The Second Confession (A Nero Wolfe Mystery Novel) by Rex Stout

The Second Confession (A Nero Wolfe Mystery Novel)
by Rex Stout

A steady mystery, a good book, but not as promising as Phillip Routh had suggested by his reading of other Nero Wolfes mysteries. Naturally, having seen the A & E mini-series, I imagined Maury Chaykin as Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as the milk drinking Archie Goodwin. The ensemble cast of the TV show also made regular appearances in my imagination. I was bothered by the preoccupation in the hunt for Communists. Of course, this was written in 1949, the year China fell to Mao and the Soviet Union was testing nuclear bombs as the Cold War grew into a monster. But I thought more of Stout’s talents than having him become a propagandist. I also content that as a youth in Eastern Europe, a much thinner Nero Wolfe had fought the communists, causing an obvious prejudice in the Big Man. I did enjoy this tale being one of the few times Wolfe left the comforts of his Brownstone home and was forced to prolong that by a couple days due to an untimely murder as he and Goodwin attempted to do their client’s bidding and discover if indeed the boyfriend of the client’s youngest daughter was a Commie as a mysterious note had declared.

Phillip had also come across a trend: suicides. There were none in this one.

If one was to appraise this in a five star system of rating, I would give it 3.5.


Book finished: June 18, 2010

Review Written: July 15, 2010