Too Many Women (1947) - Rex Stout

Rex Stout wrote other stories and novels having nothing to do with the detective Nero Wolfe, but I haven't read any of them. I have, however, read all 72 Nero Wolfe novels and novellas and am currently reading them for a second time. I just finished Too Many Women(1947), the twelfth story in the series. Wolfe's wise-cracking assistant Archie Goodwin has taken both an alias and a job at a Wall Street firm to investigate who killed one of the firm's employees. The firm is filled with, of course, beautiful women, any one of which could have knowledge of the murderer's identity.

As with nearly all the Nero Wolfe stories, who killed whom is of secondary importance. As I reread them, I can never remember who did it anyway. What is important is character, setting and tone. Wolfe, whom Archie frequently reminds us weighs in at "a seventh of a ton" (which is only 285 pounds, but that was probably whale proportions in 1947), guzzles beer, religiously spends four hours a day tending orchids in his upstairs plant rooms, never leaves the house, and has an utter, complete lack of understanding of all things female. Did I mention that Wolfe is a genius?

All of the stories are narrated by Archie, a bachelor who lives with Wolfe and does the legwork for him. Archie is brilliant in his own way, a detective with total recall who can report any conversation (and frequently does) to Wolfe verbatim. (Pictured here portrayed by Timothy Hutton in the A&E television series) He understands everything about women that Wolfe does not, a skill which Wolfe depends on in emergency situations such as those found in Too Many Women. The minor characters are far more than window dressing, although Saul Panzer (the best freelance detective in New York, and probably the world) rises head and shoulders above Fred Durkin, Orrie Cather and the rest, at least in this tale.

Each time I encounter a Nero Wolfe story, I'm struck by how good the characters are, how smart Stout was and how I never tire of the adventures. I give them Wolfe's own highest compliment: "Very satisfactory."