Best Selling Books by Robert Goldsborough

To save his favorite newspaper, Nero Wolfe steps into the crossfire of a tabloid war. Master sleuth Nero Wolfe’s small circle of friends is limited to his assistant, Archie Goodwin; his chef, Fritz; and Lon Cohen, the head man at the New York Gazette. Cohen knows more about the city’s power structure than any man in Manhattan, and for years, he happily passed Wolfe information in return for the odd exclusive scoop. But now Cohen needs Wolfe’s help, for the Gazette is ailing and the vultures have begun to circle. Scottish newspaper magnate Ian MacLaren plans to gut the paper and turn it into a sex-filled conservative rag. Standing in his way is the company’s chief shareholder, Gazette heir Harriet Haverhill. But when the aged Ms. Haverhill dies in an apparent suicide, no one remains to resist the Scot’s advances except Wolfe. MacLaren may be fierce, but when the cause is just, Nero Wolfe knows how to play dirty too.

Threats against a televangelist lead Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin into a murder case in this “brisk and beguiling page-turner” (Publishers Weekly). Staten Island would be forgettable were it not for the gleaming Tabernacle of the Silver Spire, where thousands of congregants come every Sunday to hear the sermons of Barnabas Bay. Millions more tune in on television, giving the good Reverend international fame, and a chance to spread the gospel from New York City’s harbor all the way to South Korea. But threatening notes have been appearing in the collection bag, suggesting that one of the faithful has decided it’s time this good shepherd get the hook. Believing organized religion is nothing more than a scam, rotund sleuth Nero Wolfe refuses to investigate the threats, instead recommending veteran investigator Fred Durkin for the case. But when Durkin is accused of murdering the Reverend’s assistant, Wolfe fights to clear his name. He may not be a Christian, but he will always help a brother in need.

It’s curtains for a famous Broadway director, and private investigator Nero Wolfe is on the case—but his assistant, Archie Goodwin, is a suspect. When a renowned theater director senses something amiss during his latest production, he calls in Nero Wolfe. Though the corpulent genius wouldn’t normally accept a job this vague, a mutual friend dangles the prospect of a very rare orchid in exchange for his services, and Wolfe can’t resist. With a mind to suss out useful backstage gossip, Wolfe turns to his faithful assistant, Archie Goodwin, to impersonate a journalist in order to speak to the cast. Though Goodwin’s conversations prove unfruitful, on his last day at the theater, the director is murdered in his soundproof booth, poisoned by an unseen culprit during an evening performance. In short order, an actor whose health is failing attempts suicide with the same poison. Now Goodwin is a prime suspect in the director’s demise, effectively sidelining him for the rest of the case, and freelance gumshoe Saul Panzer must step in to help wrangle the various members of the play—from the ingénue and the diva to the handsome movie star and the surly stage manager—so New York’s smartest, and most reclusive, private detective can determine who is responsible for these dramatic deaths and clear Goodwin’s name once and for all. Continuing his beloved series—which also includes Archie Meets Nero Wolfe, Murder in the Ball Park, and Archie in the Crosshairs—Nero Award–winning author Robert Goldsborough “brings Nero Wolfe, late of Rex Stout, gloriously back to life” (Chicago). Murder, Stage Left is the 59th book in the Nero Wolfe Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Iconic sleuth Nero Wolfe returns to track down the murderer of a New York Symphony Orchestra conductor in this Nero Award–winning mystery. Ever since disgraced associate Orrie Cather’s suicide, armchair detective Nero Wolfe has relished retirement in his Manhattan brownstone on West Thirty-Fifth Street. Two years after Cather’s death, only a visit from Maria Radovich—and the urging of Wolfe’s prize assistant, Archie Goodwin—could draw the eccentric and reclusive genius back into business. Maria’s uncle, New York Symphony Orchestra conductor Milan Stevens, formerly known as Milos Stefanovic, spent his youth alongside Wolfe as a fellow freedom fighter in the mountains of Montenegro. And now that the maestro has been receiving death threats, Wolfe can’t turn his back on the compatriot who once saved his life. Though her uncle has dismissed the menacing letters, Maria fears they’re more than the work of a harmless crank. But before Wolfe can attack the case, Stevens is murdered. The accused is the orchestra’s lead violinist, whose intimate relationship with Maria hit more than a few sour notes in her uncle’s professional circle. But Wolfe knows that when it comes to murder, nothing is so simple—especially when there are so many suspects, from newspaper critics and ex-lovers to an assortment of shady musicians. Now, in this award-winning novel that carries on the great tradition of Rex Stout, the irascible and immovable Nero Wolfe is back in the game, listening for clues and ready to go to war to find a killer. Murder in E Minor is the 48th book in the Nero Wolfe Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Archie Goodwin leaves Manhattan for the Midwest to find out who put a bullet into a banker. Archie Goodwin’s aunt Edna is about to lure him away from his work at Nero Wolfe’s New York brownstone. After a phone call, he heads off to Ohio, where the president of Farmer’s State Bank and Trust, an elderly widower, has died in an apparent suicide. But Archie’s aunt has expressed nagging suspicions—which only grow stronger when someone takes a shot at a local reporter who wrote about the case. It wouldn’t be a small town without some gossip, and Archie soon hears the whispers: romantic intrigues, a possible paternity case, a ruined business. While reconnecting with his aging mother—and fending off his nagging aunt—Archie tries to untangle a web of grudges, scandals, and murder. From Nero Award winner Robert Goldsborough, this is a brand-new novel in the series created by Rex Stout, starring one of the world’s most beloved detectives and his equally engaging sidekick. Archie Goes Home is the 15th book in the Nero Wolfe Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A killer hiding among the crowd at a Dodgers-Giants game forces Nero Wolfe to step up to the plate in this “superb” mystery (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Archie Goodwin and Saul Panzer have ventured into the wilds of northern Manhattan to watch the Giants take on the Dodgers at the Polo Grounds. The national anthem is just winding down when Panzer spies a notable in the box seats: state senator Orson Milbank, a silver-haired scoundrel with enemies in every corner of upstate New York. In the fourth inning, a monstrous line drive brings every fan in the grandstand to his feet—every fan save for one silver-haired senator, who has been shot dead by a sniper in the upper deck. Archie’s employer—the rotund genius Nero Wolfe—has no interest in investigating the stadium slaying, but Archie is swayed by the senator’s suspiciously lovely widow. Her husband was mired hip-deep in corruption, and sorting out who killed him will be a task far less pleasant than an afternoon at the ball park.

