfriend, Wolfe isn't sure he wants to be involved. Then a mob boss "counsels" him to drop the matter, machine-gun fire rips apart his orchid room, and the boyfriend turns up dead. Wolfe must solve the murder to prevent his own. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

3.4 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, Feb 10 2003

By	Gregory Moses (Williamsport, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Second Confession (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't understand the reviewers who complain about loose ends. Do you normally expect the second book in a trilogy to wrap everything up? I'm guessing that those reviewers didn't realize that Zeck appears in three books (And Be a Villain, The Second Confession, and In the Best of Families, in that order). At any rate, any ends left loose in this book are tied up in the third.

But even if you know and care nothing about Zeck, you should still be able to enjoy this books; he does not dominate it. Wolfe and Archie are both in top form, and the ploy Wolfe uses to expose the murder is both enjoyable and clever.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Not my favorite, but still OK, Mar 8 2002

By	Craig Clarke (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Second Confession (Mass Market Paperback)

My main complaint with this book is that the villain's only trait is that he is a member of the Communist Party.

I understand that this was written in 1949 and that was the mindset of the time, but in these more (hopefully) enlightened days, shouldn't a villain be a little more of a complete person than simply being an enemy of the US in the Cold War (now defunct)?

I wouldn't mind if there were other traits, such as bad behavior of some sort (but a plot point is that you can't tell who the guy is because he acts just like everybody else; they only have a picture to go on), but there is none of that.

A man just comes in at the beginning and says "I want you to find this man. He's a Communist," and off we go. That's the whole plot, and while Wolfe is his usual brilliant self in deducing the identity of the "Commie," I was just not carried along by the story until very near the end, when I simply let the momentum of it take me to the solution.

Certainly, in my opinion, not one of the best of the series. But Wolfe is still Wolfe (even if he is spouting uncharacteristic patriotism), and Archie is still wisecracking and flirting, and I still enjoyed myself, most of the time. And getting Wolfe out of the brownstone is always good for a bit of fun. All of which leads me to the conclusion that even mediocre Rex Stout is better than no Rex Stout.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Confusing and amusing at the same time, Mar 4 2002

By	Paul Skinner (Manassas, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Second Confession (Audio Cassette)

Nero Wolfe and his young assistant, Archie (or is it Andrew?) Goodwin are challenged into identifying American communists, and the apparent murderer of one. Archie's snide comments about his lazy boss are the most amusing part of the story. The writing style is much more mature than most modern mysteries, but many details in the story (e.g., Mr X) were never addressed in the resolution. Be warned, you will be surprised. I enjoyed the technique of bringing all the suspects together for the final confrontation scene.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Second Confrontation
Nero Wolfe's favorite drink, beer, is not a beverage you can come to like on the first taste. You will find beer bitter and repugnant, but if you keep at it you will eventually... Read more

Published on Jul 15 2001 by George R Dekle

3.0 out of 5 stars An OK book.
I agree with other reviews. There are too many untied ends in this book. Thw whol plot doesn't make any sense to me.

Published on Jun 17 2001 by roosvelt

2.0 out of 5 stars Not up to my -- or Wolfe's -- usual standards
This mystery has all the hallmarks of a hasty, poorly reasoned book. Red herrings are sprinkled throughout the book -- why were the Emersons so upset? Read more

Published on May 30 2001 by Annag Chandler

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine audiobook production of a classic Nero Wolfe mystery.
Rex Stout's Second Confession provides a fine Nero Wolfe mystery, with Michael Prichard's strong narrative skills bringing alive the detective story of Wolfe's encounter with a... Read more

Published on Jun 5 2000 by Midwest Book Review