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| Murder by the Book: Audio Editions (Mystery Masters) | 
| Author: Rex Stout
Creator: Michael Prichard
Publisher: Mystery Masters
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $17.85
You Save: $12.10 (40%)
New (18) from $17.85
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 658236
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 6
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.1 x 5.5 x 1
ISBN: 1572705361
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.52
EAN: 9781572705364
ASIN: 1572705361
Publication Date: June 28, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 11 | | NEXT » |
 good choice May 5, 2008
have been looking for this book for a long time and was very happy to finally be able to buy it.
 arrived quickly from seller January 15, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
good who dunit, a little chauvenistic writing due to the period of hte story.
Put Not Your Trust September 7, 2005
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
In this story, Wolfe is asked by the police for some help - and this alone breaks a key paradign of all the Nero Wolfe stories.
The victim's family really wants to know how and why he was killed, and that precedes the followup murders of other people who read his manuscript.
Mostly, we're invited to see Wolfe's relationship with Inspector Cramer as a running gag, with Cramer as the buffoon. In this case, though, as well as a few others, Cramer's character is deepened with great effect.
You'll enjoy this read...
Murder by the Book November 25, 2003
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Written with such a mastery over words and phrases, that it's really hard not to like it. I've read almost every Nero Wolfe novel and while this one is not my absolute favorite, it has several scenarios that I find among the most memorable. The first being the 'scam' that Wolfe and Goodwin contrive to attempt to lure the murderer to the sister of one of the people who've read the book - this is expertly handled and quite thorough. The second is (I'm obviously not going in order :P) the 'group interrogation' with the dozen or so secretaries. But there's alot of little nuances throughout the novel that are professional touches that make it seem almost as if the characters are real and that you're reading a piece of history. Stout's almost tedious attention to detail is more fuller appreciated the more you read it, or better yet listen to the audiobook (read by Michael Prichard).
Very Good, But It Has a Flaw November 7, 2003
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This mystery is wonderful, whether you are a new Stout fan or an old afficionado. Since the other reviewers have discussed the plot, I won't delve into it much. Basically, a man, Leonard Dykes, has written a story and everyone who reads it (he, the woman at the publishing house, and the typist) is killed. The father of the woman from the publishing house, Joan Wellman, hires Wolfe because he is not satisfied with the police's efforts. The rest of the story is fairly formulaic for the Stout series: Wolfe is arrogant, sticks to his schedule, and never leaves the Brownstone. Archie is sarcastic, lures the women, and is a 1940s man-about-town.
There are two differnt things about this story: one good, one bad. First, the bad: Stout doesn't explain the alibi of the murderer. The killer says there is one, and Wolfe starts to dispute it, but Cramer stops him. Therefore, we never find out how the killer contrived the alibi. This may not bother some, but for me, it's frustrating. As for the good, Archie's (perhaps) ultimate love interest is found in this book, in the form of a plump, older, married woman. Don't worry: Archie does nothing wrong, but he sure does think about it...
Bottom line: Well up to Stout's usual standards, with extra interest. The flaw, though, keeps it from being five stars.
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