A soda war explodes into murder for Nero Wolfe, “one of the two or three most beloved detectives in fiction” (Publishers Weekly). For the men of Madison Avenue, the battle between soft-drink giants Cherr-o-key and AmeriCherry seems heaven sent. For years now, the firm of Mills/Lake/Ryman has fought to help Cherr-o-key become the nation’s favorite fizzy cherry soda, but each time they come up with a new slogan, mascot, or jingle, AmeriCherry somehow beats them to it. There's a mole inside the agency, and only Nero Wolfe can ferret him out. Although he's as round as a cherry himself, Wolfe has no taste for soft drinks. But the question of industrial espionage is too sweet for him to resist, and so with assistant Archie Goodwin at his side, he sets out to end this vicious corporate feud. Only when the first adman dies does he realize that a marketing war can be just as dangerous as the real thing.

A Chicago crime reporter is out to stop a local hate group from assassinating President Truman in this historical crime thriller. Chicago, 1948. As President Harry Truman prepares to visit Chicago in the final tense days of his reelection campaign, police reporter Steve “Snap” Malek receives an ominous threat. An anti-Semitic group plans to assassinate the president for officially recognizing the new state of Israel. When Malek refuses the hate group’s demands for newspaper publicity, they begin killing Chicagoans—one a day, including a policeman and a fireman. As the so-called New Reich promises more of the same, Malek begins his dogged hunt to uncover their true identities. Along the way, he meets maverick automaker Preston Tucker, and even gets the chance to drive the revolutionary Tucker Torpedo. But when Truman arrives in Chicago for a parade, time is running out for Malek to stifle the deadly plot.

