Might As Well Be Dead (Nero Wolfe Mysteries)

Eleven years after his own thoughtlessness sent his only son, Paul, away from home, Nebraska businessman James Herold calls upon Nero Wolfe to track down the young man so that he can make amends. Reissue. NYT.

Customer Reviews:

Great Stuff!

By Richard Salva "Host: 'LincolnReincarnation.co... - May 18, 2006

Rex Stout was an amazing writer. His characters are great. The dialogue and action are crisp. And, where did he get the ideas for his stories? Some of the plotlines really draw you in. Take this book, one of Stout's best. In Might As Well Be Dead, the great detective Nero Wolfe is asked to locate a young man missing for over a decade--who turns out to have just been convicted of murder. Wolfe has to put his considerable mental prowess to work to overturn the conviction, along with his helpers--the irrepressible Archie Goodwin, and Saul, Fred, Orrie, and Jimmy. One of Wolfe's colleagues doesn't make it to the end of the story, which makes it personal for Wolfe. The cops are breathing down their necks. And, just to add to the mix, Archie falls in love with the attractive woman pining for the man on death row. Great stuff!

Kindle Version Review

By The Professor - May 25, 2010

This is prime 1950s-era Nero Wolfe and well worth a read. Not only is Stout's writing here vital and pithy, but the plot takes some memorable twists and Nero has to adjust his strategy accordingly. There are some great Archie/Nero character moments and some nice use of the Saul Panzer-led squad of hired investigators. The Kindle version is well-formatted, but note the cover is missing and the publishing date, ISBN, etc., appears at the end of the text instead of the beginning.

Unjustly Accused

By Ohioan - July 21, 2012

This novel, written in the 1950s, is one of the best of the Nero Wolfe books. In it, Wolfe is hired by a wealthy Nebraskan who has come to New York to find the son he unjustly accused of a crime more than ten years ago. That son, Paul Herold, left home and cut off all ties with his family, except that he recently sent his sister a birthday card, and the card was postmarked from NYC. The father, who has since discovered that his son did not commit the crime the father suspected him of, wants to find Paul and make up. He hires Nero to help him.

The problem is, first, that Wolfe finds several men whose initials are PH. One of these, Peter Hays, is currently on trial for murder. Hays has refused to give his attorney any background at all on himself, and it looks as if he will be found guilty of murder. Archie goes to the courtroom to see if Hays looks like Paul Herold (the father gave a photo of his son to Wolfe, and Archie uses the photo for identification). Archie determines... read more