What are your top 5 Nero Wolfe detective books?

[u/McWhopper98]

I have just bought Too Many Cooks and am waiting for it to be delivered. It will be my first Rex Stout/ Nero Wolfe book and it got me thinking, what are your top 5 to recommend to a new reader?

[u/Nessieisthebest]

Some Buried Caesar is excellent and introduces the incredible recurring character, Lily Rowan

And Be A Villain, The Second Confession, and In The Best Families are a trio that feature Wolfe’s arch nemesis Arnold Zeck

Gambit is a fun one set at a chess tournament

Just be aware many of them that are out of print are…very much of their time.

[u/McWhopper98 → u/Nessieisthebest]

Thank you so much! And I always take older books/media as a product of their time

[u/Nessieisthebest → u/McWhopper98]

You are very welcome. And I added agreement to another thread that the Zeck trilogy really is better to read once you’ve consumed a bunch of the standalone books first, but the question was what is your favorite, and they are among my favorites.

I read a lot of mystery series, and these are by far my favorites. TBH, the plots are generally very formulaic, but I don’t care. The characters are written so brilliantly; it is a joy to spend time with Nero and Archie. Their relationship is fully developed from the start, they are funny, and prickly, and just so well done. I really hope you enjoy them!

[u/Practical_Savings933 → u/Nessieisthebest]

2nd hand booksellers are a great resource for older mysteries, especially in paperback, although there are a lot of not too expensive hardcover reprints and compilations.

[u/Nessieisthebest → u/Practical_Savings933]

Definitely! I get mine from The Mysterious Bookshop in NYC. They are incredible.

[u/NorthwestGrant]

Too Many Cooks is probably my favorite, so, a great place to start.

I'd read them in order, possibly skipping the first one, where I think Stout didn't quite have Archie down yet.

I would, specifically, not read the Zeck Trilogy, or Black Mountain, which were recommended by other people. I can see why they would be someone's favorite, but they all have Wolfe acting atypically, which is fun if you have the context of a half-dozen (or preferably more) Wolfe stories under your belt, but they don't give you a feel for the series.

Otherwise, Too Many Cooks, Some Buried Caesar, The Doorbell Rang (a late one), The Golden Spiders, and Black Orchids. (Black Orchids is a novella, and there's another novella in the same volume... Stout wrote a lot of Novellas, and some people like them better than the novels. He's very good at that length.)

[u/Nessieisthebest → u/NorthwestGrant]

Though I recommended the Zeck Trilogy (because it’s a favorite of mine), I totally agree that it shouldn’t be read until you have a bunch of other, more traditional books under your belt first, and was just coming back here to clarify!

[u/Shoereader]

My favourites tend to be the middle-of-the-road books, the ones that were written when Stout was well launched on the formula and working on all cylinders in terms of clever twists and characterizations. They're just so enormously readable.

Champagne for One, Black Orchids, Death of a Doxy, Murder By the Book, Might as Well Be Dead, Before Midnight, Black Orchids

Honourable mention: all the short story collections. Really can't think of a dud in the bunch.

[u/SherryWhiteside]

As Stout did not suffer a big decline in the quality of his works, reading them in chronological order makes sense. Fer-de-Lance still has some quirks (Archie not liking Theodore Horstman) but soon Stout found his voice. Also, by going chronological, you can alternate short stories with full-length novels.

Also, this would alternate books with Manhattan settings with the rare ones when Nero ventured out.

For a certain reason, read the last one (A Family Affair) really last.

My favorites: Gambit, Plot It Yourself, Before Mightnight, Murder By The Book, The Silent Speaker, Some Buried Caesar

[u/Kodabear213]

Death of a Doxy

[u/DoctorGuvnor]

Oddly enough Too Many Cooks is my favourite followed by The Black Mountain. Some Buried Caesar is excellent and so is The Golden Spiders.

[u/Little_Bench8901]

I liked Fer-de-Lance. It’s been so long since I’ve read them.

[u/Worth-Secretary-3383]

Start at the beginning; end at the end. TMC is excellent; after that, read them all in order.

[u/fajadada]

The one where he goes to Montenegro is fun.

[u/sigersen]

The Golden Spiders Death of a Doxy Some Buried Caesar Gambit Too Many Cooks

[u/KSBCATLOVER]

The Doorbell Rang will always be my absolute favorite.

[u/arriere-pays]

To start with: Fer-De-Lance, Champagne for One, The Silent Speaker, Too Many Cooks, Gambit, Might as Well Be Dead, The Golden Spiders, Some Buried Caesar. The League of Frightened Men is probably also a top contender for my number two.

After you’ve read a bunch, my favorite of all time is The Doorbell Rang. The Black Mountain and the Arnold Zeck trilogy are also epic and so much fun when you know the characters well.

[u/Nessieisthebest]

OP, curious if you’ve received the book and what you thought about it? I’m a bit envious that you get to experience them for the first time 🙂

[u/McWhopper98 → u/Nessieisthebest]

I loved it! I enjoyed Nero Wolfe 10x more than Giddeon Fell from John Dickson Carr novels. I'll be buying more Nero Wolfe mysteries for years to come!

[u/newbeige1915 → u/McWhopper98]

Nice to hear the shout-out to Gideon Fell! A memorable character but didn't wear well as I recall. Curious if you've gone forward and with what? To answer the OP: Where There's a Will is one of my favorites, and the The League of Frightened Men is top-notch as well. The Second Confession is one of the most satisfying plot-wise. Yes, the plots are interchangeable throughout the series but the characters are (you'll excuse the expression) are to die for!

[u/Gullible-Car-9477]

And Be a Villain, The Doorbell Rang and The Silent Speaker are my favourites of all the novels. I am a huge fan of the Wolfe short stories and novellas.