The Doorbell Rang

By: Rex Stout

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

There’s no one and nothing the great detective Nero Wolfe wouldn’t take on if the price was right. That’s something wealthy society widow Rachel Bruner is counting on when she writes him a check for a whopping hundred grand. But even Wolfe has a moment’s doubt when he finds out why the prize is so generous. For the oversize genius and his able assistant Archie Goodwin are about to lock horns with the FBI - and those highly trained G-men have a way with threats, tails, and bugs that could give even sedentary sleuth Nero Wolfe a run for his money.

Introduction by Stuart Kaminsky

“It is always a treat to read a Nero Wolfe mystery. The man has entered our folklore.” (The New York Times Book Review)

A grand master of the form, Rex Stout is one of America’s greatest mystery writers, and his literary creation Nero Wolfe is one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time. Together, Stout and Wolfe have entertained - and puzzled - millions of mystery fans around the world. Now, with his perambulatory man-about-town, Archie Goodwin, the arrogant, gourmandizing, sedentary sleuth is back in the original seventy-three cases of crime and detection written by the inimitable master himself, Rex Stout.

Stout fellow: listen to all of our Nero Wolfe mysteries, including classic radio programs!

©1993 Rex Stout (P)1999 Books on Tape Inc.

Favorite Nero Wolf

Rex stout was a genius who wrote each of his books and short stories in one sitting with no editing. He wrote one a year and everything in the story in terms of color is authentic whether it be the score of a Yankee game or a presidential election.

The stories make you smile as old characters appear. If you've never read the earlier ones, Rex still paints each character with a fine brush.

One of my favorite Nero Wolfe mysteries!

Michael Prichard is an excellent narrator and is the perfect Archie + a mystery about a bullying corrupt FBI is - timely. (Seems absolute power corrupts absolutely and they’ve always been pretty rotten.) Wolfe gets the largest retainer of his life to teach J Edger and crew that they aren’t untouchable and it only gets better from there. Enjoy!

The best of the Nero Wolfe series? Perhaps.

If not the absolute best, this is one of the very best of the Nero Wolfe series. It has some of the best characterization and relationship development in the series along with some of the best imagery and cleverness plus it was a brave exposure of the abuses by the FBI of the time, earning Stout a thick FBI file. Although I enjoyed the TV version of this for the premier of the A&E series, the book was much, much better. Although this is a great book, I don’t think it should be one of the first read as it depends more than most on the history between characters.

Appreciations For A&E

Listening to Michael Prichard’s rendering of this fine book, again, has caused me to realize, again, how fine the A&E television representations of the Nero Wolfe Mysteries are.

It is clear that the recurrent cast of that series studied well these audiobooks in preparation for their work.

The pacing and phrasing of the utterances of the characters are very frequently clearly studied approximations, if not imitations, of the Michael Prichard renderings.

Very entertaining

I loved the series with Timothy Hutton and Maury Chaykin and think they accurately portrayed the characters as written. This is another way to enjoy Rex Stout’s work.

One of Nero Wolfe's Best

Would you listen to The Doorbell Rang again? Why?

Yes. Like most Nero Wolfe stories, you can listen to them over and over again and pick up new details. I typically listen to them all over a two year period and then repeat. It's too bad Audible doesn't have all of them, especially the short story collections that were never made available on CD.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It's more like keeping your mind trying to outwit Wolfe (which you seldom do unless you've heard the story before). In this case he outwits the FBI, which seems like an impossible task until two agents make a mistake and Wolfe uses it to corner them. But even so, the way he does it makes you glad he's on our side!

What does Michael Prichard bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Michael is perfect for representing the voices of Wolfe, Archie and all the other characters. Not just the right sound, but the right inflection.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. What's great about Wolfe books is that you can read on any schedule you would like. No gratuitous sex or violence, just a solid, intellectually challenging mystery.

Any additional comments?

Please, Audible, please make available the remaining Wolfe books! Most of those you don't currently have are no longer available in audio format except for cassettes priced at $50 or more.

Fabulous book!

I love Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe books but definitely some are better than others. This one is at the very top - my favorite of all that I’ve read. It had humor, intrigue, and an impossible situation that Nero needed to a devise a way out of to a satisfy his client. My hat is tipped to you Mr. Stout! Well done!!

Best Book in the Best Series

I've read this book in various formats easily a few dozen times in my life.

There is no bad Rex Stout Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin book. But this one is the best.

So many good things about this story. And of course with the great Michael Prichard reading, you can't go wrong.

Almost every time they make a Nero Wolfe TV series, this is the one upon which they base the pilot.

favorite book ever

slightly dated but still my favorite book ever. worth the listen . you can't beat Nero Wolfe and Archie. the true dynamic duo.

NERO AND ARCHIE VS THE FBI AND J EDGAR HOOVER!

THE DOORBELL RANG (NERO WOLFE) IS THE 41ST BOOK BY REX STOUT . In this humble readers opinion ,this is Mr Stouts BEST of his entire Nero Wolfe series . It has always been my favorite re-read book.

Nero Wolfe and Archie take on J.Edgar Hoover's FBI. Well,they actually take on a case for a very wealthy client, Rachael Bruner but its Mrs Bruner who is being tailed by the FBI and her phones tapped. When Wolfe takes her case the FBI starts focussing on him. The case is most difficult for Wolfe: get the FBI to back off and leave Mrs Bruner alone! To do that, Archie and Wolfe must find a case that involves the FBI and literally blackmail them into bugging off!

Michael Prichard who did the narration did a great job bringing Achie and Nero to life!

The way Wolfe does this is totally classic! Yes, THE DOORBELL RANG is one of his shorter books but like I said before,its my number one favorite !