After the heir to a frozen-food fortune gets iced, Nero Wolfe’s right-hand man becomes a suspect:“Goldsborough does a masterly job with the Wolfe legacy” (Booklist). When Lily Rowan doesn’t laugh at his jokes, Archie Goodwin knows something's wrong. Her niece Noreen has been running around with Sparky Linville, a club-hopping bad boy who's the terror of Manhattan nightlife, and the last time she went out with him, Noreen wasn’t herself when she came home. All she would tell her aunt was that she had been assaulted. Springing into action, Goodwin waits for Linville outside of Morgana’s, a chrome-and-glass palace that sits like a wart on Second Avenue. They nearly come to blows, but Linville’s bodyguard intervenes, and Goodwin retreats to plan his next move. In the morning, Linville is dead, and Goodwin is the chief suspect. For years he has helped rotund genius Nero Wolfe out of jams, and now it's time for the master detective to return the favor.

In post–WWII Chicago, a crime reporter sets out to prove his cousin innocent of murder in this historical noir by the author of the Nero Wolfe mysteries. Chicago, 1946. World War II may be over, but murder continues apace in the Windy City. This time, it hits close to home for Chicago Tribune police reporter Snap Malek. Someone has killed his cousin’s British war bride in the Bohemian neighborhood of Pilsen. As the prime suspect, the meek young man is jailed. And Malek, convinced of his innocence, begins a dogged hunt for the murderer. Entering the shadowy world of Pilsen’s blue-collar saloons, Snap encounters hard-bitten factory workers, a tragic war widow, and a former professional prizefighter—all “bar friends” of the murdered woman. The twisting case leads him to the city’s best defense attorney, legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and a bare-knuckle slugfest. And while a horrifying train wreck in Naperville draws his attention, Snap is determined to pursue his cousin’s case no matter where it takes him.

In this depression-era noir series debut, a politician’s murder leads a Chicago crime reporter to a conspiracy involving the Cubs’ race for the pennant. Chicago, 1938. A new mayoral candidate runs on a promise to stomp out organized crime. When he’s gunned down, it seems clear that the mob cast their ballot with bullets. But Chicago Tribune reporter Steve “Snap” Malek senses more to the story. And his hunch is confirmed by none other than former syndicate kingpin Al Capone. Incurring his editors’ anger, Malek ranges far beyond his beat, plunging headlong into a maverick investigation that soon spins beyond his control. In the process, he crosses paths with actress Helen Hayes, future Mayor Richard J. Daley, and pitching great Dizzy Dean, who was recently traded to the Cubs. And while Dizzy may be essential to a Cubs pennant win, he may also be the key to Malek’s very survival.

Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin have a lot of boldfaced names on their suspect list when New York’s most hated gossip columnist is murdered. There are few people Nero Wolfe respects, and Lon Cohen of the New York Gazette is one of them. So when Cohen asks for a favor, the famously brilliant—and notoriously lazy—detective is inclined to listen. According to Cohen, someone wants to kill the Gazette’s gossip columnist, Cameron Clay. Death threats are a regular hazard for Clay, who’s hurled insults and accusations at every bold-faced name in the five boroughs. But the latest threats have carried a more sinister tone. The columnist has narrowed his potential killers down to five people: an egomaniacal developer, a disgraced cop, a corrupt councilman, a sleazy lawyer, and his own ex-wife. But when Clay turns up dead, the cops deem it a suicide. The bigwigs at the Gazette don’t agree, so they retain Wolfe and his indefatigable assistant, Archie Goodwin, to figure out which of the suspects had the mettle to pull the trigger. In this “outstanding” mystery, Robert Goldsborough, author of Murder in E Minor, “once again demonstrates an impressive ability to emulate Rex Stout’s narrative voice” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

