Archive for 'Stout, Rex'
Some Buried Caesar, by Rex Stout
ISBN 0553254642
Midnight: in a dark pasture the champion bull, Hickory Caesar Grindon tosses Clyde Osgood’s bloody and mangled corpse with his horns. Was Osgood gored by the bull or dispatched by human hands? Only Nero Wolfe, the fat, orchid-loving detective can disentangle the twisted threads of the mystery.
For those of us who found our way to the mystery genre from young adult stories of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series may have been our introduction to a fascinating world of adult detective stories. Stout, the author of over 70 works published from 1934 to 1985, won the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award in 1959.
Today, with a plethora of cat mysteries, cooking mysteries, and God knows what else, the Nero Wolfe stories are often overlooked by those who began reading mysteries in the 1980’s or 1990’s. But they wear well… with erudite yet snappy dialogue, provided by his assistant, Archie Goodwin.
Not all classic mysteries are British (though indeed many great ones are) … the American genre can hold its own, with hundreds of fine stories which deserve to be revisited from time to time. And while it’s always exciting to discover a great new mystery, there is much to appreciate in the old ones.
If you’ve overlooked Rex Stout, but wish to make a new acquaintance, or renew an old one, this early mystery is a good place to start. Granted, the Nero Wolfe stories contain no profanity or illicit sex, but then, those were simpler times. Some Buried Caesar is a good read, and well worth your time.
Link: Bibliography for Rex stout
Mystery Book Reviews by Liz at http://reviewedbyliz.com ©2007
Posted: January 22nd, 2007 under Reviews by Author, Stout, Rex.
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