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A car accident in upstate New York strands Nero Wolfe, America's largest detective, and Archie Goodwin, his confidential assistant, in the midst of a family feud. The feud, over $45,000 worth of prize bull, turns ugly when the beef in question is found pawing the mangled body of a family scion. Solving the mystery is no problem - but, alas, the evidence keeps disappearing.
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 35th Street was shaken to his well-fed core. Wolfe decided his sleuthing days were finished. The detective’s retirement lasts until the day Maria Radovich walks through his door.
Three perplexing puzzles - and three inimitable Wimsey solutions - told with wit, humor, and suspense. Narrator Ian Carmichael, the quintessential Lord Peter, provides great entertainment with his talented performance of these three stories. In "Striding Folly", a frightening dream provides a haunting premonition. A house numbered 13 is in a street of even numbers, and a dead man was never alive in "The Haunted Policeman." And "Talboys" sees Lord Peter's own children accused of theft.
At the Man with a Load of Mischief, they found the dead body stuck in a keg of beer. At the Jack and Hammer, another body was stuck out on the beam of the pub’s sign, replacing the mechanical man who kept the time. Two pubs. Two murders. One Scotland Yard inspector called in to help. Detective Chief Inspector Richard Jury arrives in Long Piddleton and finds everyone in the postcard village looking outside of town for the killer - except for one Melrose Plant....
Whose Body? first introduced Lord Peter to the world and begins with a corpse in the bath of a London flat. Clouds of Witness finds Wimsey investigating murder close to home, and in Unnatural Death he investigates the suspicious demise of an elderly woman. First broadcast on BBC radio in the 1970s and presented here in their entirety, these full-cast adaptations are admired by fans of the genre worldwide.
Ian Carmichael stars as Lord Peter Wimsey in the much-acclaimed radio dramatisations of: Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, Strong Poison, Five Red Herrings and Have His Carcase.
A car accident in upstate New York strands Nero Wolfe, America's largest detective, and Archie Goodwin, his confidential assistant, in the midst of a family feud. The feud, over $45,000 worth of prize bull, turns ugly when the beef in question is found pawing the mangled body of a family scion. Solving the mystery is no problem - but, alas, the evidence keeps disappearing.
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 35th Street was shaken to his well-fed core. Wolfe decided his sleuthing days were finished. The detective’s retirement lasts until the day Maria Radovich walks through his door.
Three perplexing puzzles - and three inimitable Wimsey solutions - told with wit, humor, and suspense. Narrator Ian Carmichael, the quintessential Lord Peter, provides great entertainment with his talented performance of these three stories. In "Striding Folly", a frightening dream provides a haunting premonition. A house numbered 13 is in a street of even numbers, and a dead man was never alive in "The Haunted Policeman." And "Talboys" sees Lord Peter's own children accused of theft.
At the Man with a Load of Mischief, they found the dead body stuck in a keg of beer. At the Jack and Hammer, another body was stuck out on the beam of the pub’s sign, replacing the mechanical man who kept the time. Two pubs. Two murders. One Scotland Yard inspector called in to help. Detective Chief Inspector Richard Jury arrives in Long Piddleton and finds everyone in the postcard village looking outside of town for the killer - except for one Melrose Plant....
Whose Body? first introduced Lord Peter to the world and begins with a corpse in the bath of a London flat. Clouds of Witness finds Wimsey investigating murder close to home, and in Unnatural Death he investigates the suspicious demise of an elderly woman. First broadcast on BBC radio in the 1970s and presented here in their entirety, these full-cast adaptations are admired by fans of the genre worldwide.
Ian Carmichael stars as Lord Peter Wimsey in the much-acclaimed radio dramatisations of: Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, Strong Poison, Five Red Herrings and Have His Carcase.
Wealthy Sir Hubert Handesley's original and lively weekend house parties are deservedly famous. To amuse his guests, he has devised a new form of the fashionable Murder Game, in which a guest is secretly selected to commit a 'murder' in the dark, and everyone assembles to solve the crime. But when the lights go up this time, there is a real corpse....
Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young, feisty, devastatingly acute Horace Rumpole in this collection of cracking cases, also starring Timothy West as the older Rumpole. Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders: It is the '50s, and two war heroes have been shot dead. Defending the suspect is deemed hopeless, so the case is handed to a novice. But the novice's superiors didn't count on the tenacity and wit of the young and hungry Horace Rumpole.
When mystery novelist Hazel Martin receives a secretive letter from an old friend who suspects her relatives have murderous intentions, she packs her bags and heads to the country. Tampered medications, symptoms of poisoning, and suspicious accidents all add up to attempted murder, and it's up to Hazel and her Siamese cat, Dickens, to sniff out the clues. But with a house full of relatives who all have a motive, will Hazel be able to unmask the culprit before things turn deadly?
