Nero Wolfe, and Be a Villain [Large Print] (Hardcover)

As with all of Stout's Wolfe mysteries, the setting is contemporary with the time of its writing - in this case, 18 March - 3 April 1948, which makes it a period piece today. Radio, rather than television, was the dominant communication medium in the United States. Commercials were live, rather than pre-recorded; in the case of a talk show, the host would participate in the commercial in front of a live studio audience. (This persisted even into the early years of television. A Timex commercial that went seriously wrong, wherein the watch couldn't even be *found* after the it's-still-ticking test, persisted for decades in Johnny Carson's list of funniest incidents on his show, for example.) And at that time, a national income tax was a relatively new feature of life in the United States, and fell due on the 15th of March. All these factors matter in setting the stage for this story.

Hi-Spot, one of the sponsors of the Madeleine Fraser show, revelled in her live commercials for their product, wherein she and her guests would drink 'the drink you dream of.' But the PR dream turned into a nightmare when someone spiked one glass with cyanide, and Cyril Orchard, one of the show's guests in a discussion of gambling, died 'live' on the air.

But was the editor of _Track Almanac_ the intended victim? Among the suspects - some of whom may have been intended victims - emotions, blood, and money may have become entangled. Deborah Koppel, Fraser's business manager, is also her sister-in-law through Fraser's late husband - and her principal beneficiary. Does she blame Fraser for her brother's death? Bill Meadows is her on-air sidekick - did he want a promotion to top billing? Or did he resent being kicked off the show recently, despite his reinstatement? Tully Strong represents the sponsors' council, and there'd been some bad blood over shifting accounts between shows, and retaliation by persuading accounts to change agencies. Nancylee Shepherd, an overgrown schoolgirl who's obsessed with Fraser, may be more than an annoying tagalong running a fan club. In the background, a rumour of anonymous letters taints the atmosphere, with a whiff of possible blackmail.

Most unusually, Wolfe solicits this case, rather than waiting for clients to come to him (granted, due to prodding by Archie, after he prepared Wolfe's form 1040). Another uncommon feature is that they have not one client, but a group; each individual or corporation owes a percentage of the fee, which is contingent on Wolfe's finding the murderer with evidence to convict. (Typically, when Wolfe's client is a corporate entity, the client's real goal is to control a serious publicity disaster - which results in friction where it clashes with Wolfe's goal of catching a culprit, and this case is no exception.) The group in this case consists of several corporate sponsors and Madeleine Fraser herself. (As Archie points out, Wolfe's fee is tax-deductible.)

Wolfe, ever true to his principles, refuses to allow one sponsor to join the client list - because he and Fritz tried their product, and it's awful. Archie won't let Hi-Spot even try to get Wolfe to participate in some PR photos, and quashes Fraser's hope of getting Wolfe on her show. The surviving guest from the fatal show, a professor specializing in probability, has an unrealistic opinion of his ability to predict things. The continuing character of Arnold Zeck makes his first major appearance in this story...and his interests don't align with Wolfe's. Deputy Commissioner O'Hara, horning in since it's a high-profile case, makes the mistake of ordering Archie's arrest as a material witness late in the story - and Wolfe's payback is beautiful to see.