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Title: Trio for Blunt Instruments
Series:
Nero Wolfe #38
Author: Rex Stout
Rating:
4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages:
198
Words: 72K
Publish: 1964
This was an enjoyable trio of novellas about Archie and Wolfe getting involved with “dames” and solving the various mysteries. I have to admit, I am not such a fan of these collections of novellas versus the full novels. Next time I go through the Wolfe series, I plan on reading each novella on its own and reviewing just it.
This was published in 1964 and the first Wolfe novel, Fer De Lance, was published in 1934. You can tell the difference in the culture that each book was written in. It is kind of shocking to see the changes in just 30 years. But then I realize what 30 years has done in my life time, so I really shouldn’t be surprised.
★★★★☆
From Wikipedia
Kill Now—Pay Later
Wolfe's aging Greek bootblack is accused of murder and Wolfe feels he owes him something since he (apparently) listens eagerly to Wolfe's dissertations on ancient Greek culture during every shoe-shining session and moreover has told the police that "Wolfe is a great man"
Murder Is Corny
The story, apart from its crime detection aspects, is a story about how a simple, very beautiful, country girl comes to the big city, enters the world of high fashion, but cannot escape the risqué side of big city life. Nor is the country life in Putnam County devoid of moral failings, and they both play a part in the final resolution of this story.
Blood Will Tell
Archie is sorting through the mail one Tuesday morning when an unusual envelope catches his attention. Bearing the return address of composer James Neville Vance, the envelope contains a bloodstained tie and a note for Archie to keep it until Vance makes contact with him. After receiving a call claiming to be from Vance instructing him to destroy the envelope and contents, Archie heads to Vance's apartment to investigate.
Vance denies any knowledge about the envelope, though he admits the tie is one of nine he owns, designed uniquely for him, adding that one is missing and another was gifted to a friend. When the janitor and a patrol officer come to ask Vance for access to the apartment belonging to Bonny & Martin Kirk, Archie joins them; together, they discover Bonny's corpse, head smashed in with a vodka bottle.
The next day, a disheveled Martin Kirk comes to the brownstone to hire Wolfe, who immediately takes him on as a client. Kirk reveals that Vance gifted him one of his neckties two months ago and that Bonny was a serial adulterer, with one of her lovers being another neighbor, Paul Fougere. During the conversation, Paul's wife Rita arrives, having followed Kirk. Wolfe sends Kirk home to look for the necktie and speaks with Rita, who reveals that she knew about the affair and that she is in love with Kirk.
Kirk calls and informs them that the necktie is missing; he and Rita decide to visit Vance to ask him about the envelope. The meeting turns bloody when Paul shows up unannounced, and Kirk accuses Paul of killing Bonny out of jealousy. After the fight subsides, Sergeant Stebbins arrives to take Kirk in for questioning.
Wolfe asks Archie to use the threat of a defamation lawsuit in order to bring Paul in, and the Fougeres do come to the brownstone four hours later. They find out from Paul that Vance has also been pining for Bonny.
As the conversation ends, Archie and Wolfe independently determine the identity of the culprit. When Inspector Cramer arrives, Wolfe lets him in on their deductions, asking him to hold the culprit for question and sending Archie, Saul, Fred, and Orrie to search that person's residence. While there, they find not only the clue that confirms their deductions but also a grisly trophy of the crime.
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