When magistrate Patrick Colquhoun orders a habitual thief and ne'er-do-well transported to Botany Bay, he doesn't realize a 14-year-old boy has been left behind to follow in his father's footsteps - not until young John Pickett is hauled into Bow Street for stealing an apple from the produce market at Covent Garden. Feeling to some extent responsible for the boy, Mr. Colquhoun prevails upon Elias Granger, a prosperous coal merchant, to take him on as an apprentice.
Despite the dismal Broadway season, Gunplay continues to draw crowds. A gangland spectacle, it's packed to the gills with action, explosions, and gunfire. In fact, Gunplay is so loud that no one notices the killing of Monte Field. In a sold-out theater, Field is found dead partway through the second act, surrounded by empty seats. The police hold the crowd and call for the one man who can untangle this daring murder: Inspector Richard Queen.
1957. Lord James Harrington and his wife, Beth, run a country hotel in the village of Cavendish, deep in the heart of West Sussex. James and Beth are discussing the latest Cavendish Players production, The Devil Incarnate, when their cleaner informs them that farmer Alec Grimes is missing.
"What's not to like about a Nero Wolfe mystery? The mysteries are short, cleverly plotted, well paced, and, if you're an audiobook listener, wonderfully read by Michael Prichard. In this breezy title, Nero Wolfe, aided by his faithful employee, Archie, exposes an extortion plot involving plagiarism and catches a cold-blooded killer. Michael Pritchard has read nearly 20 books in Stout's series and has mastered Wolfe's deep, meditative voice and Archie's spry, chipper voice, as well as those of a host of other characters we recognize from one recording to the next." (AudioFile)
Readers familiar with Rex Stout's tales of Nero Wolfe and his Associate Archie Goodwin will be gratified to see that the Old Master retained his mastery of the detective story form to the end of his long writing career.
Civilized, articulate, short on explicit violence and long on solid craftsmanship, this late book in the series will give pleasure to long-time readers.
For those, perhaps attracted by the excellent TV series of some years back, this offering should be no disappointment. The narrator, I imagine, has had a longer engagement with these characters than anyone but the late author. His reading reinforces the different characteristics of the two leading characters and offers none of the failed efforts of some to reproduce male and female voices with verisimilitude. He allows the text and subtle variations in intonation to work their magic in the listeners mind.
The plot retains its interest throughout the book without resorting to the complex variations,misplaced psychologizing and ready sex play which bog down the straight ahead story line preferred by the "classic" detective story writers of his era.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
I love Michael Pritchard as the narrator of the Nero Wolfe books. This is a good story with interesting characters well drawn and I think Rex Stout got in a few digs about the publishing industry of his time. Well done.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
What did you love best about Plot It Yourself?
I love the way Stout manages to trick me every time with his false and real clues. Very Satisfactory
What was one of the most memorable moments of Plot It Yourself?
The dead body with the kitchen knife in the stomach on the sofa
Have you listened to any of Michael Prichard’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Usual high standard maintained
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The ending
Any additional comments?
Wish Rex Stout were immortal that way there would always be a new Nero Wolfe novel.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
All Nero Wolfe books are great and this is no exception. Rex Stout allows Archie to be a superb teller of the tales.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Nero Wolfe is one step behind a murderer and it challenges his pride so severely that he vows to quit his detective business entirely if he fails to catch the villian. The ending is inspired!
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Where does Plot It Yourself rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Pretty high in mysteries
Who was your favorite character and why?
Always Archie. He has several facets to him.
Which scene was your favorite?
The ones in Wolfe's office
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
This was an earlier version of Nero Wolfe than I had read before (thought I'd read them all, but I hadn't read this one). I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to Nero Wolfe fans - not the best Wolfe but very enjoyable.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
This is a really good Nero Wolfe novel. I like the cast of characters and the story setup. I found the culmination slightly weaker than the very best of Nero Wolfe, but it was still very well worth the listen. The narration, as usual, was excellent. The story has the expected twists and surprises. Very satisfying..
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
You can't go wrong with Michael Pritchard narrating the Wolfe tales. I recommend listening to this in one sitting, or several close together, as there are a lot of characters to keep track of, and you don't want to think "Now, who is this person again?" The plot is nothing special, although Wolfe does forgo both beer and meat until he solves the puzzle, which makes for some fun scenes.
Loved this typical Nero and Archie. Think this is the first time I ever heard Kramer polite.