Archie Goodwin goes undercover on the waterfront in a new mystery by the author who “does a masterly job with the Wolfe legacy” (Booklist). Archie Goodwin is not overly fond of Theodore Horstmann, who takes care of the orchids on the rooftop of Nero Wolfe’s West Thirty-Fifth Street brownstone. But as loyal assistant to the legendary private detective, Archie will put his animosity aside when the surly orchid-keeper stumbles through the front door beaten within an inch of his life. While the gardener lies in a coma, Nero sends Archie to poke around his apartment near the river. The place is neatly kept, if not quite as elegant as the brownstone, but across the street on Tenth Avenue Archie quickly discovers the longshoremen’s watering hole in whose back room Horstmann has been playing a lot of bridge lately. The smoky tavern is packed with tough dockworkers and recent European immigrants, and Archie does his best to blend in, filling the victim’s empty seat in his running card game, as he attempts to learn what sort of shady business might have led to attempted murder. But when one of his new bridge partners is killed, Archie finds himself caught up in something much bigger than a bar fight . . . Trouble at the Brownstone serves up postwar New York City atmosphere in a fast-paced mystery featuring Nero Wolfe, “one of the two or three most beloved detectives in fiction” (Publishers Weekly). “Mr. Goldsborough has all of the late writer’s stylistic mannerisms down pat.” —The New York Times

A professor’s death lures the reclusive detective and his sidekick to a bucolic crime scene: “Goldsborough does a masterly job with the Wolfe legacy” (Booklist). An academic so conservative he thought Ronald Reagan was a pinko, Hale Markham rules Prescott University like an intellectual tyrant—until the morning he's found dead at the bottom of one of Prescott’s famously beautiful ravines. Every liberal on campus hated the crotchety old crank, but which one is responsible for giving Markham his final push to the right? The case so intrigues the incomparable, reclusive master detective Nero Wolfe that he takes the unusual step of leaving the confines of his home. With man of action Archie Goodwin at his side, Wolfe examines jealous professors, a fanatical assistant, and a university president with an ego that—like the school itself—will not stop growing. Though they're far from the city, Wolfe and Goodwin will find that no back alley is as dangerous as the shadowy corridors of the Ivy League.

A shake-up in the NYPD homicide squad following a high-profile murder is bad for business for private investigator Nero Wolfe. When wealthy and popular crusader and reformer Lester Pierce is gunned down in front of his Park Avenue residence, the public outcry forces the NYPD to restructure its homicide department. As the deceased was highly critical of Inspector Lionel Cramer, the longtime head of homicide is temporarily relieved of his badge. But it seems Cramer was not just a scapegoat: He was seen dining in Little Italy with mob kingpin Ralph Mars. All of which amounts to little more than conversational fodder for PI Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin. But if Cramer’s provisional replacement, Capt. George Rowcliff, becomes permanent, Wolfe’s future dealings with the force will be much compromised. Loath to depart from his routine, Wolfe makes the unusual decision to take on a case without an actual client. His investigation quickly points toward Pierce’s organization, Good Government Group, where high-minded idealism is often trampled under the competing ambitions of the staff—several of whom would clearly have benefited from Pierce’s demise. Despite the burgeoning list of suspects, Wolfe hasn’t ruled out the involvement of the underworld and its connection to Cramer. But in order to untangle an abundance of motives and end the inspector’s forced furlough, Wolfe may have to venture out of his comfort zone—and the premises of his brownstone. Continuing his beloved series—which also includes Archie Meets Nero Wolfe, Murder in the Ball Park, Archie in the Crosshairs, and Murder, Stage Left—Nero Award–winning author Robert Goldsborough “demonstrates an impressive ability to emulate Rex Stout’s narrative voice” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). The Battered Badge is the 60th book in the Nero Wolfe Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

An “excellent” novel that goes back to 1920s New York to reveal how the famed detective first met his incomparable sidekick (Publishers Weekly, starred review). In 1930, young Archie Goodwin comes to New York City hoping for a bit of excitement. In his third week working as a night watchman, he stops two burglars in their tracks—with a pair of hot lead slugs. Dismissed from his job for being “trigger-happy,” he parlays his newfound notoriety into a job as a detective’s assistant, helping honest sleuth Del Bascom solve cases like the Morningside Piano Heist, the Rive Gauche Art Gallery Swindle, and the Sumner-Hayes Burglary. But it’s the kidnapping of Tommie Williamson, the son of a New York hotel magnate, that introduces Goodwin to the man who will change his life. Goodwin knows there’s only one detective who can help find Tommie: Nero Wolfe, the stout genius of West Thirty-Fifth Street. Together, they’ll form one of the most unlikely crime fighting duos in history—but first Goodwin must locate Tommie and prove that he deserves a place by Wolfe’s side. In this witty story about the origin of a legendary partnership, Robert Goldsborough gloriously evokes the spirit of Nero Wolfe’s creator, bestselling author Rex Stout, and breathes new life into his beloved characters.

