If Death Ever Slept
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4.4 • 103 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Murder lurks in the wings of the sprawling Fifth Avenue penthouse of multimillionaire Otis Jarrell, who has just retained the incomparable Nero Wolfe on a case of the utmost confidentiality. But even the master detective cannot prevent tragedy when it inevitably arrives wielding Jarrell’s missing revolver. Soon a second victim meets his maker, and Wolfe must piece together the truth behind Jarrell’s scandalously ill-behaved family. And for one member of that charmed circle—a two-time killer sleeping the fitful sleep of the guilty—it could prove a deadly awakening.
Introduction by Robert B. Parker
“It is always a treat to read a Nero Wolfe mystery. The man has entered our folklore.”—The New York Times Book Review
A grand master of the form, Rex Stout is one of America’s greatest mystery writers, and his literary creation Nero Wolfe is one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time. Together, Stout and Wolfe have entertained—and puzzled—millions of mystery fans around the world. Now, with his perambulatory man-about-town, Archie Goodwin, the arrogant, gourmandizing, sedentary sleuth is back in the original seventy-three cases of crime and detection written by the inimitable master himself, Rex Stout.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This latest entry in the estimable Nero Wolfe audio canon is a veritable time machine, transporting listeners back not only to the upscale New York City of the 1950s, but also to an era when wit and literacy flourished in the mystery genre. Prichard again proves that he is the perfect Archie Goodwin, surely the most interesting sidekick of them all the voice of Stout's most liberal instincts as well as a shrewd detective in his own right. The tale begins with a psychological duel between Goodwin and Wolfe as funny as a Kaufman and Hart play (indeed, a quote from George S. Kaufman sneaks into the text), reminding listeners how sharp an ear Stout (1886 1975) had for the edges and nuances of relationships. As usual, the plot is the work's least important aspect although this one, about a crass tycoon who hires Wolfe and Goodwin to expose his cheating daughter-in-law, does contain a few surprises. What stays in the mind are the sharply etched images (in black and white, like the best photographs from the period) of a relatively recent but completely vanished world of glamour, greed and human weakness. Based on the Viking hardcover.
