Two Rex Stout Novels

.Book #94: A Right to Die by Rex Stout is the rare Stout novel that really seems pigeonholed into a specific, very bleak time in history. A black man attempts to hire Nero Wolfe to dig up dirt on his son’s white fiance, all in an attempt to discredit her and nix the marriage (he and his wife are angered and disgusted by the prospect on an interracial marriage). The fiance turns up dead, the son is charged with the murder, and before it’s all through we have a very awkward mix of racists on both sides of the color barrier competing for attention. Putting all that aside (it was published in 1964, when it was probably spot-on), it is a good yarn told by a master of the written word, even if the clue by which Wolfe ID’s the killer is goofy and unrealistic. Given the dated nature of the book, I have to grade this only a C.

Book #97: Might as Well Be Dead by Rex Stout is a swell Nero Wolfe mystery centered around a young man who, for misguided reasons of love, refuses to help prove his innocence when charged with murder. Lucky for him Wolfe and Goodwin are around to ignore his wishes, and along the way there are plenty of twists and the trademark Stout style. I loved it. Grade: A