An art hoarder’s suspicious death paints a nasty picture for Nero Wolfe. No matter how fabulously he’s being courted, infamously dour “art hog” Arthur Wordell isn’t keen on favoring the new Guggenheim Museum with his extensive collection. Even at the urging of his beloved daughter, Nadia. Then, the night after the museum’s fête, Arthur takes a twenty-story plunge from the window of his Times Square office. Nadia thinks it’s no mere coincidence. Eccentric, yes. Suicidal, no. Private investigator Nero Wolfe and his assistant, Archie Goodwin, agree. Especially after eyeballing Arthur’s enemies and sycophants, including his ex-wife, a covetous curator, a troika of obsequious advisors, and an outré Greenwich Village artist anxious to see her work out of storage and on the walls of the “Guggie.” For Wolfe, there’s a problem: Arthur didn’t leave a will. Without a beneficiary not a soul in Arthur’s circle is set to benefit from his death. Nor do they show any customary indication of guilt. If anybody can solve a seemingly unsolvable masterpiece of murder, it’s Wolfe. Unfortunately, this time, New York’s artful investigator is, admittedly, stumped. Continuing the acclaimed series—which also includes The Battered Badge, Archie Meets Nero Wolfe, Murder in the Ball Park, Archie in the Crosshairs, and Murder, Stage Left—Nero Award–winning author Robert Goldsborough “does a masterly job with the Wolfe legacy” (Booklist).

When a loudmouthed, arrogant author is silenced, the reclusive master detective Nero Wolfe looks for the killer: “A very clever mystery . . . A masterly job” (Booklist). The gun was fired close to Charles Childress’s head, and his were the only fingerprints on it, forcing the police to conclude that the author committed suicide. But his friends know this is impossible, because Childress loved himself far too much. He had just begun attracting fame, writing new mysteries starring the iconic Sergeant Barnstable, and he had bright hopes for the future. His publisher hires corpulent genius Nero Wolfe to determine who cut Childress’s career short, and the detective finds no dearth of suspects. Among the many who may have wanted the wordsmith whacked are his agent, his editor, a corrupt book reviewer, and an enraged legion of Barnstable devotees. With the help of his indefatigable assistant, Archie Goodwin, Wolfe takes a look at those closest to the arrogant, argumentative author, hoping to decide which of Childress’s associates merely hated him, and which would have been willing to kill.

As the US enters WWII, a series of murders at the University of Chicago threatens a top-secret military research project in this historical noir. Against the ominous backdrop of America’s entry into World War II, the navy still reels from the devastation wreaked at Pearl Harbor and the crushing defeat of US ground troops in the Philippines. On the home front, scientists working for Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago labor feverishly on a secret weapon that promises to reverse the fortunes of battle. However, sinister forces are at work on the outwardly serene Gothic campus, resulting in violent deaths. While work grinds on in the shadowy catacombs beneath an abandoned football stadium—work that will forever alter our world—Chicago Tribune police reporter Steve “Snap” Malek delves into the intrigue. Battling for an exclusive story and, ultimately, for his very life, Malek finds himself in the midst of history-in-the-making.

The daughter of a steel magnate disappears, and Nero and Archie must forge ahead with an investigation in this new mystery from the award–winning author. Archie Goodwin’s very good friend, Lily Rowan, spends much of her time—and considerable financial resources—helping women in need, from underpaid workers to mistreated wives. But at the moment she’s particularly concerned about one woman: her best friend, Maureen, a beautiful socialite who’s been incommunicado for two weeks. After Archie helps Lily comb through Maureen’s deserted Park Avenue penthouse, and Lily contacts each of her friend’s well-heeled suitors, they still don’t know much more than when they started. Then Archie tries to track down Maureen’s estranged half-brother, but he seems to have vanished as well. Fortunately, Archie’s employer, Nero Wolfe, has a soft spot for Lily. He volunteers to step in—just in time, too, as this missing-person case soon becomes a murder case . . . “[Wolfe is] one of the two or three most beloved detectives in fiction.” —Publishers Weekly “Goldsborough has all of the late writer’s stylistic mannerisms down pat.” —The New York Times

