Review of "Death on Deadline: A Nero Wolfe Mystery" by Robert Goldsborough

Nero Wolfe is a legendary fictional private investigator created by Rex Stout. When Stout died, the series was continued by Robert Goldsborough. This is the 2nd Nero Wolfe book by Goldsborough, and - like the rest of the series - can be read as a standalone.

Nero Wolfe is an eccentric, obese private detective who lives and works in a brownstone in New York City. Wolfe almost never leaves his house; spends four hours a day tending his orchids; has a chef who prepares delicious gourmet meals; loves beer; and would rather read books than take new cases.



Wolfe employs Archie Goodwin as his assistant, legman, and gadfly - a smartmouth who prods Wolfe to 'go to work' when the bank account is running low.



Stout's original Nero Wolfe books are set in the 1930s but this story is updated by several decades. Thus Archie talks about needing a home computer to keep up with the orchid germination records and he mentions the New York Jets football team.

In this mystery, Wolfe and Archie look into a questionable homicide.

*****

As the story opens, Archie's friend Lon Cohen - a journalist for the highly respected New York Gazette - is out of sorts.



Lon confides he's worried because Scotsman Ian MacLaren - a sleazy scandal-mongering newspaper baron - is trying to get control of the Gazette.



The Gazette is currently owned by the Haverhill family, and matriarch/manager Harriet Haverhill owns 34 percent of the shares.



The rest of the shares are split among three MacLaren offspring, with a few shares belonging to the paper's publisher and lawyer.



MacLaren has made a VERY GENEROUS offer to the minority shareholders, and if they sell, the Scotsman will get control of the Gazette. The fear is that MacLaren will then turn the paper into a sensationalist supermarket tabloid.





Nero Wolfe, who reads the Gazette every day, is appalled by the notion of MacLaren owning the newspaper. So Wolfe takes out out a full page add in the New York Times, at a cost of $32,000 (about $190,000 today). In the ad, Wolfe castigates MacLaren and asks respectable publishers to step up.



Wolfe's ad sets off a hullaballoo, and before long all the shareholders of the Gazette, as well as Ian MacLaren himself, are trooping through Wolfe's office. Most of them loudly complain about Wolfe's interference.



Soon afterward, one of the Gazette shareholders is shot dead, and the police rule it a suicide. Wolfe disagrees, and insists - very publicly - that the victim was murdered.



Wolfe is determined to expose the killer, and he instructs Archie to examine the crime scene and to 'invite' the suspects to the brownstone to be interviewed.



Wolfe also employs Saul Panzer, a very capable free-lance operative, to help with the inquiries.



While all this is going on Wolfe still sticks to his usual schedule: tending to his orchids, enjoying scrumptious meals, reading books, drinking beer, and so on.



Once all the clues have been assembled, Wolfe employs his genius intellect to pinpoint the killer. As usual, Wolfe then invites all the suspects - as well as Police Inspector Cramer and Sergeant Purley Stebbins - to his office.





Wolfe then exposes the culprit and the cops take the miscreant away.

The Nero Wolfe books have always been formulaic, and luckily for fans of the series, author Robert Goldsborough has the formula down pat. I like these books and recommend them to Nero Wolfe fans.

For fun, these are some of the yummy dishes mentioned in the book.

Braised Pork Fillets


Salmon Mousse


Mushroom and Celery Omelet


Oyster Pie

Rating: 3 stars