Murder in E Minor (The Nero Wolfe Mysteries Book 1)

Product Information

The final Wolfe book written by Stout, A Family Affair, ends with the disgrace and suicide of one of the Wolfe team. As the new book opens, Wolfe has been in a state of virtual retirement for a while, although a good word from Inspector Cramer has allowed them to remain licensed private investigators in good standing, although inactive. I got a good, leisurely look at her through the one-way glass in the front door as she stood in the drizzle ringing our bell. Dark-haired, dark-eyed, and slender, she had a touch of Mia Farrow in her face. And like Farrow in several of her roles, she seemed frightened and unsure. But looking through the glass, I was convinced that with Maria Radovich, it was no act. I’m sorry to hear that you’re scared, I said, but Mr. Wolfe is pretty hard-hearted. I’ve got a reputation as a softie, though. How soon can your uncle be here? I’m Mr. Wolfe’s confidential assistant, and I’ll be glad to see him, Miss … Based on these two books by Robert Goldsborough, it is evident that the author uses both the biographical and autobiographical method in his work. A notable aspect in his literary works is his constant reference of the Chicago Tribune where he has worked for a long time and the use of real-life personalities and public figures as his characters. It wasn’t Nero Wolfe’s idea for Orrie Cather to kill himself, but the great detective gave his blessing to his longtime associate’s plan. Cather had killed three people, and it was only fair to pay the price. Though Wolfe reacted to Cather’s death with his characteristic calmness, prize assistant Archie Goodwin could see the rotund genius of West Thirty-Fifth Street was shaken to his well-fed core. Wolfe decided his sleuthing days were finished.

The case investigated by Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin is a murder investigation of New York Symphony Orchestra Maestro Milan Stevens. Archie Goodwin didn’t realize that his invitation to meet the maestro’s adopted child would be just the stimulus needed to bring Nero Wolfe out of his self-imposed retirement. Then again at the time Archie didn’t know that the maestro was Milos Stefanovic, a Montenegrin from Yugoslavia as is Nero Wolfe or that Nero owed his life to Milos. I need to see Mr. Wolfe—today. May I make an appointment? It was the voice of a young woman, shaky, and with an accent that seemed familiar to me. Look, Mr. Wolfe isn’t seeing anyone, honest. I can suggest some agencies if you’re looking for a private investigator. Other than having put his brain in the deep freeze, Wolfe kept his routine pretty much the same as ever: breakfast on a tray in his room; four hours a day—9 to 11 A.M. and 4 to 6 P.M.—in the plant rooms with Theodore; long conferences with Fritz on menus and food preparation; and the best meals in Manhattan. The rest of the time, he was in his oversized chair behind his desk in the office reading and drinking beer. And refusing to work.The two books revolve around Steve Malek, a nosy and old school police reporter working for the Chicago Tribune newspaper in pre-World War II Chicago, America and in the wake of the Great Depression. In “Three Strikes You’re Dead”, the pin that bursts the balloon is the suspicious death of a prospective mayor. Steve Malek embarks on a no-holds-barred mission to seek the truth. But Malek’s scope of investigation not only irks his editor but also goes too far and Malek soon finds himself up to his eyeballs with crucial leads concerning his investigation into the apparent murder. Several of Stout's Wolfe novels made it clear that Wolfe was Montenegrin, and had once been involved in what would today be called terrorist activities against the oppressors of his homeland (in early days of the 20th century, those would be the Austro-Hungarian Empire). Hard as it is to see in the present-day corpulent agoraphobic crime-solving genius in Manhattan, he was once a man of action in Montenegro and the surrounding area. A few of his comrades from that era also survive: the present conductor of the New York Symphony Orchestra, Milan Stevans (name now anglicized from Milos Stefanović), and Milan's long-estranged wife, Alexandra Adjari, now living in London. Stevans became the guardian of his great-niece Maria Radovich after the death of her parents. Robert Gerald Goldsborough (born October 3, 1937 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American journalist and writer of mystery novels. He worked for 45 years for the Chicago Tribune and Advertising Age, but gained prominence as the author of a series of 17 authorized pastiches of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe detective stories, published from 1986 to 1994 and from 2012 to 2023. The first novel, Murder in E Minor (1986), received a Nero Award. Absolutely, Maria said. Uncle Milos told me they had been through some great difficulty together. He even showed me this picture from an old scrapbook. She reached again into her bag and handed me a gray-toned photograph mounted on cardboard and ragged around the edges. As the one who extended the life of Rex’s Stout’s famed private eye Nero Wolfe with seven novels in the 1980s and ’90s, I got both praise and derision — praise from readers who were glad to have more tales of Wolfe and his loyal right-hand, Archie Goodwin, and derision from those who either lamented that 'you haven’t got it right' or who felt fictional characters should be allowed to die with their creators," Goldsborough wrote in 2011. [3]

No, I want Mr. Nero Wolfe. My uncle has spoken of him, and I am sure he would want to help. My uncle knew Mr. Wolfe many years ago in Montenegro, and— Maria nodded. Yes, he and I have lived there since we came to this country, a little over two years ago. Robert Goldsborough and his mother were die-hard fans of author Rex Stout. When Stout died and Wilma Goldsborough read Stout’s obituary, Robert Goldsborough’s mother was chagrined and wished she could read more of Nero Wolfe mystery series. By then Robert Goldsborough hinted to her that there most likely would be a continuation to the series; shortly thereafter, he surprised her with a Nero Wolfe book he had been writing. Terror at the Fair, the fifth book in the Snap Malek series, received the Lovey Award for Best Historical Novel at the 2012 Love is Murder Mystery Conference. [4] I’m sure if Mr. Wolfe knew about my uncle’s trouble, he would want to do something right away, she said, twisting a scarf in her lap and leaning forward tensely.

Read on this mind-blowing biography which has made him the cream of the crop thanks to his finesse of decades of writing experience. Not going to a picnic, I said. I’d like to hang onto this for a while. Now, what about you, Miss Radovich? How does it happen you’re living with a great-uncle? Radovich, Maria Radovich. Yes, I recognized your name. My uncle doesn’t know I am calling. He would be angry. But I will come right away, if it’s all right. Not wanting to look stupid or disappoint her, or both, I nodded. I’ve been to the Symphony four or five times, always with Lily Rowan, and it was always her idea. Milan Stevens may have been the conductor one or more of those times, but I wouldn’t take an oath on it. The name was only vaguely familiar. I’m sorry, but Mr. Wolfe isn’t consulting at the present time, I said, repeating a line I had grown to hate.

urn:oclc:877045212 Scandate 20100922045230 Scanner scribe11.sfdowntown.archive.org Scanningcenter sfdowntown Worldcat (source edition)It wasn’t that we did not have opportunities. One well-fixed Larchmont widow offered twenty grand for starters if Wolfe would find out who poisoned her chauffeur, and I couldn’t even get him to see her. The murder was never solved, although I leaned toward the live-in maid, who was losing out in a triangle to the gardener’s daughter. Then there was the Wall Street money man—you’d know his name right off—who said Wolfe could set his own price if only we’d investigate his son’s death. The police and the coroner had called it a suicide, but the father was convinced it was a narcotics-related murder. Wolfe politely but firmly turned the man down in a ten-minute conversation in the office, and the kid’s death went on the books as a suicide.