Mystery fans will devour this entry into the classic, wisecracking Nero Wolfe series, in which Wolfe must track down a dangerous gunman—or risk losing his right-hand man Archie Goodwin is chipper as he strolls home from his weekly poker game, money in his pocket and a smile on his lips. He has just reached Nero Wolfe’s stately brownstone on West Thirty-Fifth Street when a sedan whips around the corner and two gunshots ring out, nearly hitting Goodwin. It is a warning, and the message is clear: The next bullet will not miss. Rotund investigator Nero Wolfe has made more than his fair share of enemies over the years, and it seems one of them has decided to strike, targeting Wolfe’s indefatigable assistant. Some might run for cover, but Archie Goodwin is not the type. With the help of Wolfe’s brainpower, Goodwin will find the man who wants him dead—unless the killer gets to Goodwin first. Nero Award–winning author Robert Goldsborough continues the brilliant work of Rex Stout in this classic mystery series. According to Publishers Weekly, “Goldsborough cleverly captures the tone and language of the originals. Rex Stout fans can only hope he has no plans to wind up the series soon.”

The iconic armchair detective returns in this collection of three novels by an author who “does a masterly job” continuing Rex Stout’s legacy (Booklist). Nero Award winner Robert Goldsborough continues Rex Stout’s classic mystery series in these three acclaimed novels: Murder in E Minor Nero Wolfe is tempted out of a peaceful retirement in his Manhattan brownstone by his desire to find out who murdered a New York Symphony Orchestra conductor who once saved his life in the mountains of Montenegro . . . Death on Deadline Newspaperman Lon Cohen used to pass Nero Wolfe information in return for the odd exclusive scoop, but now the New York Gazette is ailing and a Scottish magnate is circling like a vulture. When the Gazette’s chief shareholder turns up dead, Wolfe will step into the crossfire of a tabloid war. The Bloodied Ivy An academic so conservative he thought Ronald Reagan was a pinko, Hale Markham rules Prescott University like an intellectual tyrant—until the morning he’s found dead at the bottom of one of Prescott’s famously beautiful ravines. It’s time for Wolfe to go back to school . . . Praise for Robert Goldsborough’s Nero Wolfe novels: “Devotees of the late Rex Stout’s bestsellers will be pleasantly surprised.” —Publishers Weekly “It is fun once again to enter the brownstone on West 35th Street.” —The New York Times “A loving, knowledgeable, mightily pleasing recreation.” —Kirkus Reviews

Crain's arrival in Chicago in 1916 with, "only a few thousand dollars in capital and a great deal of optimism," this book chronicles Crain's first successes in trade magazine publishing, building up to the birth of what was to become the Company's flagship publication, Advertising Age. From the launch of Ad Age at the onset of the Depression, through the stormy years of World War II, and into the postwar economic boom, this book shows how, buoyed by G. D. Crain's boundless enthusiasm and sound business acumen, the magazine survived and prospered to become the international newspaper of marketing.

Em 1930, o jovem Archie Goodwin chega a Nova Iorque ansioso por viver em primeira mão o frenesim da cidade. Esse excesso de entusiasmo começa por lhe trazer dissabores mas acaba por lhe dar notoriedade suficiente para iniciar uma carreira de investigador. Mas será o rapto de Tommie Williamson, filho de um magnata, a pôr Archie frente ao homem que alterará o rumo da sua vida para sempre.O desaparecimento do pequeno Tommie, de oito anos, está a deixar Nova Iorque em alvoroço. Apenas uma pessoa parece ter a capacidade de deslindar este caso: o genial e excêntrico Nero Wolfe. Mas o detetive vive em luxuosa reclusão e vai precisar de ajuda no terreno. Archie quer desesperadamente encontrar o rapazinho e mostrar que tem a aptidão necessária para formar uma parceria com Wolfe... mas conseguirá ele aquilo que nunca ninguém conseguiu antes? O Caso de Nero Wolfe fala-nos das origens do duo detetivesco criado por Rex Stout. Robert Goldsborough capta gloriosamente o espírito da Nova Iorque dos anos 30 e revela como Nero Wolfe e Archie Goodwin uniram forças e se transformaram em lendas da literatura policial.

C'è stato un tempo in cui il mitico duo investigativo Nero Wolfe - Archie Goodwin ancora non esisteva, in cui il più giovane Archie ancora non abitava nella leggendaria brownstone sulla Trentacinquesima Ovest e non godeva tutti i giorni delle attenzioni del sublime cuoco Fritz Brenner. Un tempo in cui Archie era soltanto un ragazzotto fresco di diploma sbarcato a New York dalle campagne dell'Ohio che si sentiva tagliato per il lavoro di investigatore privato e si arrabattava facendo pratica nell'agenzia di Del Bascom. Quelli sono gli anni della Grande Depressione e il pur ottimista Archie è quasi pronto a gettare la spugna, rinunciando alla vita eccitante della metropoli, quando viene coinvolto assieme a Bascom in un'indagine molto speciale: una task force di detective indipendenti capeggiata da Nero Wolfe, già famoso investigatore, deve lavorare al sequestro del figlio del magnate alberghiero Burke Williamson. È quello il giorno che cambierà per sempre la vita di Archie Goodwin, perché ha modo di conoscere il raffinatissimo detective privato che pesa un settimo di tonnellata e risolve i casi di omicidio senza mai abbandonare la sua poltrona, i suoi manicaretti e le sue orchidee. Ma soprattutto ha modo di farsi conoscere da lui. È infatti proprio per via dell'intraprendenza e dell'intuito del giovane Archie che Wolfe lo fa assumere come autista della famiglia Williamson per scoprire chi ha architettato il sequestro del piccolo Tommie. Nemmeno la risoluzione del caso soddisferà Nero Wolfe, perché nel frattempo ci è scappato il morto.

Nella vecchia casa di arenaria sulla Trentacinquesima Strada Ovest di Manhattan è una sera come altre. A sei anni dalla fine della guerra la vita nella residenza segue la sua tranquilla routine, ignara del violento scossone in procinto di turbare la pace domestica. Nero Wolfe e Archie Goodwin stanno cenando con cotolette d'agnello e pomodori quando dalla porta d'ingresso del palazzo entra sanguinante e stramazza al suolo Theodore Horstmann, il giardiniere preposto alla cura delle orchidee gelosamente custodite nella serra sul tetto. Vittima di un pestaggio brutale, l'uomo finisce in coma senza poter fornire dettagli utili a ricostruire l'accaduto. Di questo deve occuparsi il valido Archie indagando al McCready's, un ritrovo per scaricatori di porto non lontano dai moli sul fiume Hudson, dove Theodore trascorreva il tempo libero giocando a bridge in una stanza sul retro. Non il più pericoloso degli ambienti, a prima vista, se non fosse che girano voci di traffici loschi. Per scoprirne la natura, introdursi sotto falso nome nella cerchia degli avventori sembra l'espediente più efficace. Nessuno però, nemmeno l'onnisciente Wolfe, è preparato a conoscere l'agghiacciante verità.

Se c'è una cosa di cui Nero Wolfe farebbe volentieri a meno è lavorare. Tuttavia, quando un collezionista rivale gli offre un raro esemplare di Grammangis spectabilis perché si occupi di un caso, la sua riluttanza deve cedere il passo. E dunque entri in scena Roy Breckenridge, produttore teatrale di successo preoccupato dall'atmosfera velenosa che si respira dietro le quinte della sua commedia. Nulla di concreto e dimostrabile, beninteso; si tratta di sensazioni impalpabili, ma talmente forti da convincerlo che qualcosa di brutto debba accadere. Certo quello rutilante e spietato di Broadway è un mondo lontanissimo dagli interessi e anche dalle simpatie di Wolfe, arroccato nella sua vecchia casa di arenaria sulla Trentacinquesima Strada Ovest, a Manhattan, tra le amate orchidee e prelibati manicaretti. Interviene però il delitto a trasformare invidie e capricci, le patetiche schermaglie che agitano ogni backstage popolato di primedonne vere o presunte, nelle mosse di una partita a scacchi da ricostruire e decifrare. Allora Nero Wolfe vorrà abbassare lo sguardo sulle sventure umane e fornire il responso che tutti si aspettano da lui.